Squirrely (097/365)

 
“If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence.”

George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian) Evans] (1819-1880), British novelist. Middlemarch, bk. 2, ch. 20 (1872).

TIME:  6:51 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Squirrel

MonkeyBoy found a baby squirrel in our yard this afternoon.  We had a storm earlier this morning and the little guy probably fell out of the tree during the high winds we had.  He was pretty done for when MB found him.  I thought we should just leave him where he was, but I was outvoted.  The next thing I knew, a box and HandsomeHusband’s old undergarments were employed as a bed; the heating pad was taken out and HH was googling to find out what to feed the rodent.  I left the group to their devices and went on a bike ride (if I didn’t go tonight, I wouldn’t be able to go until Sunday).  While I was gone, HH fed him a sugar/salt/water mixture while MB snapped photos.  When I returned, I was sent out to purchase some puppy milk replacement.  They named him “Alex” (and it is a him – HH also has to press on the squirrel’s boy parts to get him to urinate).  *Sigh*  It doesn’t look like he has broken anything, but we don’t know if he has any internal injuries.  We’ll see if he makes it through the night, then take it from there.

Spiky-Winged Eagle (096/365)

 
“Sleep softly . . . eagle forgotten . . . under the stone.”

Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931), U.S. poet. The Eagle That Is Forgotten (l. 1). . . Oxford Book of American Verse, The. F. O. Matthiessen, ed. (1950) Oxford University Press.

TIME:  6:28 PM
PLACE:  School district office
SUBJECT:  Architecture detail

Lucky me, I was chosen as the parent representative from our school and assigned the task of attending the school district PTA council meetings for the months of March, April & May.  These meetings cover the annual end of year school picnic information and planning.  The meetings are at our school district office, which is located in our town’s old post office building.  This eagle, along with his spiky wings (to keep the birds from alighting on it), is located above the front entrance to the building.

The Trail (095/365)

 
“Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia.”
 
H.G. (Herbert George) Wells (1866-1946), British author. repr. In The Works of H.G. Wells, vol. 9 (1925). A Modern Utopia, ch. 2, sct. 3 (1905).

TIME:  6:42 PM
PLACE:  By the college
SUBJECT:  Bike trail

The kids were off school (final day of spring break) and by this evening I needed a break.  So I took another ride on the bike trail again this evening.  Plus, I weighed myself this morning – that was ugly – yeah, I need the exercise.  Last night I rode with my dad, but tonight I rode by myself.  I stopped to take this picture by the college where the trail ends.  It’s a pretty spot on the trail, with natural grasses and woods.  Then I rode to the end, turned around and headed home – another 9 miles in total tonight.  I hope to ride this about 3 times a week.  We’ll have to see how it goes.

Van Gogh Rabbit (094/365)

“The bunny, the bunny, oh, I ate the bunny
I didn't eat my soup or my bread, just the bunny
The bunny, the bunny, oh, I ate the bunny
And now I'm feelin' sick in the head from the bunny.”

Phil Vischer, *The Bunny Song (The New & Improved).* sung by Mr. Nezzer and the Asparagus Vocalists. Rack, Shack & Benny. Veggie Tales, Big Idea Productions, 1995.

TIME:  8:43 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Chocolate rabbit

I held out all day.  I even took a 9-mile bike ride.  Then at 8:40pm, my willpower crumbled and I could resist no longer.  I ate the bunny’s ears.  They were good too.  Happy Easter.

Planter (093/365)

 
“Concrete is, essentially, the color of bad weather.”

William Hamilton (Scottish metaphysician. 1788-1856)

TIME:  7:10 PM
PLACE:  Front yard
SUBJECT:  Concrete planter

This concrete planter is one of a pair that flanks the bottom of our front porch steps.  In a few weeks, I shall fill it with annuals from our garden center.  I’ve been filling it with blue and purple flowers for the past couple of years, but this year I am feeling the need for some bold and bright colors, like a mixture of oranges and shocking pinks.  We’ll see what the garden center has to offer.

He’s Back! (092/365)

  
“The clever men at Oxford
Know all that there is to be knower.
But they none of them know one half as much
As intelligent Mr. Toad!”
 
Kenneth Grahame (1859-1932), British essayist, writer of children's books. The Wind in the Willows, ch. 10 (1908).

TIME:  10:01 AM
PLACE:  Back yard
SUBJECT:  Toad

Our little, warty friend, Mr. Jeremy Fischer, has returned.  He greeted StellaDella this morning as she was searching under the landscaping pavers for worms and bugs.  SD insists that he is the same toad.  I’m not sure, all toads look alike to me.  If it is the same toad, I wonder where he spent the winter.

A Red, Red, Rose (091/365)

“The red rose whispers of passion,
And the white rose breathes of love;
O, the red rose is a falcon,
And the white rose is a dove.”

John Boyle O'Reilly (1844-1890), U.S.-Irish writer. A White Rose (l. 1-4). . . Oxford Book of English Verse, The, 1250-1918. Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. (New ed., rev. and enl., 1939) Oxford University Press.
 
TIME:  7:02 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  Anniversary rose

Today marks HandsomeHusband’s and my 15th wedding anniversary.  (See here and here for wedding photos of us)  We will not be going out to celebrate until either tomorrow or Saturday night.  MonkeyBoy had baseball practice otherwise we would have gone out this evening.  That’s the way things go when you have kids.  Oh well.  HH brought me a bouquet of three beautiful long stem roses, one yellow, one pink and one red.  I wasn’t expecting flowers so it was so very nice to receive them.