Just like our changeable weather, moods have varied this past month.

Refusing to get stuck muttering “yea, verily it sucketh mightily,” I’ll hold off the Bleak-in-Review. Here are topics of cheer or inspiration:

* A new moss dish-garden brightens my home and spirit.

Connie Stone and Cindy Reynolds were the clever elves who created a couple of ’em for a recent Salem Garden Club meeting. Assorted mosses, rocks, bark, a clay toadstool, handmade wire trellis, etc. — why, it’s just “et up” with charm! (See photo.)

It makes me smile every time I walk by — and I’ve even enjoyed carrying it outside to visit other mosses and beckon garden fairies. (Righto, I have no life.)

Moss garden created by Connie Stone and Cindy Reynolds. Photo by Emily Paine Carter, special to So Salem

Ellen Holtman and I aim to make some, including ones in cracked birdbaths.

*Nature intersects art (and math) in an even more dramatic way: The Hyperbolic Crocheted Coral Reef display at Roanoke College’s gallery in Olin Hall.

Yes, I’ve been hyping the community / international effort since its local Sept. 2011 beginnings. But its recent unveiling — very well-attended despite the snow — was even more jaw-droppin’ FABulous than imagined. It’s not just one mighty reef — crafted by your neighbors’ talented, ever-lovin’ hands — but several. Plus crocheted jellyfish, starfish, etc.

And, ha, not wanting to miss a chance for regret and self-flagellation over another missed opportunity: I wished that I had involved my own mitts — not just my cheerleading mouth and column-typing fingers. (Thanks to a physical quirk, I get neck spasms from needlework. But darn, they would’ve been worth it.)

Congrats to all who participated! The cool creations can fascinate and educate folks of all ages through March 4. (Daily, including weekends, 1-4 p.m.)

*A traffic detour through downtown Marion, Va., last year brought me past a stirring display of another sort.

Marion and Smyth County honor all their deceased veterans with a mass of U.S. flags and crosses on the courthouse lawn.

Ace researcher / Marion native / retired (alas) Salem schoolteacher Walter Robinson estimated some 800 veterans have been so honored. That makes for a quite the breathtaking scene on and around Memorial Day.

Families make an application for a flag and a white cross bearing the name of their late beloved veteran. “The VFW has been in charge of this for at least eight years,” said Walter. “The only requirement is an honorable discharge for the deceased; it is not necessary that he or she died on the battlefield.”

Well done, Marion!

* Rumor has it that Valentine’s Day looms large on the calendar. So, y’all enjoy and have at it!