Intrepid Gardeners or How Much I Love My Neighborhood

This was how the day was supposed to begin. My wonderful neighborhood has an active and very friendly garden club. We chit and chat and exchange plants and share successes and failures. We lament and love the weather together. We're environmentally conscious. Best of all, we're fun. There is some seriously good humor happening around here. So, it was with good humor that, after slaving away all day Saturday to get my yard ready for our fall tour, I awoke to this:

Poop. Well, poop and not poop 'cuz I am still absolutely loving all this rain. I was feeling just a tad put out that it went from drizzle to buckets just moments before the tour was slated to begin, but, hey, beggars can't be choosy, right? I'll take a rain-out over a drought-out any day.

I failed to mention that we are intrepid group as well for here's the first of the slightly wet, yet impressively cheery friends! (From left to right: Jack, Prentiss, Emily, Kat and Lori) Jackdaddy had a fire going and the coffee was hot and the rain, well, Kat (of solar chandelier fame) put it best: (Actually, she quoted Braveheart - what more could you ask for?)

It twas "a grand, soft rain."

And, indeed it was. We gathered our brollys and Macs and went poking about in the yard. Others sloshed in bit by bit, and a good ole' time was had by all.

Here's Prentiss by the Pan and fountain. Someone commented on my cement stone bench by calling it Stonehenge. Then I think it got twisted from there as someone called it "Stonerhenge" due to my Pan being recently confused with a ganja-smoking devil.
We went from here to Emily's amazing yard that made me feel like a cartoon cut-out gardener. I forgot the camera so I have no pictures to show you, but I'm gonna get some because I want to show you this vine she had called, Alamo Vine. Lawdy, lawdy it was purdy. I mean, her whole yard was insanely gorgeous, but I'd never seen nor heard of this vine before. We had just watched The Alamo movie (really good!) the night before. Kinda weird. I didn't see that vine in the movie ;). From there they went to Caroline's house. I had to miss that one because we had another shindig to put on here (more on that tomorrow), but "I know where she lives" and I'm gonna stop by soon to see her yard and cuddle her newish baby. We've got three more houses next weekend and I'm beside myself to see one of houses on the schedule as it is my favorite yard in the whole hood. I am, literally, counting the days. And, to finish it all off, I leave you with words from FinnigantheCurious:

When we woke up Sunday morning and the rain was coming down, he asked me if I was sad. I replied that I was not really sad, I was just disappointed. He said, "Oh, me too, Mama. (and here I'm thinking how precious and sweet he is) You and Dad took such terrible care of me yesterday while you were working in the yard, and now it seems as if it was all for nothing."
I still think he's precious and sweet and oh, so funny. It was true, you know. Saturday was one of those "cereal-eating, smoothie-in-a-bottle-drinking, watch-one-more-movie-it's-OK kind of days. Like he really hated that.