The couple who live across the street, Tom and Betty, are like the perfect neighbors, and not in a cheesy, tv sitcom kind of way. From the day we have moved in they have been so welcoming and kind, offering us use of their home, major appliances and home and garden tools if we ever need them. Last September when we were here during summer vacation and playing out in the yard one evening, Betty called us over and showed us where a doe and her fawns were grazing back in the fields and then invited us in and gave us a little tour of their house, which I had been dying to see. Their house and yard are beautiful and provide us great views out of the front windows of our house and are an inspiration to get me out into the yard and working to make this place look suitably pleasant from their side of the street. They "hired" Rachel to collect their mail and newspapers when they went away to visit their kids a couple of weeks ago, which was a sweet thought that helped Rachel learn about being a good neighbor and part of a community.
Yesterday when I was out in the yard patching a bald spot on the lawn the plow had chewed up over the winter Betty came over and asked if I was interested in some perennials they were taking out to make room for shrubs. Free flowers? Sure! Now I have what should become a fine day lily garden going in a corner around the side of the porch. When they come into bloom their orange and golden flowers are going to look great against the dark red of the house as you come up around the bend in the road from the south.