Take a moment to smell & listen to the flowers

Scarlet Begonias
This is on the sunny side of the sidewalk to my front door. I haven't figured out how to make the audio stream yet, and the download is slow. Sorry.

One picture...

That's me, enjoying the 4th.
I'm really happy to be out of retail/food service. I got to spend the weekend with the family, not worrying about going in until Tuesday.
We found a side street that is very close to where the fireworks are launched for Addison Kaboom Town celebration. Addison is a little town just north of Dallas that figured out 25 years ago that if they sold liquor in stores and restaurants, people would go there. See, most of Dallas and surrounding towns are dry, meaning no liquor sales.
Anyway, they have their 4th celebration around the 4th every year. It is a very good show, but it is a bitch to get out of. More than 100,000 people go.
We managed to get home in about 20 minutes; from the same location it would usually take 15, so we were really fortunate.
That's the side with the earring, BTW. Not too offensive, IMHO.

The Home Front

The Front Yard
I like this view. The rocks are from near Mo Ranch, in the Texas Hill Country. The Salvia is a mix of some I planted this spring and some from last year. The rosemary on the left is three years old. The nandina in the foreground was planted last fall. The red begonias in the background frame the sidewalk and entrance to the front door. And way back you can see the Shumard Red Oak I put in two and half years ago.
The begonias have surprised me this year. Usually by now they are dried and sorry looking, but my wife likes to have them there to start the summer. She is convinced that because the tag says, "Full Sun" they can take full sun. But it gets really hot here...
I water them every morning this year and it seems to help. But it is starting to get old...
At 7 in the morning I get to enjoy the landscaping as I water. Then it is into the rat race. But I feel like I'm cheating, because I am not interesting in racing anymore. I'm just happy being happy. He who laughs last...