Surprises August 14, 2023 Hello, The weather is lovely today. We even had a half inch of rain last night. It is so great to get that. Leroy and I took a short walk this morning to finish delivering the neighborhood newsletters. On the way home a man signaled to us by waving and walking towards us. We did not stop, in part, because we did not know him, but then he called out so we stopped. He came up and asked, “Would you like some surprise lilies? My yard is full of them. They smell so nice. Now so few flowers have a nice smell. I will not be home for a while. When I get back, they will all be gone. You are certainly welcome to come pick some.” “I would like some, but I do not have a knife to cut them.” I reponded. “Oh, you can just break them off.” He replied. “Come on.” He walked to his yard, we followed, watching in awe as he gripped a handful of lilies and snaped them off. But he was just eager to give some to us so he broke off another bundle before handing them to me. “These are beautiful. Thank you so much.” I smiled. “Enjoy!” he said as he turned back to his car. We came home the richer and wondered about his trust of us to tell us that he would be gone.

Paula