Meanwhile, it was a balmy day and I mentioned to Gregg that I hadn't been able to get the spade into the earth to dig up the last bed of carrots. Chunks of cold earth stuck to the carrots, but he was able to get the best of the crop out of the ground!
He brought the carrots up the hill to my garden shed and set up one of the hoses so he could wash most of the dirt away before the carrots came indoors.
Griffin came home a little early and decided it was the perfect day to get rid of the small tree that had fallen across the field during that same storm.
Since he had Gregg to help, the next job Griff tackled was to put the solar panels into their winter position...
The winter position is almost completely vertical to catch the low sun, as well as let snow easily slide off.
One of my goals is to get green plants to hide the concrete bases. I don't mind looking at the panels, but the concrete isn't aesthetically pleasing!
There are actually a few sprigs of a small bush next to Gregg's right foot. It was just planted this past summer and it'll take a few years before that bush helps. Obviously, since it loses its leaves, even then it isn't going to help much during the cold months.
Ursula read about what she would need in order to find some fairies. She needed salt...not a problem. Metal was on the list, but it was in the binoculars and in the toy bugle she borrowed. (I'm not sure why she wanted the bugle...it wasn't on the list in her book.) She also needed some greens and flower petals. I could locate those easily. Everything went into her over-the-shoulder sack.
By then the turkey was in the oven so I was free to keep her company...
Her first observation post was on the upper deck where she could look down on the bird feeders outside my nook windows. She had a small notebook in which she carefully drew what she was hoping to see.
Eventually we walked over to the neighbors' deck where there were dense evergreens that enabled birds and other small creatures to hide inside.
No fairies sighted so we headed for the tree house that Griffin had built across the road in hopes of spotting coyotes some day.
The next day the green sweatshirt got left behind as we checked out that tree house again.
I made it up the ladder, but didn't try to actually climb into the box, much less straddle the tree branch while standing on the edges of the box.
Since fairies apparently like bright colors, Ursula had William wearing all of my Mardi Gras beads.
William cooperated by keeping us company, but his decorations didn't attract any fairies that we could see.
I wasn't about to join the crowds on Black Friday (the name for the day after Thanksgiving when big stores offer limited bargains to create a shopping madness). Instead, I suggested a trip to a local bookstore, Misty Valley Books, owned by Bill and Lynne Reed. (Bill taught for a year in France before being the French teacher at Black River HS during many of the years I taught there as well.)
Ursula jumped at the chance to go to a book store. She had $5 to spend and found a book for that amount of money. Then she found a small catnip pillow for $3. I told her I'd buy the book so she could buy the catnip.
Over the years I have kept the Legos that my two boys played with when they were young. Out they came for Ursula. Sarah enjoyed her knitting while keeping an eye on her daughter.
The other weekend "guests" were the big bears! They often become floor pillows or dance partners.
When Ursula and her parents left, the bears went back to their off-duty resting places...the smallest one to the child's rocker in the attic bedroom and the largest to Griff's parlor on the loft where it fills one of the overstuffed chairs.
They will all be back to celebrate Christmas...
Carol-
ReplyDeletegreat to "meet" your granddaughter. She's a sweetie.
happy holidays -Ruth