A typical day in the life of boring homies: E rode around on the “pony” mowing the fields; I puttered around the yard maintaining things; E. built a bench for her “memorial corner” in five minutes; I cleaned off the back porch; and E got up on the roof and dismantled an old broken rain gutter/downspout and threw it off the roof.  In between I took these pictures:

This may turn into our favorite TN tradition–the late afternoon sudden storm, with drinks on “the veranda”!  (Funny, how that bourbon moves around, so photogenically.)  Look at our waterfalls!

Because you can never have too many flower photos…here are assorted perennials and wildflowers,  marigolds with onions and leeks, and the inevitable sunflowers with lots of pollinators.

This new ledge is a convenient place to set one’s G&T!

E finished capping off her new porch railing just in time for what looked like a hurricane to hit!  Trees were blowing sideways!  Lightning was striking right outside!  Waterfalls were thundering down from the roof and forming rivers!

We’re considering turning the deck into a wharf, with a boat docked there for emergencies.

Five minutes later, it’s like it never happened.

Never a dull moment, here in E. TN.

But anyway, we have a nice new ledge on our porch railing!  And the garden got watered.

There’s a lot to be said for keeping life as simple as possible.  I know from experience that life can get very complicated, but some of that we bring on ourselves.  It’s taken me most of a lifetime to sort myself out and eliminate most of the unnecessary BS and drama.

I avoid delving back into the dark past, mine or my family’s, but when I do, I’m confronted with a history of confusion and misguided priorities, mostly my own, but it came from somewhere.  Every family has its secret, sordid dynamics that get passed down in some form.  If we’re smart, we see it and break the pattern before it affects our kids and loved ones.  Some of us are not so smart!  But better late than never.

So in this latter chapter of my life, I may seem to be simple-minded and boring, but it’s just me trying to keep it simple and avoid complication and stupidness.  There’s enough of that to go around in the world.  Just turn on the news, which I don’t do much of anymore, for just that reason.  Vegetables and fruits are smarter than these morons.  Flowers have more power to do good, and look better doing it.  The other day I even saw a wild rat who was more intelligent than trump, which isn’t hard to do.

And now, your daily news:

Always in the back of my mind is the final countdown toward having to say goodby to my grandkids as they move to Florida, the end of this month.  They’ll grow up fast, far away from us for five years, during which time we’ll rarely get to see them.  They are sometimes a challenge, as they go through all their developmental changes, but I’ll take that over an extended absence and separation.

The good side is, I get to spend more time with my son, and older Gdaughter, for as long as they’re still in the area.  There will be plenty of work to do prepping their house and yard for selling eventually, and lots of pub-crawls, too!  Life is all about adaptation to change, not all of which is a bad thing.

Meanwhile, life goes on back at the hacienda.  This is the golden time of summer, when sunflowers, black-eyed susans, and other yellow flowers reign over the garden.  If you think about it, all you really have are these fleeting moments to savor.  It’s all about the balance of sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami.

I realize this has to be the most boring blog in the world, but it’s my humble attempt at balancing all the terrifying crap in the daily news with more natural, reliable elements.  Even when insane criminals rule our country, the natural world just goes on as usual, trying to survive the damage we’re doing, and presenting us with beauty and hope in the process.

The kitchen and garden are where it’s happening lately.  Here is one of E’s infamous savory Italian-style pies, the first in TN.  If we reveal the ingredients, we’ll have to kill you.  And her world famous challah.

The harvest is starting to really pick up.  Yellow squash out the wazoo, tomatoes ripening, and these pumpkins are looking serious.

Last but not least, flowers!

Yesterday evening, while my son went to a poetry slam, my oldest Gson took over the kitchen to make really fabulous tacos from scratch.  Here is Chef K, working his culinary magic.  “Get out of my kitchen!”

Meanwhile, my youngest Gdaughter Y and youngest Gson S danced to live ukulele and guitar by L.  [Not me, I’m not that talented.]

Later we adjourned to the deck to relax from all the artistry, and rest up for the Big Bedtime Challenge.