May flowers

I'm at a loss for words regarding what's happened in Ukraine the last 10 days. What is usually a time of vacations and celebrations has turned into mourning.

This week I've spotted several elderly men with timeworn ribbons and medals pinned to their tweed jackets, as old men usually do around the holiday. What do they think about all this? Are they shocked? Resigned? Unfazed?

Kharkiv's Freedom Square on May 8th, 11 AM. A ring of cops around the statue.

It's been quiet here. Most friends headed to the countryside on May 9th. We stayed in, heeding the universal admonition to avoid large gatherings, only going out to take the photos of plants and trees in this post and take care of a neighbor's cat. That night we caught the reflection of the city's firework show in the windows of a nearby building.

The lilac trees are in full bloom now. Women carry fragrant bundles of the lavender blossoms. The chestnut trees are also blooming en masse, making it seem like they'll topple over at any moment from the weight of the flowers.

This afternoon (May 10th) there was a sudden massive thunderstorm. The blue sky was replaced with a black curtain and fragments of lightning. Rain came down in buckets. The puddles were so big afterwards that several cars stalled while driving through them.

Lots and lots of photos but this was the only one that captured any lightning

On the metro this week I saw an ad for an airline in which the words "Barcelona is waiting for us" had been altered with a black pen to read "Barcelona is NOT waiting for us". I've been thinking a lot about this. Maybe someone did it just to be a smartass. Or maybe someone did it because they've given up on certain dreams. What do you think?

So as to end this on an upbeat note, look for a cool post coming (hopefully) later this week featuring several e-books about Ukraine. It's been a lot of fun to write : )