friday

much of our day today was filled with friends.
always nice!

we've also had much of the usual favorites -
swimmin'
runnin'
computer games
cannon-ballin'
prehistoric scene creations

and other favorites, too--
popsicle eating-
creating with paints and glue
drawing on sidewalks
swinging...

and some not-quite-ordinary things...
lassos
rockets
planning a friendly sort of party for tomorrow
and building hide-outs.

everyone is gone, now,
and 'tis quiet and pretty still.
the mama of the house has been walking around with a lovely quart jar filled with ice water,
giving love and water to her gardens.
do you love this chore?
is it so therapeutic, sometimes?
calming,
relaxing,
replenishing?

I finished up, and saw Little Son studying something on the back of his hand..
"What have you got there, Bud?"
"A mosquito."
"Oh.."
"It hasn't bit me yet, it's just walking around tickling me."
"Oh..." I was interested that he was just studying it-- not something I've ever done.
"Here it goes... it's bitten, and its abdomen is turning red.  Filling up with blood."
I was very impressed, as this is not something that I know about.
"I think it does it to feed the eggs in its abdomen..."
I couldn't resist, I had to look it up.
he is right.  males and females eat fruits and nectar, but females need protein for eggs, so they draw blood.  and the abdomen does, indeed turn red.
wow.

a little more quiet puttering around the backyard brought me to a noise that I've been hearing but not fully noticing the last few days.. mostly I've "heard" it as the dogs whimpering (either next door or our Annabelle - though I've noticed it's not her when I hear it) - as they want in, or something.  really high pitched squeaking.  tonight I noticed a bird fly out of the ivy as I neared, and I realized that she has a nest in there. 
I heard the peeping, and called to the children to come hear.
we stood there, listening to the babies, and watching the parent bird flitting about, fussing and wondering when we were going to let her continue on, uninterrupted.
it was really lovely for us to realize that we can provide safe habitat for Life, continued.

simple things, these days of ours are sometimes filled with,
but wondrous and beautiful, just the same.