Flower Friday : : Hibiscus

I almost always learn something from Blipfoto, whether it's due to my own investigations or from reading other entries. This is a hibiscus which we planted where the out of control echium was. I was seduced into the choice by the fact that I was born in Honolulu and this plant, which is common there, reminds me of  Hawaii. What I should have thought about is that it is a tropical plant and can't tolerate even the smallest hint of frost, which we do get occasionally in the winter. The climate is changing so fast that in this very weird weather year, nothing in our garden is doing very well having been alternately drowned, frozen and fried without having time to recover. Given that, the hibiscus is doing quite well so maybe it is an early adapter.

We were awakened this morning by the sound of gunshots...not entirely unusual as we live in a rural area where hunting (and shooting a gun, for that matter) is legal, but these shots seemed to come, not from the hills, but just down the street. An hour later there were more shots followed awhile later by sirens. John investigated but couldn't see around the corner. He did see what he thought was an ambulance in one driveway and a sherrif's car turning around in our driveway. Reluctant to investigate further we continued on with our morning. When we drove out to meet Dan and Tobi for coffee, all was quiet.

As we were driving home a couple of hours later, I was wondering if the violence that seems to plague every corner of our nation had invaded our quiet little road. We worry about fire but not gun violence. As these thoughts were going through my mind our neighbor Cindy called and asked if the police came to our door this morning. I said no, but we had heard the commotion. Cindy, who walks her dog early heard the gunshots and encountered ten police cars, an ambulance and a fire engine on the way home.  When she asked what was going on they said somebody had reported gunshots and they were investigating. She replied that she had reported gunshots before and was lucky if even one police officer showed up. Just an abundance of caution he replied. A phone call from another neighbor provided an explanation. They too heard the gunshots and, worried about their next door neighbors who are elderly and suffering from dementia and general craziness, called and asked for a 'wellness check.' The elderly couple was fine, and as the police were going door to door a man who lives down the lane (an offshoot of our road) called and said that he had fired his gun. 

A question and a conclusion resulted...
Question: Why did you decide to go outside and fire a gun at 6:30 am?
Conclusion: Next time we need the police, ask for a wellness check.

I think the red/blue/super moon has made everybody slightly crazy.