Every year at Halloween I think about the costumes I made when we lived in Mexico.
Catherine was 5, Rachel was 3 and Matthew was almost 2. In a moment of creativity, I made crayon costumes and I was the box.
Now the crayons have left the box.
While it is sometimes sad, it is also fun to watch their colors grow brighter as they find their way into adulthood.
We recently put a lock on our gate into the backyard after we found it open. Fortunately, Max had not gotten far and he knows he has a good deal here so he came right back.
No one knows who opened the gate but no one can open it again without a key.
This is slightly inconvenient for the city workers who need to access our backyard for various reasons. There is a power pole that needs to be replaced and it has required multiple visits from multiple entities including the gas company and the power company.
One of the men who came to the door asked if it was safe to go into the backyard. I assured him we would keep the dogs inside. He explained he was not concerned about the dogs. I figured he was asking about the bees which were also not a threat.
It turns out he was most worried about the chickens. I almost laughed and then I realized we did have this sign in the window:
I promised him the chickens would not bother him. It’s good to know our sign is effective – at least as far as the gasman was concerned.
I watched our neighbors’ chickens recently. I also fed their dog and cats but the chickens were the most interesting. They tend to wander the yard until the dog goes outside. Then they run for their lives!
Rosie caught one while I was on duty and it was not harmed at all. I think Rosie just likes to play chase.
The chickens have learned that, while Rosie is fast, she does not have wings. They fly up into the tree to safety.
Our neighbors have a chicken tree!
We had some pretty windy days in August. We also have some 
mostly dead trees in the backyard. This combination has led to falling branches, some landing in the “duck pond”.
It didn’t seem to bother the ducks except it made it a little crowded so I faithfully removed the branches.
When I cleaned out the pond/pool I discovered one of the smaller branches had pierced through the bottom of the pool.
It was tightly wedged in the hole, keeping the water from leaking out.
It made me think of the story of Hans Brinker, the Dutch boy who plugged the hole in the dike with his finger. He stayed until someone came to fix the hole and was hailed as a h
ero who saved the town from flooding.
Unfortunately, I don’t think anyone will come to fix the hole in our duck pond. And, although the weather is still good for swimming, the stores have replaced swimming pools with Halloween decorations.
I guess the stick will continue to plug the hole. Meanwhile, I’ll watch the curb for discarded swimming pools with no holes.
I’m pretty convinced that Cooper is part kangaroo. That dog could jump several feet straight up in the air.
While it was entertaining to watch, the neighbors were slightly concerned about him jumping over the fence. To quell their fears, Rachel attached several feet of chicken wire to the top of the fence in the corner next to the neighbor’s backyard.
Although Cooper has been gone for more than a month, the extra wire is still there. I noticed this week that the morning glories have started climbing the wire.
It reminds me of the time with Cooper. It also reminds me how persistent morning glories are.
Both memories make me smile.
Now that Cooper and Penelope have been gone for a month, Max and Coco have settled into a new routine. Coco has returned to her slightly obnoxious, bossy self without Cooper around.
I suspect she considers herself the “dog in charge”. This suspicion was confirmed by a recent interaction involving Coco’s bed.
Max was laying in it, resting peacefully – until Coco wanted it.
Although Coco is much smaller, neither she nor Max seem to realize that. She didn’t even bark at him. She just stood there until he moved.
Soon the new order was established.
Before you begin to feel too sorry for Max, he does have his own bed. Coco’s was just closer. I feel like we have small children once again.
It has been quite a while since I have been challenged by a game of Egg Hunt.
In fact, I didn’t even know the chickens were still playing until Beekeeper Brian found eggs in the brush pile at the back of the chicken yard.
I wasn’t quite sure how the chickens managed to lay the eggs there. Then I caught a chicken in the brush pile.
Perhaps she was expanding the Egg Hunt game to Hide and Seek. If that is the case – she is the champion!
Of course, now that I know her hiding place, I can also find her eggs.
I have to follow up on last week’s post about being encouraged by the amaryllis. Here’s the picture from the blog:
This week we have had rain which has been wonderful. It waited until after all music and PE classes finished each day which allowed the students to be outside. Even more wonderful!
Today, 10 days after the first amaryllis picture, I took these:
The first plant has more flowers and two more amaryllis plants have bloomed!
I’m going to take that as a sign that this will be a good year.
Perhaps even a very good year!
Teachers went back to school last week to get ready for a new year. I teach at a small charter school that is not immune to the many challenges facing education right now.
Finding teachers was hard last year and even harder this year. This resulted in some hard decisions for our school. People were not happy.
Then we received our rating from the state based on our test scores last year. Not surprisingly, they were the lowest they had been in many years. More people were not happy.
I was pretty discouraged as I pulled into the driveway on Friday afternoon.
Then I saw our amaryllis.
We have been in a record-breaking drought this summer causing many plants to give up and die. Part of this amaryllis did just that.
Then there is the bunch of flowers that bloomed despite all the challenges. They seemed blissfully unaware of the brown all around them and showed their colors proudly.
I was inspired.
If a nonscientient plant can produce color amidst all the brown around it, I certainly can proudly display my courage to face a new year. Even if those around me seem overcome by the drought, I can continue to bloom.
Maybe others will be inspired, too.
I spent the first part of this week with our grandsons. Our daughter was asked to teach a couple of hours each day so I went to help with the boys.
Monday both Alex (age 2) and Theo (age 2 months) were with me. I was not worried. After all, Catherine and Rachel are 21 months apart so I was confident it would be fine.
What I did not factor in was the length of time it has been since the girls were 2 and 2 months. The memories came back very quickly.
We had a tornado in the living room.
I didn’t remember the key phrase “put one thing back before you get out something else” until it was too late
Holding Theo while playing with Alex was a little more of a challenge than I anticipated.
We moved into Alex’s bedroom, and I opened his closet door for him – tornado number two! I forgot how quickly a two-year-old can make a mess.
W
e all survived the morning and Tuesday Alex went to school so it was just me and Theo.
I forgot how relaxing it is to snuggle a sleeping baby!
I was hoping to get a picture of me with the boys. What I got was a snapshot of real grandma’s life.
What I remember most from these days is why we have children when we are young!
Copyright 2024 | All Rights Reserved | Created by PetoWeb.com
