The title to this year's adventure, "A year of distractions," is a reference to me not doing much in the yard to this point. Activity has been limited to keeping the grass cut and the bushes trimmed, which was about all I had the energy for. The first distraction was my mom's cancer diagnosis which lead to me making regular visits home until she passed in April.

Another distraction has been weighing on me since the beginning of the year. My wife and I began the divorce process back in December, and set it in stone at the end of April. We parted as friends, and will always remain so. But the whole ordeal weighs heavily on the mind.

The flowering crape myrtle next to the garage reminded me today that life continues no matter what happens.

I was heading to work and couldn't help but notice the beautiful red flowers.

Flowering crape myrtle next to the garage.