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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Who goes to Texas in one of the hottest months during a pandemic?

Only a mother’s son (and his wife.)

No, she isn’t ill. She continues to be independent, to do her own housekeeping, is waiting for the DMV to open so she can renew her driver’s license and walks a couple of miles a day. So why did we pick one of the hottest month of the year to travel to a state whose COVID-19 cases are at an all-time high and increasing? Well, as she puts it, at 93 she may not live to see a vaccine.

After isolating ourselves for two weeks, we loaded up the car, put together our COVID-19 protocol kit and headed out. We understand mom when she says she can’t live forever and she has to die of something, but we didn’t want to be the ones to bring that “something” to her.

Stopping for restroom breaks, we donned masks, put on gloves, and tucked a Clorox wipe in our gloves before going inside. After using the toilet, we pulled the gloves off, (keeping the wipe in case we needed to touch a door or something when we left), washed our hands for 20 seconds, exited the restroom and used the hand sanitizer provided just outside the door. No doubt the few folks we encountered considered us to be more than careful, maybe we were labeled paranoid, but we were going to see mom.

Since the 700 mile trip requires an overnight stop (remember, we too are elderly, or so they say) we researched our “go-to” hotel chain, and was satisfied with their stated cleaning protocol, booked a room on the first floor to avoid the elevator, checked in digitally and used the room key app. On the way to College Station we passed one person in the hall; on the return trip we saw absolutely no one at the hotel.

While in College Station we stayed pretty much within the family bubble. Not knowing what the future might bring, we are glad we made the trip.

We are currently isolating (almost quarantining) until we can be COVID tested. Not much of an inconvenience as the garden needs lots of attention. It is amazing how many weeds can invade in a 10 day absence!

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Finally!

We are out of “lockdown” and none too soon.

Captain is running out of energy!

Replacing the back fence.

Rebuild of fountain in progress.

ABN is out of mulch and compost, 

and nearly out of craft paint.

The neighborhood is pretty much masked.

The meat freezer is full.

   

The Wanderer is clean and ready but has no place to go.

For ABN, the best time of her day is the early morning hours when the birds put on a loud but beautiful concert while she is digging in the dirt. Captain’s best time of the day is the afternoon when he rests from his toil with a movie or a book.

While we are grateful for Facebook and Zoom to keep us in touch we are very happy to once again have friends on the patio --- only a few at a time and keeping the social distance. We are missing our Tipsy Tuesdays but don’t foresee it happening again in the near future.

In a few weeks the garden will be alive with blooms and, hopefully, butterflies. Beware; we probably will not be able to resist sharing some photos.

In the meantime, we leave you with this thought, “In a world full of hate, be a light.” (Lyrics from song Be a Light by Thomas Rhett

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