Some random snapshots on my camera, the first being the bunnies we visited last week. Honeyberry and Peppermint are doing great. I wouldn’t have gone to visit them if I thought it would upset Bracken, but I knew he would love seeing them and the visit was a very happy one for us. It filled my heart to see just how very loved those bunnies are. And they are so sweet and patient while they get dressed up in doll clothes and taken on stroller rides around the yard. (I told you those were some loved bunnies!)

It’s funny how sometimes you go back and forth about a decision and then some time passes and you can see it all so much more clearly. We had a hard time making the decision to find a home for those bunnies, but when I see them now in their new home getting so much love and attention, the decision feels so right. I have no more guilt, just a good feeling knowing they’re right where they’re meant to be, knowing that it was the best decision for everyone.

And during our visit Bracken made instant friends with the children in their family, just like when we first brought the bunnies to their new home. He showed them his pet bugs (he always has pet insects these days- stink bugs, rollie pollies, caterpillars, ladybugs, butterflies, moths… you name it) and they went right outside to flip a rock over and find more pet bugs for him. He also got to hold four snakes at one time, which was a first for him. (The garter snakes they caught in the garden.) Bracken’s great-grandfather (a snake lover) would be proud. One of his new friends showed us his garden and Bracken came home with a plant for his own garden. He felt right at home with those kids.

Visiting the bunnies was a fun part of our week. The parts that were not fun were: our upstairs toilet breaking and a bat in our bedroom one night. We’ve been using the downstairs toilet in the meantime. It’s a little inconvenient when you need to go to the bathroom in the night (with our bedroom being upstairs), but it’s much better than having to go outside to an outhouse, which is what I remind myself to keep the inconvenience factor in perspective. I was overwhelmed by all the toilet choices at the local home improvement store. Should we spend a little more to get a better toilet or does it really matter? I have no idea about these things.

And the bat- yikes! I’ve come a long way since living out here with my fear of spiders, snakes, mice, and rats… but I’m still afraid of bats. (Don’t get me wrong, I’m still afraid of a few of those things on my list as well, but I’m less afraid of them than I used to be.) I don’t like putting the chickens away at night because sometimes bats swoop too low for my comfort, but even worse than that is having a bat with you in an enclosed space, let’s say- like in your bedroom! I wish I could say it was the first time it ever happened, but many years ago we had a similar scenario. (I had opened our window and there was a gap in the screen, apparently bats can squeeze in pretty small spaces. Needless to say, I won’t be opening that window again until we get a properly fitted screen!)

I was up working that night. After Christmastime, Bracken stopped napping. He turned five in October and I wasn’t sure how long the naps would continue, but there was some re-adjusting when that time finally came. When he took his nap each day, that’s when I had my computer work time. At first, I wasn’t sure how I would get my work done anymore. Now I either wake up early in the morning or stay up after he goes to sleep at night. Sometimes I squeeze some computer work in at other times, but during the beginning of the day or the end of the day is usually how I do it. I was pretty set against staying up at night for many years because my sleep time was something I guarded. (I think you learn to value that time more than ever after experiencing sleep deprivation with a baby.) But I’ve learned to be flexible and I actually like our daily schedule even better without his naptime, which I didn’t think I would at first.

Anyway, back on topic. I had just finished my computer work and was coming to bed for the night. Jeff and Bracken were already both asleep. After I crawled under the covers, I heard some noises in our room. What in the world? I turned on the flashlight and saw a dark spot on the floor. Was it a mouse? And then it flew up in the air. Gah! No, not a mouse. A bat. I covered my head with my blanket and tried to be calm. I woke Jeff up to inform him that there was a bat in the room. He was a hero and gently caught it with a net and released it outside. But I had anxiety for quite awhile after that and it took me forever to fall asleep.

It’s funny what I end up writing about sometimes when I come here to talk about something completely different. In other random snapshots- we came home from the Wildflower and Music Festival with some flowers and other plants for the garden, small ones we could fit in our car along with our booth and display, (and a beautiful handout on cultivating a bee-friendly wildflower garden from Beyond Toxics, which I thought was so pretty it could be hung on a wall.) One of the things I’m most excited about are the tree collards (!) we got from Fern Hill Nursery. I had never heard of them before.

We have a lot of catching up to do in the garden right now with seeds to plant and starts to go in the ground. (Oh, and our peas are getting tall and are flowering, but no peas yet.) We’re having a rare (and much-needed) weekend at home and if we can get caught up around the house and for the business, I’m hoping we can squeeze in some garden time soon. What am I talking about? I don’t think we’ll ever get caught up with those. Either way, we’ll need some garden time to balance it all out, right? Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

P.S. What’s cuter than little knitted baby booties? Little knitted baby booties on adorable baby feet!