One of my banks where I have three business accounts started charging $7 a month and $.20 per transaction for each account with no way to get it waived as in maintaining a certain minimum balance, so I had to move my accounts. They claimed this is competitive with other banks in the area, but I couldn't find a bank that didn't have free business checking except that one. They'll find out it doesn't work to be greedy.

Strangely, the new bank pays $25 per account for the old checks from the previous bank so they can shred them. That's a lot of money when you consider how long it takes to earn that much at today's interest rates! And I'll have to figure out how to enter it in my Quickbooks - it's not income, maybe it's negative bank fees.

Then, my property insurance company dropped out of the local market, so I've been waiting to hear that the application with a different company has been accepted, and I finally got the notice today. They didn't say anything about excluding damage from wildfires, but there is a $10,000 deductible for wind or hail damage. Damage from earthquakes, floods, and volcanoes is also excluded.

Oh, and in the process of dealing with the banking problem, I found out my accountant has left the office I've been working with for more than a decade. This is the second new CPA in two years, following the retirement of the really good one who used to do audits for the IRS, so I have to teach her all the ins and outs of my books. This means another early return to Colorado next spring so I can explain it to her.

After years of trying, I finally have a hollyhock in bloom. I hope it blooms earlier next year and has some friends to keep it company.




This is Rudbeckia, also called Coneflower or Black-eyed Susan, but my idea of the latter is different. It was supposed to be a perennial, but when it arrived in the mail, it was an annual. I hope it re-seeds itself.



I just have to share this with you: