Queen, the lop-eared rabbit with the patchy springtime fur, was a little surprised when Rita offered her, instead of the daily pile of dandelions, a very overripe banana. It was a “let’s see if the rabbit will eat this” experiment. She delighted us by chowing down the peelings, leaving the fruit until last. Queen is lonely. She eats dandelions endlessly, just for the pleasure of company outside the cage. We plan to find her a boyfriend so she can belong to a family.
Last week I bleached all my baby broccoli plants in a sincere attempt at protecting them from the elements. Folks, it got cold as anything so I lovingly set buckets and quart jars over all the plants. Apparently the sun was bright enough to heat it up to cooking temps inside the jars and that was the end of the windowsill starters. I went to the green house this morning and at first I thought my old-order Mennonite greenhouse lady was sold out of broccoli. All I could find was purple cabbages and cauliflower. Score on purple cabbage. I love it.But not cooked. It looks sicky grayish then. Anyway, I stumbled upon some really little broccoli plants being coddled in a corner and brought them home with me because the lady sells out of broccoli every year, and I think to myself, “Why wouldn’t you learn that you need twice as much?” Of course, I don’t say it, because she has been greenhousing for 25 years and if she wants to run out of plants, that is her business. This morning she was telling me her new scheme of lining her planters with Depends under the soil to keep them from drying out. It’s brilliant, wouldn’t you say?
Our baby learned to ride her bike solo tonight. As you can see, she felt mighty pleased with the accomplishment. Someone dug an old helmet out of a muddy spot and she wore it with pride. If you would like to see a short video of her efforts, with an amused mother giggling in the background, click here. After her first successful wobble across the lawn, she rushed to her sister with a mighty hug and said, “Tell all my friends I can ride a bike, will you? Tell Anicia and Kiersten and Gretchen and Jenna and Allison.” I might mention that the child will definitely be needing a proper helmet. She is as accident prone as anyone I have ever seen, sporting bandaids and bruises year round.
Today is my dad’s birthday. Every day we have discussions about how soon Rita will be 7 and what about Addy turning 5 and what shall we give Doddy for his birthday. After a small tiff this afternoon, Rita said, “I know what. Let’s give Addy to Doddy for his birthday and then we can babysit her when he goes to Florida.” Addy thought that would be fun. She was seeing an endless vista of marshmallow peeps and Tom and Jerry episodes. But Rita changed her mind, “That would be giving away the present God gave us and that wouldn’t be right.” I thought that put it rather well.
This forenoon I was working on assignments for the last 10 days of school. After lunch I took a break, looked around at my house and realized in a sudden fit of depression that every single room feels grubby and tired from much occupation over winter. I was standing in the kitchen, looking up at the ceiling, wishing for Mary Poppins someone to just tell me where to start when I saw the cobwebs above the curtains. So there I was, and there was the thing to do, and I just did it. After I scrubbed down the walls and shined the windows, I looked around and felt real good. One room down, five to go. I wonder if I can pull it off- get my house shined up before we finish school so that I can do my annual Week of Loafing without any guilt. I aim to try!
How about you? Have you made any interesting discoveries lately?
wocket in my pocket 
I love your idea of a Week of Loafing. 😊
Yes, I’ve discovered that I do not like tent camping when it snows, is in the single digits at night, rains when it’s not snowing, is so cold that the campground closes all the bathrooms except one (which is far enough away to be driven to – by me, anyway), and when the wet weather produces continual mud.
I do, however, love hanging out at the state park’s lodge, by the fire, reading books =). I read at least two full books, and miscellaneous magazines on a recent camping trip.
I also (re)discovered my grandparents’ old farm property in Ohio, and received a thorough tour by the current owners – a happy time!
You went winter camping. I may have laughed just a little at the thought of snow on tents. I think that a cabin may be easier! But what a fine way to catch up on some reading.
Loved Rita’s solution for what to do with a pesky little sister… and later seeing her as a gift instead. 🙂 I enjoy little people’s take on life.
A discovery I have made recently? Hopping on my eliptical for 45 min nixes any depression I might have for a full 24 hours. I have a lot of depression for absolutely no reason at all. It was comforting to me to hear that John Piper works out a lot for depression. It feels so unGodly to be depressed.
Ellipticals depress me, but I know what you mean about the happy feelings that come from really getting active. Just got back from a walk in a spring drizzle.
My recent interesting discovery? That after a long restless night plagued with the aches and insomnia that signal the final days of pregnancy, your blog is a cheerful and distracting thing to read at 5 in the morning. 🙂 Thank-you for making me smile… again and again. I would give the same thank-you to Rita. 🙂
You are most welcome! Here’s to the soon appearance of baby!