A visit from Sparrow

Just when I think there is NOT a lot going on around here, I take inventory and look around. We are looking after a friend's boxer for about elevenish days. Sparrow has been our house guest before on several occasions and I would say this time is running the most smoothly- so far! As a young boxer, actually as a boxer... Sparrow has quite a bit of energy. She has reserves past most of us in this house, although on this visit the kids are really playing with her quite a bit, more so than on other visits because Eva is less worried about being licked and Samuel is just discovering how much fun he can have running around with her. They have played fun games before, they just seem to be going on longer and throughout the day this time around. (Right now our dog Jack is wrestling with her on the sleeping bags Eva put out in the living room and Eva is running around pretending to be a baby boxer and asking me just how much energy a baby boxer would have! And now Samuel and Eva are going to throw bean bags at each other.)



Sparrow joins in with Eva and her babies after the big tea party. Nothing like a sleeping bag on the floor!

Samuel and I looked at a few Rube Goldberg contraptions today to give him some inspiration for his own contraption building. Samuel wants to build a cage out of wooden posts with string wound around them for bars. We do not have any wooden posts and there lies the problem and the need for further inspiration. I think it is wiser for me not to ask at this time who he is planning to put into the cage.
Honda's Rube Goldberg
Star Wars Rube Goldberg
Rube Goldberg Machines

Eva had two tea parties today- one with her animals and Samuel (as a last minute guest) and one with me. We had decaf green tea with lots of sugar and watermelon (which is showing up in the grocery store but which I would like to point out is really NOT in season in Oregon until August). Our tea party was interrupted several times to go out to the yard and haul Sparrow inside. She is barking barking barking at the neighbors dog, who is this sweet little black mix named Roxy and who I do not want Sparrow to bark and lunge and charge at. Roxy just stands wagging her talk looking a little confused because she normally just gets sweet talk and tail wags from Jack from our side of the fence.

Here is a photo of Eva climbing what she can find, wherever she can find it! This time our gate in the back yard.



We went fishing the other day with Samuel's new fishing pole he received as a Christmas gift from Grandma and Grandpa Pearson. Samuel has been waiting and waiting and also debating what he would do with the fish when he caught it. Well, the fish has a little more time to decide also because we didn't catch anything THIS TIME! He spent a good bit of time taking us from one point to another to find a good spot and then practiced reeling the line in and casting it out several times. We also adjusted the hook, the bobbing thing and the weight several times. What I learned is that when we go fishing, I spend a lot of time adjusting the fishing line. But! not as much time as when we tried it out last year and this new pole is really wonderful because it actually works (in the sense that when you reel it up, it comes up and when you cast it out, it casts out!) I did not get a picture, but don't worry- Samuel has other fishing plans in the works, including going fishing with a picnic lunch, because as he says, it isn't very much fun sitting there all hungry waiting for the fish!

And of course, I did not forget to include a photo of our recent bounty from our garden. Lot of chard, kale, peppermint and spearmint for sun tea, chives, chive flowers, onions and onion flowers. Tonight we had chard and kale with chickpeas and cilantro over tortellini. Oh and the big new is our first strawberries! And sure enough we are not the only ones. The u-picks say they are out as well so we will be heading out to pick strawberries for sure in the next couple of days!



This is the amazing lavender in our front yard!



I just read in You Grow Girl that people used to think there was a strong matriarch in the house if you had a large and thriving rosemary plant out front. Men would go out and smash down the rosemary plants in secret lest their friends catch sight of it! Here is our very healthy rosemary plant, right out front (wink).