A Home For A Pet With Fur

Before we got hoodooed this was our
Spring Break project: A bunny hutch from an old entertainment center.

I wish I could tell you this project was finished and our bunny was livin' it up inside.
It is not finished.
We don't even have a bunny.

But Sam does not want you to be discouraged.
Here is a picture of what it would look like if it was complete, housed a bunny, and had Zoe not busted her leg in a freak bicycle accident on Good Friday.

Swimmingly

 The kids had formal swimming lessons this summer. It's the same pool in which I took MY swimming lessons. Odd how small it seems to me now. While one child was instructed, I would take the other elsewhere. Sam chose to feed the ducks and geese at a pond on the property. Zoe chose to lay around on lounge chairs and eat dum-dums. It all worked out fine.

Corny

I am proud to announce we harvested 62 spectacular cobs of corn from Sam's one outlaw row. And then there were these guys. I think this is some sort of error in pollination. They were pretty effed up. But they look fun, don't they? Like the life of the party. I need a botanist's opinion though, to be sure.

We made some corn salad, grilled some ears and put the rest in the freezer. Lot's of corn. Sam is very pleased. Has yet to eat any but he's pleased nonetheless.

So, plant some corn. Plant just one long row if you want. Shake it around a little. See what happens.

Children Growing Corn

Have you ever heard you can't grow just one row of corn? I've heard that. I assumed it was due to pollination needs. But how can corn know if it is in one long row or 30 rows of one?

It was Sam's idea to plant it. He saw the seed packet and said, "Oh! Corn! I like corn. It is a vegetable and I will eat it. Let's grow some!" And that's really all it took. I bought it then and there and he and his Paw started preparing the garden bed. We're growing our cukes and tomatoes in barrels down in the "lockdown" area of The Calmpound. (The deer just sail over the fence if they want now.) So we had that bed open for other veggies. Sam said corn so we went with it.

And now we have a lush and bountiful (looking) row of corn! I've since reestablished my internet connection and have some real info regarding sowing, growing and reaping corn. I've learned corn is a member of the grass family (Who knew!?!) and pollinates by wind.  It is better to plant in groups rather than one long row. So, we'll see what happens. It now has groups of silks along the stalks so I think that's promising. Let's hope when all is said and done, we end up with more kernel and less cob.

I wish that for all of us.

More kernel, less cob.

Rubbing

We did a little gravestone rubbing at a local cemetery yesterday. The kids were very excited about it. The weather was a little ominous but it didn't stop us!

Sam immersed himself in the task at hand. There was no stopping him. He needed to make "a very good rubbing" and nothing would come between him and his art.

Zoe wasn't nearly as taken with the activity and split off to pick many little yellow flowers.

The finished product wasn't too bad. We'll try again when there is no wind and we have better supplies. We'll stay out of the ants next time too.

On Christmas Day In The Morning

Christmas is something, isn't it? It's over, yet I'm still posting about it.

We enjoyed Christmas Eve at my In-laws where some very funny and very sad things happened and a visit from a dear friend and a new friend. And because Santa scaled back this year due to hard times, we were able to get to bed at a decent hour.

Christmas morning went well. They tore into their gifts. I tore into mine. It was a GPS! Joe said it was well worth the peace of mind it would give everyone involved. We've had some adventurous moments in our quests to find gigs. Leah and I don't see eye to eye on how to get places or how close to or far past an exit one can be before it is too dangerous to get off. This will keep it fun and keep us between the ditches. (Or so I thought but THAT is another story.) Joe got underwear, socks, long underwear and a golf thingy. Fun.

We went down to Mom's and had the usual Christmas breakfast casserole. Cheese, egg, sausage, white bread...all the things you shouldn't put into your body for a greasy breakfast delight. What will we do when she can't make that casserole any longer? As usual, she gave Joe a sweater, pajamas for me and just what the kids wanted. We all sat in front of their new heater. It's one of those energy efficient jobbies they advertise on the back of Parade. It will save the environment and the Amish. Sam walked over to it and said, "That's a false fire." Indeed, but warm nevertheless.

Christmas Day was spent with Joe's paternal Grandmother and family. More food and presents. Zoe did some dancing, gobs of talking and even more eating. Sam found a little rocking chair in the foyer and sat there or stood over the manger keeping watch the whole time. He's funny about crowds. And food is hit or miss with him. He eats about seven different things total.

I asked him if he was an angel looking out for Baby Jesus when I took this picture. He looked up and in his very serious way he shrugged and said, "I'm just a baseball today." I liked that. He's a lot like his Dad. He doesn't say a lot but what he does say seems just right.

Christmas was nice and warm and busy.
I wouldn't want to live there but it was good to visit.

Parading Around

Howdy, Pilgrim!

I cannot begin to tell you how well he did in his Thanksgiving program this year. He has come out of his shell a bit and it's a beautiful thing. Third from the left, back row...

He sings, he bobs his head, he smiles...

(To be continued...)

I Can't Believe It's Already The 84th Of October