Back From Vacation! Not Such a Warm Welcome Home...

We just got back from a fabulously fun nine-day vacation. I'll tell you all about it as soon as time permits, but here's a little hint, actually two since it was a two-part trip:

Days 1-4

Days 5-9

Here's a glimpse of what we returned home to on Sunday night, which is why I haven't much time to elaborate right now:

Side Yard

Front Yard (this one turned into a 3 tree pile-up)

The 3 above are our trees, and our fence, in our next door neighbors'  yard...

While we were gone, we missed a 90-mile-per-hour wind storm! I'm told I should be glad I missed it, and I am. We were fortunate that there was no significant property damage. A tree belonging to our other adjoining neighbor came to rest gently next to my sewing cottage, crushing two corners of the copper gutter and blocking the entrance, while managing to not even scratch the paint! So I do feel lucky. But between chain-sawing, carrying logs, dragging brush around (all in 90-plus degree heat), and writing checks to the arborists who must do the dangerous work of removing all the trees that are severely damaged but still standing, it looks like I'm going to be busy for the next few days.

Thanks for reading my pre-scheduled posts while I was gone. I can't wait to share with you about my vacation, and I promise- no boring, lengthy slide shows- just a few highlights!