No major landscaping this year! Perhaps we are at a point where we can really sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labors. Oh yeah, except for those pesky weeds.

Not that we sit around very much. Lee authored 10 articles about Michigan History this year. He also gave a talk to the Genealogical Society and did some consulting work. Dot was kept out of mischief with her orchid and photography activities. Although she didn't work much at Porter's Orchids this year, she did some volunteering there. She also volunteered at the Humane Society for two seasons. When Summer came, she volunteered in our yard.

The deer seems to enjoy our plantings. This season, we had a doe with three fawns, one with two and another with one. While they are cute, they think they own this place -- not so cute when they are chomping down our flowers!

Other frequent visitors this Summer:

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here are some pictures of our surroundings this year:

The highlight of our year, though, was a trip to the West Coast to deliver one of Dot's sculptures to its owner , to visit friends from long ago, and to vacation in the Canadian Rockies.

Our trip out was an endurance test: we drove straight through for two days until we arrived at Boise, Idaho. There, we got some much needed sleep before resuming our journey. The next two stops were in Washington to visit friends. We arrived in the Seattle area on the 4th day.

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