Amaryllis: Art and Memories

Yesterday my Christmas Amaryllis started blooming! I was in the mood to experiment so I  got out my new 50mm lens and put my camera on manual, Different exposures and backdrops yielded some nice results. 
This flower brings back mixed memories for me.  My mother used to get me an Amaryllis bulb each holiday season.  A package would  arrive with a brown dead looking bulb, dirt and a plastic pot, The directions said, just pot, add water and.....wait. Sure enough in a few days, tips of green begin to appear and the miraculous process of new life begins! The unassuming brown bulb turns into a stunning beauty!
My last memory of my mother and an Amaryllis is bittersweet. My thoughtful cousin Donna, brought mom a lovely red Amaryllis in full bloom to her hospital room in Roswell Park Cancer Hospital in Buffalo, NY.  The cycle of life in a bulb and a bloom.