Pretty and pink

Today would have been my mother's 81st birthday - last year when we celebrated her 80th birthday she seemed so well that we never expected her not to be with us this year. When I feel sad about her no longer being with us I remind myself how she was suffering and am pleased that she has been released from that.

I went out in search of some more blossoms today, before they are all blown off the trees. I did not have to look very hard as every tree around here is covered in blossom. Today I tried some shots with a long telephoto lens instead of a macro lens as I liked the way a long lens compresses the background.

I was browsing he school website today and saw that Thomas achieved a gold medal in the Physics Olympiad exam - gold is awarded to the top 5% nationally - he never told us! He also achieved gold in the UK Intermediate Maths Challenge recently, so this confirms that he has chosen the right subjects of maths and the sciences for his A levels.