A-WA-RE is basic to Japanese esthetics. Pronounced ah-wah-reh. A sudden, brief awareness of the brevity and fragility of existence and used to describe the awareness of the transience of things and a gentle sadness at their passing. For myself and others it is a link between beauty and sadness. The images display here in these internet galleries were shot during a period of time a few years ago while my mother was in hospice. These are only a few of the images from my recent photographic series captured over a five month period. It started as a simple photographic document that would show how Spring had returned and that the earth was once again in bloom. It started as a traditional "show and tell" of flower images and quickly took a personal path, one that was both cathartic and enlightening.