the rest of the story

I realized, after I finished my post last night that I hadn't explained why my brother even thought of attaching blossoms to the Rose of Sharon bush with toothpicks.  Well, as it happens, he had been watching as my cousin and I spent part of the previous day making Hollyhock 'people.'  To make a Hollyhock person you pick a Hollyhock blossom and an unopen bud and push a toothpick through the bud (round end up - pointy end down) then push the toothpick into the base of the blossom creating a little lady with a beautiful pink skirt.  Now you may be thinking that this was a tough year for our Hollyhocks.  You're right, but Hollyhocks are tough plants that bloom generously all summer long.  In case you're wondering why we were making flower people, it was a fun thing to do on a hot summer day in 1950 something with no airconditioning, no TV, no computers, tablets, smart phones or electronic games.  Wow! How did we survive?