The new routine is that Snowdrop will be spending at least part of Monday at the farmette. It's a superb way to begin the week and you couldn't ask for a nicer day today. We're stuck in that classic glorious September weather and honestly, I cannot get enough of it.
I do have a few small chores to do around the farmette and so as Ed begins the delicate work of building a frame for the new patio door...
... I go back to my garden work, surveying the flower fields...
... and picking some spaces for the last of the bulbs I have for planting. Immediately after breakfast (on the porch again!)...
... the cheepers and I set to work.
("where are we going to dig?")
And then Snowdrop arrives and this is not the time to go indoors! Instead, we make our way to one of my favorite farmette spots -- the place where my younger daughter was married more than a year ago, under the great big willow and Snowdrop and I spend some beautiful moments playing in the grass with the swaying branches.
Too, she and I feed the two hens the remains of a blueberry bagel she had been chomping on yesterday. She was very excited about the possibility of petting the hens, but these girls, though not afraid, usually prefer to give a wide berth to the outstretched hand. Someday you'll be able to feed Scotch worms from a spade, but not today, I tell her.
In the late afternoon, grandpa Ed returns to the hammering and sawing. Snowdrop is highly interested in the project and there is definitely an "I want to try that!" look in her eye. Again, not today, Snowdrop. But, she is distracted...
... by the carpentry work...
... and we spend not a small amount of time watching nails go in.
Of course, now that she crawls, there is no keeping the girl in one place. She has the will to explore.
Late in the day, Snowdrop and I go for a walk in her own neighborhood and it is again a grand promenade around the little lake.
("let's get going, grandma!")
The day passes so quickly! A few more moments of play in her room...
... and then, a spirited chase of her favorite buddies, the three cats...
(But as Virgil, the cat, prepares to run, she gets diverted by something more interesting: daddy's slippers.)
... and our day is done.
At home, Ed is still working on the door. I fix a supper of eggs and local oyster mushrooms. We lock up the hens, noting that Butter has returned to spending the evening on the fence by the coop. She's erasing memories. We're vigilant. The hens don't known this (or maybe they do?), but the predator returned last night and dug up the land around the coop. We're working hard to keep them safe.
The day was beautiful. The evening is quiet. And that's such a good thing.
I do have a few small chores to do around the farmette and so as Ed begins the delicate work of building a frame for the new patio door...
... I go back to my garden work, surveying the flower fields...
... and picking some spaces for the last of the bulbs I have for planting. Immediately after breakfast (on the porch again!)...
... the cheepers and I set to work.
("where are we going to dig?")
And then Snowdrop arrives and this is not the time to go indoors! Instead, we make our way to one of my favorite farmette spots -- the place where my younger daughter was married more than a year ago, under the great big willow and Snowdrop and I spend some beautiful moments playing in the grass with the swaying branches.
Too, she and I feed the two hens the remains of a blueberry bagel she had been chomping on yesterday. She was very excited about the possibility of petting the hens, but these girls, though not afraid, usually prefer to give a wide berth to the outstretched hand. Someday you'll be able to feed Scotch worms from a spade, but not today, I tell her.
In the late afternoon, grandpa Ed returns to the hammering and sawing. Snowdrop is highly interested in the project and there is definitely an "I want to try that!" look in her eye. Again, not today, Snowdrop. But, she is distracted...
... by the carpentry work...
... and we spend not a small amount of time watching nails go in.
Of course, now that she crawls, there is no keeping the girl in one place. She has the will to explore.
Late in the day, Snowdrop and I go for a walk in her own neighborhood and it is again a grand promenade around the little lake.
("let's get going, grandma!")
The day passes so quickly! A few more moments of play in her room...
... and then, a spirited chase of her favorite buddies, the three cats...
(But as Virgil, the cat, prepares to run, she gets diverted by something more interesting: daddy's slippers.)
... and our day is done.
At home, Ed is still working on the door. I fix a supper of eggs and local oyster mushrooms. We lock up the hens, noting that Butter has returned to spending the evening on the fence by the coop. She's erasing memories. We're vigilant. The hens don't known this (or maybe they do?), but the predator returned last night and dug up the land around the coop. We're working hard to keep them safe.
The day was beautiful. The evening is quiet. And that's such a good thing.
Yikes! Barefeet and nails? And I'm not referring to Snowdrop.
ReplyDeleteOf all possible dangers that Ed confronts on a fairly regular basis I would not include love of walking barefoot. :) The guy is a metal machinist. He's safe around his work space.
DeleteI'm worried about the hens. Maybe dig a deep trench around the coop, fill it with concrete and top it with dirt? Does the chicken mama have any advice?
ReplyDeleteSan
Long ago Ed put wire fencing on all sides of the coop including on the bottom, so it's fine. I don't have any contact with former owners of hens.
DeleteI've always thought Snowdrop looks like her daddy but today when I scrolled down to the photo of her in the stroller, I thought "she looks like her mom here!"
ReplyDeleteThe running CW has been that she looks like her daddy and acts like her mommy! But occasionally, people see a whiff of something else: lately my mom says she looks like me when I was little. And to me she looks like her mom's little sister. But you're right, sometimes her mom comes through, especially in her eyes.
DeleteAnd Snowdrop does have long legs! Who gave her the genetic gift of long legs? (not Nina, haha) Can I get away with teasing you because MY legs are short? I never thought so until I stopped wearing high heels, and had to start buying Petite pants. It is disappointing to get shorter ;)
ReplyDeleteOur little chunky legged girl is walking all across the room now if she has her push-pull wagon. You can tell it is thrilling to her, and an effort that requires her concentration. Crawling is faster! In her home too, the cats are not safe. She has no concept of "gentle hands". Mostly they just escape. I worry because they've not been de-clawed, but again, Gramma needs to keep her little worries to herself.
JoyD, you can get away with a lot because you're never chiding. Ever. (And hilariously self deprecating!) But in this case, my retort is just too easy -- she gets long legs from ALL members of her family. Both parents, long legs, too, every last family member, including me. (Well, not my father. But everyone else.) She is also exceptionally tall. 50 percentile weight, 87 percentile height, consistently, all along.
Delete