I have been away from my blog for almost a week, and I missed Wordless Wednesday and GBFD. My apologies. My Arranger and I have just returned from a short vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. October is a good time to visit one of our coastal beaches. The crowds are gone, the costs are down, and you don’t have to wait in line to get a table at a restaurant. You can still sit on the beautiful beach, nap to the rumble of the waves, enjoy the breeze, and chase the sea birds. All in all, it was a pleasant and restful time for the two of us. I did miss my garden. Here my Arranger is captured trying to lure the sandpipers to come closer. They really weren’t interested.

I haven’t been to Myrtle Beach in almost sixty years, but it will always have a special place in my boyhood memories. I hit my first golf ball at Myrtle Beach (I don’t anymore), I smoked my first cigarette at Myrtle Beach (I don’t anymore), I had my first beer at Myrtle Beach (well….occasionally), I learned to shag at Myrtle Beach (I don’t dance much anymore), I met and shagged with girls from exotic places like Tarboro and Darlington and Florence (my Arranger’s presence in my life means, of course, that I don’t do that anymore). (For those who may not understand: the shag is a popular dance that originated along the Carolina coast and is still going strong through three generations). Driving around Myrtle Beach revealed nothing that I remembered. It has grown so and become commericalized. In a way it was a bittersweet emotion; the memories are still fun to think about, but I realized that most of the young folks that I did those things with are no longer with us.

I returned to find my garden in great shape, the bird feeders and the suet cage empty, and my grass taking off with a bit of fertilizer and the cooler weather. The new pots of annuals are doing well. I am looking forward to getting back into the routine. Fall chores lie ahead.