Black is beautiful

Most folks wouldn't think a black yard would be nice, let alone pretty.  However, to both of us, black is truly beautiful.  Seeing our black landscape makes us both beam with pride and happiness.  It takes a lot of work to create a black yard.  All-in-all yesterday's burn project spanned 7 hours, 5.5 of which was actual torch time.  I was thoroughly baked, fried, roasted and toasted by the time is was all over for yet another year.

Guess what Susun did this morning?  She got up about 4:45 and drove off at 5:15 am.  No kidding.  Is that wild or what?  Our Dear Friend Lin organized a very popular foot race in Cottonwood to honor and memorialize her late Husband, Brian Mickelsen.  The half-marathon started at 7:30 this morning so Susun needed to help woman the registration table well before 6 am.  Brian passed on suddenly while out on his morning run a few years ago.  Today's race is the 3rd annual such event and, judging from its growth, it looks to be a long-standing annual tradition.  You can click here for the City of Cottonwood's webpage on the event.  (Brian was City Manager at the time of his passing.)

It's quite a big day for Lin in addition to the race.  Her son is getting married at the finish line of the race!  He and his very soon bride-to-be are running in the race and when they reach the finish line, they will have a wedding ceremony right then and there.  No worry about having lots of people show up at their wedding--there will be hundreds of spectators.  A reception will follow at Lin's house after the hoopla subsides.  Knowing our local newspaper, the wedding ceremony will probably be on the front page of tomorrow's edition.  How could it not?  Brian is missed by many people.  He was truly a shining star in life.  The annual race is easily one of the finest memorials such a great guy could possibly have.  Susun doesn't rise and shine that early for just any old event.  But for Lin and Brian's memorial--she probably would have been outta here at midnight if Lin would have requested her that early.  THANK YOU, Susun, for being such a loyal friend to your friends!  We are very proud of you--today...and always in all ways.

Well, now that we are "back to black," we can rest relatively easy--at least as long as we keep checking chores off our lists.  We received quite a interesting email soliloquy on "listlessness" yesterday from an LBR who will remain un-named.  We hope the individual in question will see fit to publish that charming narrative on their blog soon.

That's about all The Daily News for this morning.  Have a great day and Many Cheers, jp