A Couple Of Vacation Days From Work

There are eggs under her!

The Husband decided to take some time off.  A rarity for him.  I think he just wanted to give himself a birthday present.  He wanted no: commitments, schedules, demands or deadlines.  Just wanted to take things as they occurred to him.  I think he's been successful so far.  1 1/2 days down 1 1/2 days to go.

Earlier this spring I kept asking him to check the maple trees in the back for robin nests.  None was always the answer.  Until Sunday evening.  Our grandson spotted this robin mama sitting on her eggs.  I keep trying to catch a glimpse of the nest without her, no luck so far.

Growbox #1 

Yesterday morning we managed to get one of the growboxes glued together.  This has been a multi-year project, being fit in when we can.  The vinyl fencing for the boxes was one of those tender mercies meant just for us when we really needed one.  (Each time we work with the vinyl I remember that Saturday evening and how my heart was warmed.)  There will be three of these boxes The Husband will fill with a sand / sawdust mixture for planting.  I'm hoping next summer will find us harvesting some vegetables!

Volunteer Maple.

This little area adjoining the soon-to-be-hauled-off-for-powder-coating-railing was filled a couple feet high with vegetation just 3 days ago.  This morning the roots of all the rosebushes were dug out and everything cut down to the dirt.  What seemed like an overwhelming amount of work (to me) The Husband accomplished in just a few hours.  And see there - that 3 foot maple?  That's a volunteer The Husband discovered a couple years ago.  He is quite protective of it.  I hope we're here long enough to see it give us lovely shade. We've loved those crimson king maples!

I'm grateful today for paid vacation days for The Husband.  (I think it does those brain cells good to have a change of scenery once in a while, to use them in a different way.) I'm grateful for yummy pizza (The Pie is a favorite of ours) for lunch, and enough to spare for a late dinner as well.  I'm grateful for plenty of good books to read and for reasons to celebrate.  I'm grateful for beautiful things that grow around us (sometimes in spite of my lack of gardening skill) and for late night thunderstorms.