My good friend, Marie, shared these lovely photos from her recent trip to the Bronx. I know we are all hungry for some botanical beauty during these last (we hope) days of winter. So, thanks Marie! and enjoy the show!

And, lest we forget, the weather outside is still not tropical!

On a separate jaunt, Marie shared this beautiful spring arrangement from the foyer or the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Thanks to the perpetual gift of Lila Acheson Wallace, museum visitors can enjoy something robust and seasonal at all times in the Met’s lobby!

The story behind the flowers in the lobby of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

I’ve become a big fan of Brandi Carlile this winter, having discovered her through her work with Tanya Tucker and her documentary on the singer.

I’ve been reading her memoir, Broken Horses, and when I read this passage, I completely related:

Brandi is right. I can remember right now the heavenly scent of the fur of my black quarter horse and how I loved to stroke his long, strong neck and study his big black eyes. I loved hanging from his neck too. When riding him, I loved his mane. Sometimes my dad would shave it off, but I loved it long. And I loved his forelock as well. If I had known then what I know now, I would have decorated my black horse, in the way they did in the European courts. It would have been a more humble version, but I would have loved it and my horse enjoyed all of my attention (we had a special bond, he and I) and I think he’s have borne it well.