Things I Miss While I Am in Minnesota With Susan and Martha

1. can't go barefoot
2. horseflies
3. being nipped by a horse who is trying to groom me
4. feeling like I am not getting enough done while I'm here
5. having Brent rub my neck
6. reading scriptures aloud to Brent at night
7. knowing that I could be riding with more skill
8. my rabbits frisking me for treats
9. peeling the lizards
10. the challenge of waking Nate up in the morning
11. having Nate do my laundry
12. swimming in the pool
13. lizards, birds, spiders, frogs, snakes etc to photograph
14. palm trees and ferns
15. my garden
16. hugging Brent when he gets home from work
17. riding with Brent in the car on the way to/from meetings in Stuart, FL
18. Nate bringing Chinese food home for dinner
19. the emergency clinic near our house
20. not being able to talk with Brent lots of times during the day

Peter snooches underneath Nate's elbow to see if he can escape.

Here is a photo of Nate and Peter. Tonight Nate brought Peter in to see me while I did some computer stuff. After picking Peter up, Nate offered him a raisin--apparently Peter is still huffy about us leaving him for a week with just a twice-daily babysitter check. He refused the treat--"SMFFF!" He later accepted with his traditional exuberance. We must be forgiven.

End of semester and new rabbit food

Today Nathan finished his last final for the semester. I took my math final on Monday. We've decided to take another class during the 2nd summer session end of June to beginning of August. I will miss the time on-campus. I think that Nathan is looking forward to the lighter weight on his shoulders.

The rabbits have been adjusting to fresh grass as part of their daily diet. I hand-cut it from the borders around my flower/tree islands. When Brent and Nathan mow, the edges don't get weekly attention. This is a good reason to have them let me take care of at least some of the areas. Part of the challenge in this, though, is that right now, at the beginning, they have softer stools and so I have had to taken their rugs away. I cant's keep up with the volume of washing necessary to keep the buns "on rug." They need to be washed and re-washed every day clean out the "smudges". Kind of gross to think about, so I don't. They love the grass and it is actually a good supplement to their fortified timothy pellets and hay. Roo continues to love popped popcorn (unbuttered, unsalted)--Peter and Oops won't even try it. But she isn't happy at all with the generic corn puff cereal that I offer to her brothers. All of them love dried field corn, I will pop off a dozen kernels for each of them every few days. The ultimate treat--the one for which Peter will scale Nathan's upheld arm and Oops and Roo will cram themselves onto Nathan's lap-- is a freeze-dried apple bit. Specifically, it is an apple bit made by Gerber and distributed as "Graduates For Toddlers" mini fruits.

The weather has turned hot. It is still lovely and cool in the early evenings. The yard is in full bloom. The gardenia tree was so heavy with flowers that I had to prune it to keep the outer branches from breaking off. The jasmine has kept the back half of the property full of a honey-sweet fragrance. I planted starts by the trunks of two of our pine trees four years ago. They have taken root and climbed to 20 feet or more. One of our back fences and gates have become covered also. The chain link is now completely blanketed--beautiful and luxuriant. For its ability to convert an eye-sore into a wondrous, pleasant place--I am grateful for the vine's abundance.

It is April and my own computer is currently wounded. I am making due with the family-mostly-Brent-computer. He got himself a tiny portable for taking notes at his meetings. He has also begun to scan the huge pile of papers ("documents") that constantly surround him. I am trying to be supportive, but it seems that he needs more time to fix my "help" than it would take him to just do it himself. Kind of like having your toddler clean up his own spilt milk--you can either teach a principle--or actually get the mess cleaned up. I usually chose to work with the child first and then avoid the area until I could return to finish up the job alone. Brent doesn't have the luxury of so much time--so he suffers with patience and love--so that I can feel like I am an essential part of his life.
I had to pick up timothy hay yesterday. In the store, there were two entirely exquisite dwarf rabbits just come in from the breeder. I indulged myself and picked up the smaller of the two. She was black with doberman pincer markings--tiny puff-white bits of fluff and whisker on each side of her nose and mouth. Fearless, she got her bearings and then began to explore my shoulder and cheek. It reminded me of Peter when I first met him. He has continued to own the house--I didn't think that I could handle another type-A personality. I do pray, though, that she is adopted by a person with wisdom and intelligence who knows what it takes to provide a nurturing home for such an animal.
Rabbits, like toddlers, need space and time and understanding.

I started the idea for this blog when my daughters both decided to start their own blogs. I don't have any really cute little kids to take photos of right now. My kids are grown. I take care of our garden. I take classes at the local junior college. I live with a cat that wants to be petted, but doesn't want to be touched and two Uromastyx lizards who peel three times a year.

It is a different life from the constantly moggled existence I experienced with three children, school, piano lessons, doctor's appointments, moving every two to three years, making new friends, finding new doctors--now more sedate, but no less wonderful.

The three rabbits keep me in touch with what it is to care for something that really needs me. Peter Pumpkin-Eater, a dwarf Rex was the first to arrive. Oops! came next--a dwarf satin. Then Roo (short for kanga-roo), a sweet and spoiled bunny, also a dwarf satin, was a return at the place where I buy pet food. They couldn't put her back in with the others--and she needed us as much as we needed her.

It is a good experience to come into the kitchen in the morning and have three small, excited beings literally hopping around me. I am popular. I am wonderful. I am unparallelled in their universe.

I spend time and money on them, but I get so more much back in terms of pure adoration.