Today’s blog was written high above the clouds with no way to post from “up there”.  Now that my feet are back on the ground, I share my thoughts of the day:

At present it is 2:11 PM Mountain Standard Time.  I am sitting in a Boeing 737…

Today is the tenth anniversary of the death of my dad.  It is always a hard day for me.  Last night, I started reliving moments of that day before his death.  I remember being in his hospital room (he had just had surgery), joking with him and his doctor.  His doctor was a fly fisherman, and we made plans to meet at a favorite spot on the river for evening fishing.

Hubby and I decided to do a road trip this weekend.  Our adventure would be to travel south to Virginia.  As some of you know, I spent some of my formative years in Virginia working my first job as a nurse.  I fell in love with the location and solidified my passion for nursing.

I am a dog person.  For those of you out there reading who are dog people, you know what I mean.  For those of you reading who are not dog people, thank you for tolerating us.  We do know we are different.

The past two weekends have been full of travel and celebrations.  One weekend was a short road trip.  Long road trip another.  VERY long.  Both joyous occasions full of new experiences spent with wonderful people.

The first weekend of the month, we celebrated an outdoor wedding at a farm located just over an hour from the homestead.  It was a glorious summer day.  The setting for the ceremony was on the edge of a pond.  Our friends picked a fantastic location for bringing together family and friends. 

I am elated that Jaxon is getting better.  He is even more his usual self, wandering in the yard when he is out, lounging on furniture when he is in.  My heart is resting easier.

The postal delivery yesterday contained a surprise.  I love surprises!  There was a box wrapped in brown paper, well taped, with the address written in handwriting I recognized.  It was a parcel from Grandma Margaret!

The past days have been exhausting.  Poor Jaxon.  It is so difficult to watch a pet suffer. Like a baby or small child, they cannot tell you what is wrong, or where it hurts.  It is up to us to put together all of the pieces of evidence, big or small, and figure out what is wrong.  I am grateful for good veterinarians.

I have had pets all of my life.  As a child, we usually had at least one dog.  I had a parakeet that I got at the local G.C. Murphy store, and Mum got the cage with her S&H Green Stamp books.  How many of you remember those days?

I loved taking care of animals.

Today started with a bang.  Literally! 

Thunder.

I am thrilled it rained today!  We got a good, long, soaking rain.  It has been hot and humid the past few days.  It was wonderful to hear the rain on the roof and listen to the low rumble of the thunder.  I love the rain.  The garden and lawn also love the rain.  Jaxon does not love the rain.  He dutifully goes outside as necessary, but with ears back and head down. 

Poor Jaxon.

The summer weather has made for interesting times for garden maintenance.  I am grateful for the past few days as the rains eliminated the chore of watering in the evenings.

The garden had a slow start this year.  After Hubby got the tilling done, including mixing in the fertilizers, I got to planting.  Our garden consists of tomatoes, sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini and yellow squash, and a horseradish patch which will finally be ready for harvest this fall.  I put in just a few cauliflower plants as an experiment as I have never grown it before.