At First Glance

When I run in the morning, it is always quite dark. Unless the moon is really spectacular (and visible through the cloud cover),  there really isn't too much to see at 5 am.

So, as horrible as it is to be out in the heat and humidity, I love walking Sonder in the late morning and afternoon because I get to see stuff like this...

 

 

  

 

 This tree is right outside our home. I just love the white & yellow flower against the dark green leaves. 

Of course, the beauty of these flowers is offset by how horrible my allergies have been the last few weeks. I am now in the routine of taking a Zyrtec with my morning coffee and that seems to get me through the day. 

One day last week, there was an army of gardeners working in the bushes along the street near our home for most of the day. I know I have posted photos of these bushes before - they line almost all of the streets in Nichada and are very pretty when in bloom.

As I was taking the photo below, something unusual caught my eye.

This must have been what the gardeners had been working on that day. My first thought was that it was a graft on to the bushes to make them appear fuller and more aesthetically appealing (after all, Nichada is also known as Disneyland). Then I realized that the baggie (filled with some kind of dirt/soil mix) was tied right on to the actual branch of the bush. 

 The baggies were randomly attached at different place on the branches of the bushes. 

 And there were TONS of them. 

I am still at a loss as to what the purpose of these are for... maybe someone out there knows???

Kevin is on his way home today! He will arrive in Tokyo this afternoon and will be landing in Bangkok just before midnight. The kids and I are so excited to see him. For the last week or so, we have been counting the "sleeps" until his return. He has been gone almost 5 weeks and I think we all really felt his absence this time. Although I talk to him at least once every day, so much "little" (but important) stuff happens each day and it is hard to remember all of the details when we talk. The good news is that he has only two more trips back to Washington before our move and his return flight to Bangkok in June will be his last trip here for quite a while. 

Unfortunately, he will need to hit the ground running as our schedule for the next few weeks is very busy. But, at least we are together.

Have a great Wednesday!