A real treat today, despite the pandemic, my friend, Anne McCarthy Nelson has taken a road trip back to St. Louis from her home in Virginia and we met up for a walk at Queeny Park. It was a joy to be with someone I have known since we were six years old, catching up and reminiscing. The only problem – there just isn’t enough time. Taped on my bookshelf, right here to remind me is Buddha’s admonition “The problem is, you think you have time.” Never enough.
We couldn’t take a selfie because of social distancing, but we took pictures of each other, anyway.
Back home, I ran into this gray tree frog under the bird bath as I was refreshing the water. Don’t worry, he’s not smushed, just hiding there.
It’s very dry, but the butterflies are marvelous. A black swallowtail, caught in an abstract sculptural moment…
A more traditional butterfly pose
Stone has a melanoma under his tail. Melanomas in horses are not as deadly as they can be in people, but this one has grown a little bit, so Marilyn Finke, our neighbor and vet, rode over to do an exam. She was accompanied by Roy, her labrador assistant. He dispersed the cats, who were hoping for a quiet dinner. Not tonight. Luckily, Dr. Finke was not too concerned, and we are going to wait until October, after fly season, to address it.
Marilyn’s sidekicks, Chilly Willy and Roy, best friends
We received a notice from the IRS on Friday, never a pleasant experience. After trying more than ten times to get through by phone, unsuccessfully, I applied myself to writing a letter and providing documentation to dispute their adjustment. That was my big accomplishment for the day, and not exactly blog worthy. Now we must send certified mail and wait months for a reply. I’m not exaggerating, the instructions said it would take 60 days for the IRS to get back to us! Of course, we had 60 days to respond to them, but we do not want this hanging over our heads for four months!
Finally, here are hosta blooms on plants given to us by Jonee Nehus fifteen years ago. So many wonderful memories in the garden, even as it winds toward autumn on these hot August afternoons.
Stay safe, stay well, stay cool.
LOVE butterfly yoga on zinnias! Happy to hear you had a good visit with your friend. Hope all goes well with Stone and the IRS. Peace
Butterfly sculpture/yoga awesome photos. Black Swallowtail, look at what I am learning!! I had a grey horse, my wonderful Binski, with bumps under his tail, lived to be 32. Another one at Old Friends Farm, the grey stallion Alphabet Soup with 3 million in earnings had a treatment, 2018, out of U of FL that saved his life. Alphabet Soup is 29 now. You can find the story in Bloodhorse Magazine. What fun to see an old friend!!!