Down the back steps

I was sitting in the back doorway, after having taken the trays of seedlings outside near the bird feeders, hoping for a cardinal to come close enough for a photo. No such luck. Instead, here's the fastest way to the veggie garden - a dash down the steps and through the gate out of sight on the left. And there's my son's fencing foil leaning against the wall.

No word yet from the hospital out in Washington, but my stepdad texted a positive message this afternoon. Thank you so much for all the kind wishes! 

I took the extra just now after running out the front door and discovering three happy things: it had rained, so I needn't feel badly about not watering the garden; I had closed the car windows; and the owl was back, calling through the woods above the crickets and frogs.