An expression of my sympathy

An expression of my sympathy, originally uploaded by photoholic image.

I express my sincere sympathy to all victims of Oklahoma tornado.
The most sad is that many children were killed. I pray for the repose all of their soul.

burst to bloom

burst to bloom, originally uploaded by photoholic image.

Japanese cornel, called "Sansyu-yu" in Japanese, bloomed like split opened or burst from a husk.
The plant is a species of dogwood family and native to China, and came to Japan via Korea peninsula at early 18the century as a medicinal plant.
It is said that the seeds harvested from the plant are to be effective in treating infertility and poor circulation.
The bud of this plant is wrapped in a hard husk shown in the image below.