The First Day of Summer

     There are some that associate the first day of summer with the Memorial Day weekend.  Others are attached to the vernal equinox.  For us summer begins when the bus arrives in our driveway to be packed for the trip north for the summer.

      Well, here it sits waiting for someone to pack it up for the summer.  The first step was to see if the two old men could make it up the stairs.  I made it.  I drove it there.  Baxter needed a bit of encouragement.  He is +/- 14.

     That's a big step.

     He can make it.  Tomorrow we'll get started on loading it up.  Summer is here.

     Durelle and Cindy got back today from a trip to Atlanta to watch the Sox begin with a two game winning streak after losing ten in a row!

Our Shrubs and Other Updates

     I have marveled at the Holly bush in the front yard.  Since we bought it as a mandatory replacement for the sweet gum that we had removed, it has taken hold and seems to be thriving in this lousy patch of soil.  what puzzles me is that it retains its fruit even as the next crop is coming in.

     Note the last year's crop in red and the new ones in green.  This is not just a difference in ripening rate for one season's crop.  Are there any other examples of this in the plant world? 

     Another shrub that we bought when we had three diseased trees removed was a Magnolia.  It's always a nice sign of Spring and Mothers' Day. 

     So Spring has sprung, and we are starting serious activities involved in getting ready to pull up stakes on 3 June.  I'll be allowing a few more days than usual for loading the bus.  I have told ProTech that I'll pick it up on 28 May.  That's three weeks from today!  Durelle already has an appointment with her hairdresser in NH.

     I take the cane with me when I leave the house, but I am doing most of my walking without it.  I'll have PT three times a week until I leave, but it is more attuned to strengthening the shoulder than the hip.  Just walking accomplishes most of that.