Last month, while we were in Texas, we had an explosion

 of blooms in the garden.

This is how we left it 10 days earlier.

The garden has been alive with birds and bees, 

including this strange looking fellow.

Goldfinches are so much fun to watch, we spoiled them a little;

for the rest of the summer, they will have to survive on Nature's food.

Over the summer we had a few butterflies stop by, 

Monarch

Painted Lady

but they moved on.

Earlier this week,  the Black Swallowtail and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail appeared. 

We are calling this our COVID garden as the pandemic isolation has provided more time to spend developing, creating, maintaining and enjoying the garden. This year has been the best gardening year since retirement and the purchase of The Wanderer.

Now that it is in tip top shape and the butterflies are starting to appear, what do we do next? Load up The Wanderer and hit the road, of course. The cooler and dryer weather of the Northwest is calling us.

This could be the most adventurous trip yet as there are so many unknowns. With plans to meet up with friends from Washington state, we have been self-isolating for the past couple of weeks.  Being extra cautious, we took advantage of the free COVID test at Walmart. That went pretty smooth; not much of a line, simple detailed instructions and not at all uncomfortable. Two days later we received our negative results.  The only glitch was the lack of information in disassembling and reassembling the car door. Not everyone will need this step, only those who follow the instructions to place their I.D. against the window for the attendant to see, AND let it slip down the window and into the door. No worries, if you find yourself in this situation, there is a YouTube video that will give detailed instructions.

While we are with our friends, we will form a bubble, with all our activities being in the great outdoors. We will follow all the safety measures that we do at home with the consideration of others as a top priority.

On our  return in October we will self- quarantine as we,  once again, start the process of removing weeds and spent plants and preparing the garden for our winter absence. Does anyone see a pattern here?

Stay positive, friends, this too shall pass.

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