"You can bury a lot of troubles digging in the dirt." (~Author Unknown)

This weekend was a whirlwind. Home very briefly, I had lots of work still to do, so it was with great joy that on Sunday, Joe and I both got out to do some fall cleaning in the garden. We filled barrel after barrel with cut-back plants and weeds, we pruned things that could be pruned, and we picked some pretty flowers to bring inside to enjoy at the same time. Many of our flowers have faded, but some are still going strong, and we were happy to see that our camellias are starting to bloom!

While we were outside, on that glorious fall day, who should come by but my good pal Wesley and his friend Eva. Wesley is our neighbor who visits me all the time.

He came to visit and we told him to pick some roses to bring to his mom, which he did.

Of course, I had to get some photos. He’s a great little guy! While I was on the road for my last trip, I was surprised one day to get an email from Wesley with a birthday wish and a poem he “invented.”

"There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling." (~Mirabel Osler)

Writing this now in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Back at it! Hope Monday's a good one for you all!

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” (-Oprah Winfrey)

Well, I’m celebrating, because today, I head home again. Two trips down, three to go. I am fortunate that I get to see so much of the USA, and I treasure the opportunities I have to travel to all these beautiful places, but I must admit…

Home is best.

“Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig.” (-nursery rhyme)

Have a great Thursday, all!
I’ll be on planes from 9am ‘til 11:00pm. (There's a time change in there, though, too.) Time to charge the iPod so I'll have tunes for the way home!

"To be overcome by the fragrance of flowers is a delectable form of defeat." (~Beverly Nichols)

I came home from my latest trip to a familiar sight: whenever I’ve been gone and return home, Joe has a sweet ritual he always goes through. He vacuums, cleans, and he puts flowers out virtually everywhere for me to enjoy.

My eyes dashed from surface to surface, and each spot held a little vignette he’d arranged, and he knew I'd appreciate them all.

Our knockout roses are still going strong, and the impatiens are up to my knees out in the yard, so Joe picked some to scatter around our place for me. It's nice to see what caught his eye in our garden.

He tucked a few zinnias into arrangements, and the blue salvias in our kidney bean bed are still amazingly blue and sending out color like crazy. Little miniature coral and yellow roses are still blooming as well.

Bright pink and yellow lantana are crowding out other flowers, enjoying the cooler temps we’ve had lately, and the Mexican sage and Mexican petunias are vibrant and happy now that fall’s made its presence clear in Cary, NC.

Joe’s very brave with his use of color, as you can see!

It was a joy not to have to head to a hotel room again, but it was even more pleasant to actually smell roses!

And while I certainly don’t expect flowers all over upon my return…it sure is nice!

"Flowers... are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities of the world." ( ~Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844)

Have a most pleasant weekend, all—I’ll be on the west coast Monday and back in the saddle again.