Monday in photos

Yesterday, Ed and I did a detour to Farm and Fleet and though I promised myself I would buy not a single tulip bulb (I lost more than half in spring to animals), in the end, I could not resist. Now, when to plant them?

I start this morning. By the end of the day I have 12 in the ground and about 100 various other bulbs still in the mudroom, waiting.

Also yesterday, I said to Ed that if I could only figure out how to fit the red wagon into my small Mazda, I would take it with me to Snowdrop's school and she and I would then go to the Arboretum for a spin up the grassy knoll. He and I practiced getting it in and out and when I finally could do it by myself in under five minutes, I breathed a sigh of satisfaction and planned my Monday outing with her.

It was not the greatest idea I've ever had. Pushing her nap to reap that beautiful afternoon sunshine may seem theoretically grand, but the little one is tired after school and she could not make up her mind if riding or walking were the way to go. In the end, she enjoyed a quick "picnic," but then was ready to curl up in the wagon as I wheeled her back to the car.

Of course, kids are a funny lot: one minute they're tired, the next minute they're not. By the time we came home, she was happy to go out into the garden, happy to feed the cheepers, thrilled to watch Ed fix his truck and not at all ready for a nap.

Go figure.

So of course, after her nap, we return to watching ah-ah fix the truck. Exasperated with rusted fasteners, Ed says -- "I'll get back to this later." Snowdrop says -- "ah ah pull wagon!" And then "ah ah read toot toot!"

It is, in the end, a very beautiful day. What you just read is amply illustrated below. I hope you had a chance to exhale all the news and news commentary out of your system -- just enough to enjoy a moment outside, no matter what the weather. And if it was as gorgeous where you are as it was here, I do really hope you have a chance to take it all in and smile at the beauty of all that grows and thrives around us.


(Breakfast. Sun room.)






(Don't you want to feed us some bread? Later!)






(This rose is almost the last to give it up for the year.)






(The new front bed is doing well. Thinking ahead to Spring, I  add a few bulbs.)






(Snowdrop in the wagon at the Arobertum.)






(The trees are just starting to turn.)






(A picnic?)






(Sharing.)






(A girl and her cow.)






(Where the wild birds roam.)






(Do you want to lie down and rest? Yes.)






(At the farmette, revived.)






(After nap: even more revived.)






(Wants so much to understand what grandpa Ed is fixing on his truck...)






(Begs him to take her for a wagon ride. He never says no.)






(Inside again, asking him to "read Toot toot!" Yeah, he does a great imitation of a train horn.)






The clouds move in and out, touching the moon, receding, returning, receding. Lovely and serene.