It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere

Our day started out calm. After breakfast, my sister and I watched the birds flit from here to there. A large flock of cedar waxwings enjoyed the fruit on the wild cherry tree out front but were not in photo range. We decided to go look at the huge chicken in the woods fungi hubby had spotted a day or so ago (see bottom left pic taken by hubby). Our BIL drove the women in the side by side and hubby took his ATV. The road was so washed out, steep and curved that my sister kept her eyes closed the entire trip. The pot holes were so deep in places that we bottomed out and were fortunate not to get stuck on the center ridge. Keep in mind that this is a state highway but is unusable by regular cars and trucks. I tried hard to be brave but let out a moan a few times when I saw what was ahead of us. After that daring adventure, we found the dang fungi had dried up and were completely black. We stopped at what’s called the butterfly meadow; it was too late in the season to find many wildflowers and I only saw one small, black swallowtail butterfly. There were a few wild sweet pea blooms (see bottom right). Hubby scouted ahead of us and reported that there was a tree blocking our path further along the road. It wasn’t until we turned around and headed home that I let loose of the roll bar long enough to take a pic of one of the smaller holes in the road (bottom center photo). It was time for lunch when we got back to the farm. We made cheeseburgers when Jimmy Buffet passed in his memory but I forgot to blip them. This was our BIL’s lunch burger. RIP Jimmy. We hadn’t been back long when we got the text that hubby’s sister-in-law passed last night. We will be heading to TN when we get word of the final funeral arrangements. Judy has always been kind to me and never held his divorce against hubby; she knew the circumstances well since she lived in the same town. We will miss visiting her and hearing her hilarious life stories. We are hoping for a Monday funeral so we can leave from here versus driving back to MD and then to TN. Our family will be decimated if these deaths continue. In other great news, Kim and her hubby think they have COVID. They have tested negative so far but have all the nasty symptoms. Sure hope I am in a more cheerful state of mind tomorrow. Some days are better than others I guess. On a positive note, we’ve planned all the meals and needed groceries for when our German friends arrive on 1 October. They will stay with hubby and I in MD and then we will all come up to the farm for a few days. Take care folks and stay safe. Thanks so much for the stars and well wishes for hubby. That leg looks worse than it feels he says. “The road to fulfillment is never a straight one nor free of obstacles or debris.” ― Jeffrey Duarte