3 Esses & 5 Tees

3 Esses & 5 Tees, originally uploaded by escher....

SSS stands for 'Sycamore Seed Signals' and TTTTT stands for 'The Terrible Tripod Tipping Tragedy.'

The harsh winter seems to have meant that, although late, the spring bloom display has been spectacular.

At the moment the hawthorn blossom is the most amazing I have ever seen, after similar explosions of cherry and apple blossom. If you were ever to wonder how abundant hawthorns are in this part of the country then a short excursion to look over the hedges and hills will reveal white glowing bushes everywhere you can see. Each one looks like it has kept the winter snows and just drips with sweet blossom. It is really quite a sight to behold.

Because of this I wanted to make something with the blossom but try as I might no inspiration was to come. But that didn't matter, just spending some time looking at them was enough and plenty fulfilling all on its own.

I was going to make frames - circles or squares - and attach them to the blossom in an effort to draw attention to the spectacular display and to record it for posteriety so whenever I look back at my pictures I will remember the hawthorn blossom of spring 2010. But as an idea it didn't really work so instead my attention got sucked into the many colours and shapes of sycamore seeds.

I just doodled away making little constructions of grass and seeds but after experimenting with hanging them in the white blooms I noticed this broad-leaved plant growing under the shelter of the thorny bushes. I arranged my doodles on top of the leaves and was happy to leave it at that.

It was then that the 5 tees made an entrance and my camera landed face down and snapped the mount off the lens. The Terrible Tripod Tipping Tragedy had rendered my wide angle lens into several small and expensive pieces.

I cannot afford to replace it nor to get it fixed. But fortunately I have a back up and can make do until I can pay out for whatever it may cost.

I explained to my girlfriend, when she got home from work, and underlined it with "**** happens."

"It sure does" she replied "more **** things happen than good things in this world."

That's not how I see it at all (and nor does she normally, but she just finished a crappy shift at work).

"**** happens" means to me don't fret about what you can't control or change and always try to look on the bright side. I could have broken my favourite lens, which I have no backup for, and totalled my camera all at the same time. Things can always be replaced or you can make do with something else. But to go through life lamenting every little stumble along the way means that all those annoying things will have an affect way beyond what they should.

If I ever become one of those people that spends their life looking for things to disappoint them (you know the sort - the person that complains that card machine in the supermarket says 'insert your card' when all the other supermarket's machines say 'please insert your card' - this is a true tale that someone told me happened last week) then you have my permission to shoot me full of holes. No thank you, I won't be concerned if the postman comes and hour later next week or if next door hasn't cut their grass to the required neighbourhood height (inch and a half if you really want to know).

No, instead I'll be out admiring the blossom or looking at an insect hoovering up sap from the sycamore seeds I picked and the next time the card machine forgets to say please, I'll just smile to myself and feel sorry that that card machine can't go and lay in a meadow full of wild flowers and soak up the rays of the sun.