Bonus Post

This will be short and sweet but going through my library, I noticed so many lovely flowers that I neglected to share. With that in mind, here we go.

Seriously orange and daisies? What is not to like?

Along the river walk a few weeks ago; sadly most of them are now gone. 

Not far from there is a shop in downtown that leaves all of this out, all of the time! I am crazy for that almost black petunia. Isn't it something?

I mentioned that I was going to revisit that beautiful roadside garden and I am one to keep my promises. It was really spectacular,

and so large it would not all fit in one photo.

Nor would it fit in two, so here is number three.

The truth is that there are flowers in front of the fence and then even more beyond what you see in the top. Now you can understand more clearly why I simply had to have Bruce pull over! I will admit it was a wee bit tricky as you can see how close to the road everything is, not to mention there's a bit of a drop-off, but a crazy person does what a crazy person does, mostly without thinking too much about it!

Taking photographs at the folk school is far easier. Safer too!

A few lucky folks can grow Gladiolas in Florida, but not many. This pink!

It is a bit of a conundrum photographing flowers. On the one hand, when it is sunny the light comes through them. On the other hand, it oftentimes washes out the color and is just plain harsh. But you get what you can while you can and mostly be grateful.

I wonder what this looks like when it is fully open?

Look how adorable these are! As if confetti were sprinkled in the garden.

And what have we here?

Miniature apples is what we have here. Or maybe not full grown? I'm no expert, so don't quote me.

I am pretty sure that this story has been told before, however, humor me if that is the case. Our first attempt to buy the local newspaper, the Cherokee Scout, named thus because Murphy is in Cherokee County, the door to the paper box would not open. 

Bruce called them and was told to come by in the morning and they would give him a newspaper, and so they did. I saw the above while I was waiting in the car for Bruce. Two cats, red flowers, how could you go wrong? 

I believe it was last fall that I was looking at real estate in Murphy and came across a townhome located in what was once the golf course area. Actually, pretty much on the property, and therein lied the problem, the golf course has been closed for ages. So, instead of pulling the trigger, I was hesitant due to the closure and wondering how it effected the property. It was super reasonable and now I am kicking myself after Bruce and I went out there last week and saw for ourselves what a find we missed out on!  Along the way, there was a pullover moment when I saw this.

Wait just a minute....this is me on the far end looking back to where I had Bruce pull over to check this out!

It was a beautiful display of what I may have just learned is called the "Disco Belle" variety of hibiscus? Honestly the blooms are nearly the size of dinner plates!

And how, pray tell, am I coming up with this "Disco Belle" idea? It has been quite a number of years ago that a dear woman, Joelle,  contacted me on Facebook who, lo and behold, is related to me by marriage, something I never knew before! I was probably about 65 or so at the time.  After my Mom's parents divorce, I learned that my grandfather married another woman and Joelle is her granddaughter who, btw, knew our grandfather far better than I did as we lived in Florida and he lived in Missouri. She spent many happy summer days visiting her grandmother and my/her grandfather because they lived much closer . Get this, our birthdays are but days apart!! Anyway, she lives in North Carolina on the other side of the state and it was she who informed me of their name. Life is so full of surprises isn't it? 

Sadly, we drove down the road in the direction the Subaru is parked and I noticed something unusual on my side of the car. Not much escapes my notice as you probably already know. It was a big area with clay soil and loads of plastic containers that Bruce is calling 55 gallon drums. The horrible part is that they were being used as dog houses with more than a dozen dogs chained to said containers. Who knows what was going on but it did not look good to us! We are still kind of cringing thinking of it. Perhaps one day they will be listed in the Scout under the arrested column. I've told you that, right? People who are arrested are listed in the newspaper!! Mostly it is, unfortunately, methamphetamine busts or domestic violence. Which leads me to this thought....Bruce and I have been watching a fellow on YouTube who posts videos of Appalachian towns and their people and the struggles they face. I had a long conversation with Jonathan while I was on the river walk this afternoon and when I was discussing Murphy he looked up the population and was a little surprised at how it has lost population over the years. We then discussed the factory closings in this part of the country and how they have both affected population, as well as led to an increased use of drugs. With no worry about getting to work in the morning, it changes everything. I surely don't know the answer to those problems, but it makes me sad to think of it. 

If you are new to this space, and I think there are a few, it is not that I don't see beautiful flowers in Orlando. It is the not knowing or expecting that is so enthralling me. Here's one taken super close to our place in Orlando along the nearby canal.

Gorgeous flower, right? But I knew it was coming. I kept my eye out for it, knowing just about when it was going to bloom.  What is so great for this old lady, and don't correct me because that is what I am, is I don't know what is coming next in this adventure. A few days ago I got one of those Facebook memories that they assumed I might enjoy remembering. NOT! A photo I took of a bagel that Bruce brought to me in the hospital, toasted super dark, just the way I like it. Obviously, I never saw that coming, so you might conclude that I am being overly dramatic in my zeal for these glorious days we are experiencing, but when you come close to death life becomes way more precious. Maybe being dramatic is not so bad; I sure am enjoying having no clue as to what good things are coming next!!

your friend,

Gail