The Great Squirrel Rescue

I took Lanie for a scooter ride the other day, she was naturally dressed like Elsa, and I had Jack on his leash. Sam was supposed to be playing online Risk with a friend. That involves being on Google Hangout and Risk at the same time, preferably on two different devices. Chris wasn't home.

So Lanie and I got about 5 houses down when my the mom of Sam's friend starting texting that it wasn't working. I told Lanie we had to go back when she spotted a squirrel lying on it's side, smack in the middle of the sidewalk. She peered at it and had a very hard time leaving it, meanwhile Jack wanted to play with it or eat it, unclear.
I finally get Lanie turned around to go back to the house. We got the front and I asked her to wait for me. I went inside to get Sam up and running, and finally got the friend and his mom on Google Hangout, just as Lanie burst in to tell the kids that she found an injured squirrel. They were out the door in a flash, barefoot, and I was left holding the iPad trying to explain. So I chased them down the street, with the iPad and the dog. Of course the iPad cut out a few houses down so we had to repeat the whole exercise.
I got Sam back inside with and finally set up, the dog inside and went back outside to find Vivian with a snow shovel with the squirrel on it parading up the street with Lanie/Elsa. To make it even better, the whole time this had been happening, a neighbor was being socially distance surprised for her birthday by family with a cake and balloons. So my children ran around them to get to the squirrel, to return to the house, and then to "rescue" the squirrel.

Long story short, Vivian built the squirrel a nest, with a roof (because it was raining and windy during this whole experience). They cut it up apple and got it water and wanted me to go to our neighbor who is a vet to get advice. I didn't. Eventually the squirrel somehow propelled itself out of it's nest and lay on the ground next to it, still breathing. I was trying to put together a raised garden bed, but was getting updates on the squirrel (who they thought perhaps had Coronavirus or a head injury). 

 The squirrel did not make it through the night and when Chris finally reappeared, he got to bury it. The big kids understood but were really sad. Lanie thought his mommy squirrel "took him to her nest, because his brother and sister squirrel were very sad. Then she gave him medicine and a treat, that was one single cupcake."

 Just to completely make the whole experience as traumatic as possible, the children decided to make time capsules. This was a great project that took a few hours. (I did have to talk them out of putting $20 in it though, which apparently they had done in the past). So of course, the first place Vivian digs,  there is the squirrel tail. I heard her gasp and turned around to see the fluffy tail.

The buried the capsules in a new location, next to my raised bed that I somehow completed. The squirrel can rest in peace.

Vivian's Garden Outfit

Vivian helped me plant some Hostas that my mom brought over.  This is what she did with the leaves that fell off.

As oppose to Kate Middleton's recent spread of her children frolicking in their gardens.

Garden

Our little garden is yielding some vegetables!  We have cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans, and a solitary eggplant.  Rabbits ate our kale and some other plants.  There wasn't much here except evergreen shrubs when we moved in and the soil isn't great.  The soil has a lot of clay and it also hasn't rained much this summer, so I am pleasantly surprised.  Vivian has helped me with the garden so she's excited.

Watching the Lawnmower

Sam likes to watch Chris mow the lawn from the upstairs deck.  When I walked by yesterday, he was out there with his trains lined up next time him.  When I asked, he told me, "trains watch Daddy mow lawn too!"
(If you look closely, there is a line of trains next to his left foot "watching" the lawnmower).

In the Garden

Outside is still one of Sam's favorite places to be.  He has a little set of gardening tools now.  A spade that I had bought for science in the classroom years ago, a rake that my parents dug up in their shed and repaired, a snow shovel that has become useful in all seasons, and to his great delight, the Easter bunny brought him a Radio Flyer wheel barrow at Easter time!  He will run across the yard with it, calling, "Eas-ta bunny bwought Sammy wheel ba-row!"  Everyday when we get home, he wants to be in the backyard.  He is usually moving dirt from one location to another random spot on the lawn.  Our grass looks like it has little pitcher's mounds all over it.

GrandJoe recently built a beautiful and elaborate, very strong gate to contain Sam, which Sam will affectionally pat, and say, "GrandJoe build gate," as he unlatches it ; )  We are working on the latch.  It is very exciting to come home and find GrandJoe and Nelson building the gate, rain or shine.  Sam immediately needs to get underfoot, or into wet concrete, or under the scaffolding.

They have started a gate on the other side of the house now.  This gate is still under construction and has two holes for the granite posts, that are not quite filled in.  They are wonderful for putting things into however and for splashing in.                                                                              Sam is getting the concept of putting plants and flowers in the ground, sometimes they are a little mangled when they are finally planted though.  The garden was a little neglected these past two summers, since he required much more attention.  It's starting to shape up though and it's fun to be out there with him.

Gardening in March

The unseasonably warm weather has made us think about starting the garden, or at least get the pots ready and (a little late), start seedlings.  Here are photos of Sam helping.

Sam's Tomato Harvest

It turns out having Sam "help" with the garden this year was not our most thought-through decision.  This is his latest (and the last of!) our tomatoes.  He's a lot faster than we are when he decides to pick them and a lot less discriminatory about the color of the fruits.