Peek!

the day after

Well, it took a while to motivate,especially once it started raining buckets, but we did get out to visit, switch cars, and get haircuts.  But we didn't have hairbows or hats, so we shopped at Frank's instead of driving the hot and windy Saturn all the way to town.  It was just as well, and the ham sandwiches, potato chips, and orange juice and ginger ale were the best food Asa'd had in a long time, except for the cheesecake last night, of course. 

unprecedented

We went out four times in these last two days of our magic numbers window.  Since the end of March, we’ve had fun saying Flora times Ursula equals Asa, and at some point Asa realized that if we added Mama to the end of it, he could be in the middle of a numerical palindrome. 

Saturday:  The girls had pancakes, playtime, and chicken chores with dear friends, and Asa came with me to ready the church for Sunday (and to play Legos and maybe chess with my co-readier’s son).  On the way home, after more pancakes and some trampolining, I asked the children what we could bring as gifts for the children up the mountain, and Asa’s idea was fingerpuppets.  After a quick browse of images (thank you, Google), we headed to the back room to put together some finger monsters a la these guys.  And then up the mountain we went, for playing, eating, and reconnecting.

Sunday:  To church (early!) to get the flowers out, and now I can let go of wanting to get there early.  On time would be good, but early is not.  After a dark-of-the-moon harvest visit* to Grandma's, we came home again for naps and cleanup and setting up house for a bluetailed skink (at least until Daddy gets home), and then out again for real food made by someone else, plus excellent children playtime. 

They've had lots of it lately, and it's been fantastic.  I love seeing them out there in the world, and I love it when they run back to me.  They're pretty amazing.

*Catnip for kitty toys and bedtime tea, comfrey for healing ointment, pawpaw for its superpowers.

puzzle piece

I snuck a peek at the garden on the way up the driveway this evening, and ta-da! Pea blossoms! 

The garden is not quite what I saw when it was just a fenced rectangle, but we picked broccoli for supper tonight, and there is the potential for lots of peas some onions, and lots of garlic.  The chard might be chard someday, and if any of the beets becomes a beet, I will be grateful.  It is a garden of minimal input.

But the gifted chamomile is soaking up the sunshine, the red clovers are wooing bumblebees, and now I'll think of the wall in the back room as coreopsis and remember the satisfaction of finding their name in the wildflower book, walking through a Catawba valley field on the way to set my first gypsy moth trap, so many years ago. 

And this is where that takes me: gratitude.  I have had the chance to know this corner of the world in a way few people do, from Interior to Alum Ridge, Bland to Stuart Southeast, and all around and in between.  I am a lucky girl.  Thank you, VDACS.  Thank you, Jessica.  Thank you, Mom. 

Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love.  (Book of Common Prayer, page 836)

instead of a card

I'll give Poppy lots of pictures for his birthday, and the grateful title of Most Supportive Reader. 

It was a lovely May day, the sky so blue, the clouds so white, the everywhere-green so very very green.  Not surprisingly, having a sketch of the day went well -- working outside, lunch by the creek, quiet time with a new book, and an ice cream cone for snack.  

While I rearranged the carport (made possible by prior woodmoving assistance), Ursula pushed Flora, working hard and asking for help instead of wailing with frustration.  She went inside time and again to fill Flora's little cup with water, not once showing impatience or irritation.  It was reassuring to witness.

And I loved how the children just took off after we ate, climbing up the bank, walking down the creek, and swinging over logs, grabbing greenbriars, falling in the mud, and tripping over snaggy branches.  No one fussed, no one whined, no one wanted something they didn't have.  It was so nice!

There was even a little bit of quiet time, and peppers before ice cream cones, and time to unload some heavy pieces of Hawley Road while supper cooked.  Asa did a lovely job setting the table outside, but we fell to before I could get a picture.

We're back out tomorrow -- parting ways for the afternoon while I go sit with God.  A lot has happened since the last time, and days like today remind me that it is worth every bit of effort. 

cladrastis (not disastrous)

(That is a whacker next to Asa, in case you were wondering.)

Even though the day started quietly, I decided that taking us all to Christiansburg (-er, Glen would say for Dave) could mean a true day of rest on Wednesday.  After paying bills and gathering supplies in Ferrum, our first stop was at the Bread Basket, gummy bear mecca for the little ones (chocolate-covered coffee beans for me).  I was proud of Asa for going back in by himself to ask if he could exchange the chocolate-covered gummy bears for something that tasted better (you think?).  They said yes with a smile, even though we had already broken a bag of chocolate coal.  Thank you, Bread Basket!

Our last stop was at the Christiansburg library, which might be my favorite one (I am picky picky picky about libraries).  The children's area is on one side of the main desk, and it's bright and open, with fun and easy chairs, tables with projects and toys, the easy stacks on one side, youth stacks on the other.  Asa played toddler computer games for the girls while I went and overloaded in the religion section, on the grown-up side of the main desk. This is the first book I saw when I went in, and after reading about Nag Hammadi and Secret Gospels and Q, I had to pick it up.  And from there, well, yes, I overloaded. Even Grandpa Taber was there for a minute, putting this one in my hand.  Asa thinks we have this month's record for the number of books checked out by one family.  Now we just have to get them back in time.

In between, we were at Hawley Road.  Oh, Hawley Road!  My heart sings whenever I am there, and today it sang praises to the yellowwood.  I had not seen it in flower before, and it took my breath away when I got out of the car.  Asa and I are in that bark, those leaves and flowers, the buzzing hum of busy bees.  It is spectacular, indeed.

Ursula and I are in an apple tree in Endicott, but I forget which one, and Flora and I are still in the back freezer.  Hmmm ... maybe we can move to a flower garden, one with lots of poppies, cosmos, and zinnia, coneflowers, lilies, and butterfly weed.

And I would be remiss if I did not mention the rivers and pools of phlox that are all along Franklin Pike and Route 8.  It was too busy a day for more than one roadside photo shoot, but please, if you're out that way, say hello for me.

Tonight I can smell the blossoms, hear the creeks, see the stars. I wonder what tomorrow's adventure will be.  Blessings on it, for everyone, everywhere.