Thanks to cool, rainy weather the past few days, the potted flowers I put out for Memorial Day survived nicely.
Today, though, it was time to bring them home. After a few days, the city removes flowers and decorations not retrieved by family and friends, so I always err on the side of “too soon”.

They have, after all, served their purpose on the holiday, and now it’s time to serve a happier, more decorative purpose on my front steps.

My camera battery “died” after the first two floral portraits. A third flower will have to wait to be photographed. This is how I let my brother and sisters know I took care of Memorial Day here.

A cousin who usually decorates two of the same graves I do (her father and our paternal grandmother; my parents) didn’t make it up to Alliance this year for whatever reason. I’ll call her because it is very unusual for her to miss Memorial Day. She publishes a major issue of her newspaper this time of year — I just got it in the mail the other day — and I am concerned she may have worked herself into a bad cold or something. This special edition always takes a lot out of her, so I am concerned she missed the holiday here.

I know she will feel better knowing those two graves were tended to, so this is how I will let her know, too. I pray she is OK.