Buster

This may be the last Thanksgiving with blind Steve, to whom I showed February's lunar eclipse.

Named "Easter" lily by Colonial Era settlers, this flower's Latin name is Zephyranthes atamasco.

It blooms from March until May.

Copyright Claude W. Rankin and Southern Connections Inc.

Often called "rain lily," it is a North Carolna native found in sunny, moist (boggy), wild areas from the coast to the mountains.

I first saw them down by the Cape Fear River near Fayetteville.

They had a pale pink cast, as is often the case, and took on a red color as the flower matured.

Hence the name "Atamasco," which means "red."

This photograph was made by the late Claude W. Rankin Jr. of Fayetteville, whom my sons George and Jack grew up calling "Uncle Claude" -- altogether appropriate for their loving great uncle.

Four decades have passed since my maternal grandfather, B.L. Hinnant, used his favorite target pistol on himself. That was a couple of years after my maternal grandmother. Ruth Hinnant, was killed in a car/train accident.

I have often wished for a worthwhile support newsletter.

Unable to find one which meets my needs, I have accumulated a short list of potentially useful links this morning.

Resources offered by the Women and Children's Hospital of Buffalo (NY) struck me as useful and a constructive place to start. Two from their collection are:

• Surviving the First Year
• What Others Can Do is a part of that collection addresses some of my concerns.