So much to say

First, rabbits. I love rabbits. As in MMMMmmmm good. I know that will gross someone out, but I grew up in a family of hunters, and so I discovered they taste good before I realised most folks think of the Easter Bunny rather than dinner time. Someday I will post my favorite rabbit recipe. On the other hand, I hate rabbits. They eat my veggie patch, breed like.....rabbits, and generally make a nuisance of themselves digging holes where I definitely don't want holes. This year my dad's yard barn dropped approximately 10 inches into the ground due to them digging a burrow underneath it a few years ago that finally collapsed with all the weight on top of it. All that being said, how is it that I can sit for hours (literally) in the evening and watch a momma and 4 of her young playing in the back yard at my folks' place? Their yard is full of clover, which the bunnies love, and so I spent an entire evening sitting in the shade watching them hop around the yard nibbling here and there and exploring their world. DD and dad sat with me for a while, enjoying the peace of the evening. It was a really barefoot moment.

Second, DD has been really busy lately. She has resumed her piano lessons, and with the holiday weekend, there were all sorts of things for her to do. She spent the 4th with family out of state, and came back to watch the fireworks with my folks. As much as I love fireworks, I hate crowds so I opted out. She came home full of stories of all the fun things she had done and so tired she fell asleep in the middle of a sentence. Yesterday, DH and I took her to the beach for a few hours. The nearest decent swimming beach is about 30 min away, which is more than I care to drive with gas prices what they are, but it was well worth it. Three hours of watching the munch play in the water and make sandcastles was another totally barefoot time. I got horribly sunburned. I am a little ticked about it, because DD is a redhead just like me and she did not get burned at all. She tans, too. I think she got just enough of her dad's coloring to prevent the worst of redhead frustrations: burning within minutes but never able to tan. I am old enough now to realise that being tan is not necessarily healthy, but in my younger years I was so frustrated and ashamed that no matter what I did I could not seem to get the golden tan all my friends had. I even tried *gasp* tanning beds. All I got out of that was a rash from too much sun which faded into the same fish-belly whiteness as before.

Third, the spirits inhabiting my garden have heard my desperate pleas for food I can eat without worrying and have begun to provide bounty for my munching pleasure. Today I got 6 zukes, 3 summer squash, a handfull of radishes, and a bowlfull of snap peas. The beans (both kinds) are covered in blossoms, there are TONS of green tomatoes, about a dozen bell peppers the size of golf balls, broccoli heads the diameter of a pop can, and the cabbage is starting to head. It is enough to feed me for a couple of days, with the promise of more on the way. I am beside myself with happiness. I ate all the peas already, and they were so good. I love them raw straight out of the garden like that. All sweet and crunchy. The onions look pretty miserable, they are rather choked by weeds. I don't mind so much, though, because between the gallbladder issue and the pregnancy onions and I don't really get along right now. I will miss them if I don't have any to save for after the baby comes, though. I am a true onion fanatic. Everything I cook has onion in it. I am just so excited about all the veggies right now. I think the garden is doing really well considering how small it is and how little work I have been able to put into it the last few weeks.

I was looking at the compost pile at my dad's today, and I had to laugh. We don't do anything sophisticated, just two open bins where we dump lawn clippings and various compost-friendly materials. We let nature take it's course with only a few waterings and turnings a year to help and then reap the rewards every spring with nice compost for the garden. This year, however, there are 14 foot weeds growing out of the top of the bin. They are monsterous! We will have to get them out of there, but it is kind of cool how big they have gotten. I am tempted to let them go and see how tall they get by the end of the year. I suppose we have to do something, though, because the local stray cats like to have their kittens in the compost during the winter months. It always seems strange to go out in the back when there is snow on the ground and it's 10 degrees outside only to find a litter of 6 or 7 kittens peeking at you from the compost pile. They always seem content, and seem to survive just fine considering the population of stray cats in the area.

I have begun shopping for baby things. I have to keep reminding myself that no baby cares if you buy them all those fun little baby accessories. All babies care about is being comfortable, fed, and loved. It's just so hard when there is so much stuff out there and it is all so CUTE. I know that is a totally girly thing to say, and I should be ashamed of myself. I am the queen of making do or rigging something up. But when it comes to the new baby, the temptations are huge. All the adorable outfits, toys, coordinated bedding, swings, slings, bouncers, rattlers, etc are calling me even as I sit here. I know this is a test of my willpower. I will be victorious.