Well dressing and dressing well are two different things. I was not dressed well when I saw what might have been a well dressing. In the Peak District in England people had a ritual for giving thanks for good water. They decorated wells with flowers and pictures made with blossoms. That was the first thing that popped into my mind when I saw Jonathan Creek decorated with red roses along the bank. Could a group have gathered here for such a purpose?

Not likely! If there had been a ritual, it would have been called, “Taking the easy way out.” Those roses had bloomed continuously since June at the firehouse. I told myself to keep watch, because I wanted to know when the bushes were pruned. I walked within three feet of the rose hedge and didn’t notice the ugly sticks where the roses had been. I did the math (putting two and two together) when I stood at the edge of the creek and saw where the bushes had been dumped. Shame on the whackee!

Below is a photo I took of the repaving job at the firestation a year ago.   The rose bushes are there around the flagpole.

There was a more lively scene not far from the stop sign. A young deer ran down the mountain and leaped over a fence onto the road. I was very excited, because we had been wanting to see wildlife in our neighborhood. So far we’ve seen a dead skunk on the road, a live one near our garden shed, and wild turkeys scurrying into the woods. This deer ran back toward the fence, decided the road was easier, and headed up again where there was no fence. I would have needed a body cam to catch that fleeting action.

Sorrell’s, the gas station/cafe, was busy today. I had to pick my way through the moving vehicles, hoping the drivers were paying attention. A man backed a truck out just before I reached him, and he stopped and rolled down his window. He said, “Y’all walk here all the time, don’t you? You do it for your health?”

I said we did. He said he lost 41 pounds since summer, not by dieting and not by exercising. In his mountain accent, he said, “I used to sit in front of the TV and eat right before going to bed. I didn’t sleep well, and I didn’t feel very good when I got up. Now I don’t eat anything after 6. Worked well for me.”

“I’ve seen y’all walking on the road. I swing way on the other side of the road when I go by you. Anybody ever come too close? Some people try to hit walkers because they don’t think they should be there.”

I told him I had one narrow escape, but it was because the driver was probably texting. We wished each other well before going our separate ways.

Back nearer home I saw two people with a dog each. It was neighbor Bob and his daughter Courtney. She is heading home today, back to the coast. During Hurricane Matthew a tree fell on their rented house, leaving a hole in the roof. The landlord repaired the inside without touching the roof! I presume this long, dry spell has been a good thing for her and her husband.

There was a small thing on the road that looked like a cat’s toy mouse. I’m glad it wasn’t moving, because it was a vole, a dead one. It had not been run over and had no visible wounds. It just lay there upside down, dressed in its velvety gray coat.