a day in the life: thursday

[or] 
It is the summer of my smile...
Flee from me, Keepers Of the Gloom...

The day started out with a few reasons why we do things the way we do:

First, I had to scoot over to my mother's to pick peaches from her next door neighbor's tree.
Which meant I had to abandon my catching up and commenting on my blog visits.  (I was so determined to do that today!)
It also meant that I had to ditch my early morning sparklifying routine.
Eric was taking the truck fishing.... it's a "stay home" day for the rest of us.... it's a good time for it.
While there I picked some gorgeous plums...
Brought those home,

and went outside to see what was up in the garden.
Raspberries.
mmmm.
Well, then... better check on the blackberries.....
Madeleine joined in...

Better get the corn, while we're out here.

Well-- then let's head back to the veggie garden for greanbeans, cucumbers, and bells, shall we?

During the gathering, Madd picked up a friendly visitor.
She headed off (little known to me) to her bedroom to make a cage for it.
Came to me with, "Mom... what do box elder bugs eat?  Because I have one in my room, and I want him to feel comfortable."
Research requests, you see.

A few minutes later... "Mom, come here and let me read you this...." says Trev about unrelated research.
"Mom... I need your help." says Madd.  "I need your help with a picture of me, and you, and Soleil and Aubrey picking berries.  With my art paper."
and
"Ooooh, mom... look at this!  Isn't this In-stra-sting?" says Madd.
and
"Oooh, this pepper is spicy!"
and
"Oooh, Mom - look at this!  The marbles are getting smaller!"
"Oooh, Mom - look at this!  Their energy is built to fly!!"
and
"Can I have this corn?"

It's what, like 10:55?  The babes have been up for what, forty-five minutes?  : )

What am I going to do, say "No?"
"No, I can't come and listen to you read to me something you find fascinating."
"No, I can't come and see this morning's engineering design."
"No, I can't help you learn about that right now... we'll put Box Elder bugs on the schedule for next month," though I don't think that's what it was, actually.
"No, you can't have yet another of those delicious plums.... "
"No, you can't have that sweet, ten-minutes-old corn for breakfast" (along with the plums and the blackberries)...

"No, I can't take thirty seconds to show you how I would draw a slide..."

Hardly, friends.
So.
That's the why of it.
These are the sorts of things I would miss out on if I don't remain malleable and responsive - and eager to be engaged.
Might not seem very cool or suitable to anyone else, but this is the way we do things, and this is The Way that I feel most empowered and alive and truly happy.

Let's follow that up with a chocolate icecream cone (made by Herself), shall we?
Seems 'bout right.

The children get out to the river for some prehistory making,

and pretty soon the white playdough is out and made into eggs.
Mama wanders around, snipping chamomile and oregano and inspecting the bergamot and bee balm.

While waiting for their mother to make them some more playdough (for sculpting and painting),
Dinosaur Planet documentaries were on.  (Discovery channel films.)

"Mamas and Babies Attend The Parade".

More research on Discovery... this one comes from here...

Sculpting.
and scupltping....

(sculpting went on for at least two hours today...)
and working on Grandma's birthday present...

Almost done!

and sculpting.

And other stuff, too, maybe.

Talk shop and philosphy and life with another Mama friend...
and Dude.
Time for some LedZep and Oils.

"Mom!!"
I sighed.  I really did.  Loudly.
"I want you to see ALL of this...."
You've got thirty seconds, Dude..."Go!" I say.
ScoobyDoo - "Curse of the Lake Monster" - Trev
"Watch this, Mom!  It's like a screw!" - Madd
"Oooh, nice.  Yes!  Yes it is!"
"What??" asks the Mama.  "I have something on my head??  How can that be?"
Now... wasn't there something that I was doing???
Ah, yeah!

"It's like we have a party Every Day!!" says Madd.
"You know it!!"

Bright New Canvas.

Grammy stops by and brings some Outside Forces with her...
dun!,dun!, duuuuuun!....
(not her fault....)
and the tone swiftly switches (like that swuh-swuh business?)
to something different...
but equally lovely.

Looks like...

and...

Hmmmm.... "keepers of the gloom" plays again...

Mama breathes,
babes play together -peacefully- on the computers...

... and the world rights itself.

Well-- in that case,
we'd better take care of this thing, here...

Lots of hummingbirds, still, 

even though we've been out of reds and juice for while.

They're still visiting, so I figured it's the least we can do to help them in their final days...

or their Passin' Through....

It's 7:59... what's for dinner?
No idea.
Only in summertime can you get away with that....

And this...

all of this is so, so, so much.

It's the Everything, you know?

The music plays on in the backyard,
the lights are glowin,

and the crickets are singin'.

And...
Oh, yes.
There's the first Wishing Star.

Honestly,
it's one of those
"I could just cry for the Goodliness of it"
sort of days.
sigh.
What more?
Non.

Love, then.
And more, too.

'Til tomorrow.