Arisen

Spring tulips emerging are a lovely counterpoint to the religious iconography of the day.

The tulips are up - vibrantly, egg yolky yellow, just the right shade for an Easter day post. This is the new life that I prefer to focus on and celebrate this day. Unfettered beauty, energy, and reassuring cycles, renewal.

The tulips are thanks to the Fund for Park Avenue's bulbs from last year's median gardens - a bit of trickle down into the community that actually works.

Last year's saved bulbs (a nice segue and opportunity to post photos that never saw the light of day with 2021's frenetic pace; so the photos also get their own resurrection with 2022's saner career rebirth)...

...were split between the Jardin on the terrace and the Mothership in Queens - so they are city and "country" siblings.

On this Easter Sunday, even as an adult, I find tulip resurrections to be a far more pleasant focus than religious ones. To each their own, and may we each leave room for everyone's ways of celebrating that bring no harm to others.

Perhaps that is a blasphemous sentiment to those who regard this as the holiest of days in their religion, and one for rejoicing, but I always found the story of the crucifixion to be upsetting and scary (I first read it as a child of 8 or 9, alone, without adult supervision or filtering, having encountered a children's picture book on a library book sale table - and even the animated illustrations weren't toned down enough for young consumption, in my opinion). Religious iconography is often rather upsetting, to say nothing of actions taken in the name of religion, and most especially without the accompanying faith beliefs to render any sort of mitigating comfort. Science and secularism for the win on this count, in my book - so, to tulips rising from what seemed like dead bulbs!!

That said, to the celebrants, best wishes for a Happy Easter, and to everyone else, Happy Spring!