The Old and The New

Not much has been happening this month, so far, thus not a new blog post. So this one will cover a little this and that, old and new.

First: My brothers and I gathered at Mom's the last weekend in June to finalize some plans for her 90th birthday open house in mid-August. The boys went fishing and I went through photographs. This is one of the gems I found...

This envelope contained photographs processed in Minneapolis MN and sent to my parents with a two line address (who lived out in the country) and postage of 2¢ postmarked July 1952. I don't remember the photos in the envelope, but they must have been me!!!


Second: Curt's foot is healing well. I took these photos on July 1 when the pin was still in place and the foot wrapped in the constant companion walking boot. The pin was removed the next morning and he was given permission to take the boot off at night when he went to bed.

Final checkup is tomorrow. We are planning on him being able to resume driving and walking with two normal shoes. He's had no pain and has been getting around well, but doesn't do a lot of walking as his leg/hips gets sore from the difference in heel height. My chauffeuring duties will be over. YAHOO!!!



Next: We have been enjoying fireflies in the backyard and along the gully. [I am wrong in that Skunk Creek does NOT run behind our house. It is simply a culvert waterway to a swamp/pond across the street which may or may not be part of Skunk Creek's water system.] The the gully does have water running through after a downpour.

The photo is very poor quality. The brightest lights are solar lights from neighboring yards, but there is a little flash of white near the far left tree branch which is a firefly. I do not ever remember seeing as many as we have seen since mid-June. We have certainly enjoyed their light shows.

This was the sunset I enjoyed watching on July 4th as we left Watertown for the drive back home. I had this amazing view in the rearview mirror and the Brookings fireworks display through the windshield. That was one trip when I was very happy to be the chauffeur! [Hubby took the photo.]



And finally: The hibiscus. My friend Linda told me her issues trying to find a hibiscus plant in SF back in May when we all were thinking of flowers and planting and summer. She shared going to several different greenhouses and how prices ranged from $20 to almost $60. She was so happy to find a big, healthy hibiscus at a big box store for $12.99. After hearing her story, the ad from that big box store listed hibiscuses for $9.99 while supplies last. So I hustled to the store and bought a large, healthy blooming plant in anticipation of keeping it alive until 1) I got it transplanted into a larger pot, and 2) the deck was done and painted so it could find a home where it would be admired all summer.

The hibiscus (and the other deck plants) were moved from the deck to under the deck during the deck's remodeling and painting. Sometimes it and the others got too much rain and sometimes, none at all. The plants were moved from side to side to be safe and out-of-the-way. Finally, when the deck was done, the potted flowers had a home. The hibiscus has not had a single new flower since I brought it home, but LOTS of yellow leaves. Too much moisture. Last week I finally picked the last yellow leaf and the plant has chosen to bloom.

the old and the new

fading color

but oh, so pretty

I counted more than 20 buds on the plant when I took these photos last week. Finally!!!

rain clouds gathering, again

but they all skirted our area

June has been another wet month for us. With all the moisture and now, hot temps, the corn is really growing. Hard to believe much of it was planted so late this spring.

P.S. regarding the Facebook post from last week: Hubby was having a stress test and I was his chauffeur.  As I sat in the waiting room of the Heart Hospital, watching people and overhearing conversations, I couldn't help but think about how fortunate and blessed we truly are regarding our health. There were amputees, elderly in wheelchairs, folks our age with their 30-something-son who needed a driver, a young couple who looked so healthy and professional, but obviously had some heart issue. Hubby's test was for comparison reasons for his new cardiologist. Follow-up is next week.