Monday Nights with Scott

I spend many a Monday night with my nephew, Scott—my little traveling companion.

Tonight we were off to get more flowers for my back porch and to finally get everything planted. Place looks good!

The grass withers, the flowers fade...

... And these little red flowers will fade away soon themselves, having broken off from a healthy plant as it was transported from garden shop to my friend's back yard. Fade away they must, but not without first dazzling us with their simply beauty.

Red door x 3

Guess I just have a thing for red doors...

I see a black door

and I want it painted red.
I'll take Mick Jagger's words and turn them on their head.

Sure, it looks like this now...

But wait'll ya see it in August!
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Anyone living in Avon or surrounding towns knows of Chrissie D'Esopo and her jaw-dropping gardens. I got a little bold with the camera this weekend, stopping the car and venturing out into her yard. If she hadn't come around the corner as I was snapping, looking like she might chase me off the property, I'd have gotten a better look at that soil to see what's in it to produce such fabulous results. She's got to be using more than Miracle Grow! Anyway, come back in August and this is what you'll see.

Now I ask you...

Is there anything better than a porch?? On this beautiful sunny Sunday, I swept my back porch off, potted a few plants and sat myself down with a good book. Sweet!!

This is my neighbor, Beth's, porch. She's got me beat with flowers and pots...but I'll catch up!

Art that inspires, in times like these...

...is hardly a luxury; now more than ever, it is a necessity.
—Joseph Duveen

Through my employer, Aetna, I got to attend a gala celebration of The Charter Oak Cultural Center, a place that has been referred to as "Hartford's epi-center of cool."

I bid on this artwork created by one of the children involved in Charter Oak's many arts and culture programs. And I won!