from a letter to my sister, March 9, 2008

something happened in november of 2007 that seemed like it would change my relationship with my sister forever, and i buried my fears of what the future might bring, or not bring, by feverishly digging holes for 786 miniature mediterranean bulbs all throughout the little rock garden that whirls around my back patio like an atlanta cyclorama, except without the battle. most of the bulbs were sent to me from the dependable high country gardens and promised solid true shades of blue and purple. i told my sister about them in the first email i wrote to her after four months of pretty much not talking to her, during what was a really sad time for me. the first blooms of 2008 came up in late february: the little white crocus snow bunting, which peak up through the snow and persevere until they disappear, and the little purple and blue iris reticulata pixie and harmony, which get bigger and stronger as they grow taller until the flowers fade and the rest of the plant turns into long slender green grassy sweeps of foliage. i wrote my sister on march 9th, just wanting to let her know that i was still here, thinking of her, and waiting for hundreds of new bulbs to pop up through my pea gravel rock garden mulch.

"it's spring here and the first 50 crocuses i planted last november and december became 110 white snow bunting, then all 100 wild irises started to bloom, 50 deep deep purple and 50 blue deep purple. the two groups kind of swirl down from the kali statue, which is tilted up on a slab of orangish red colorado flagstone. it's still cold here at times, but it's really sunny. we all went on a full day bike ride with sofia in the burley today and then ended up with our weekly sushi on the mall, which we haven't been doing for months because it's been too cold. sofia is eating crab sushi rolls now, without the avocados and the cucumbers. sofia rode her own bike the first part of the way, her fancy pink specialized bike with fat wheels, and two wobbly training wheels on the back. she grew over the last three months indoors and now she is fast! we found this out yesterday when we went out to see if she remembered how to ride a bike while momma d took a much needed break. i'm waiting on the other 700 or so bulbs i planted in the fall to start coming up in the next two months. i can't remember what they all were but these things are tiny. even 50 of these wild irises, which are bigger than the crocuses, take up only about two square feet."