Swimming with Snakes

Today turned out differently than we expected, but it was lots of fun!

Some of the moms in our homeschool group had mentioned on a couple occasions that we should get together for a Memorial Day picnic. I thought the plan was "firmer" than it turned out to be. I bought burgers, hot dogs, chips, etc., etc., and then only ever heard back from one mom about exactly when and where we were meeting. On Saturday she suggested that we have the get-together at our house, as the park would probably be packed, and I was agreeable (though with some trepidation, as it is a big group to have rampaging around ones house). But I never heard back from anyone. So....

We had our own, wonderfully delicious and Bountiful cook-out at home! I had made a huge bowl of potato salad, as well as baked beans and chocolate cake with caramel icing, and we had the burgers, dogs, chips, and lemonade all to ourselves. So ha! We would have enjoyed a get-together, but this was much more restful, and the kids are really pretty darn good company. We will be eating hamburgers and hot dogs a Lot for the next month, but it is good to have easy dinners during gardening season!

Afterwards we went to Stone Mountain. I was afraid it would be packed, but it wasn't too bad. There was a bit of a crowd at our favorite rock water slide, but no one was in the water when we got there. They were all talking about the three large water snakes which were frolicking in the pool. One woman told us how her dog had been bitten in the nose by one just last weekend, and she'd had to beat it off, and the dog's nose had bled all Over the garage. (The dog was undeterred, and was straining to get back in the water and have another go at those snakes.) Naturally, we went over to look for ourselves, and were treated to one of those great "predator-prey" struggles you usually only see on National Geographic specials! A good size water snake had grabbed hold of the back end of a nice little trout, and they were going round and round the pool together.

Finally a man hooked the snake out of the water so we could all admire him. The snake slipped back into the water, still holding the trout. A little later, the man pulled him out again, and this time the fish Got Away. Very cool.

The snakes reminded me of the story a friend of ours told in church on Sunday, about two men who were chatting in a coffee shop in Asheville. One man asked the other where he lived, and the second man answered, "I live so far back in the mountains that even the Episcopalians handle snakes!"

I had to explain it to Ed, but I thought it was funny.

The snake swam around for a while in a snit, then decided to climb up the rock, maybe to eat a few of those plump children peering down at him. Apparently it was a tough climb, though, and he settled in comfortably to just glare. So Travis and some of the other more foolhardy children slid down the rock for a while, while the parents kept a wary eye on the locations of the snakes.

Katie chose to slide down a much smaller slide, further up, into a little pool where no snakes had been sighted (today).

The water is surprisingly deep at the bottom.

Here is Travis trying to talk Katie into sliding down the rock with him again. He was unsuccessful.

Yesterday I dug and added peat & cow compost to my second little vegi bed. If the results were commensurate with the blisters on my thumbs, this garden would be spectacular. However...

Ed picked out the plants. I have three red pepper plants, two basil plants, some cucumbers, and some watermelons. Those little plants would have to produce a Lot of produce to make this garden an economy. But it is sort of thrilling to see Food growing in my own backyard! I may stop posting cat pictures and instead post my lovely little baby tomatoes. Aren't they sweet?

This is New Dawn. I planted it last spring, and it was the only rose I planted that hadn't bloomed by fall. It did grow, though. It spread in all directions, and has monstrously vicious thorns. I thought maybe Wayside had accidentally sent me some non-blooming mutant, and I told Ed that if it didn't bloom this year I was ripping it out (don't ask me how I thought I'd do that!). But now it is blooming. Loads of beautiful, soft pink flowers. I can forgive a lot of scratches for flowers like that!

And from the other side. (This is a big rose!)


And this is Amadeus. Isn't it fabulous?



And, just because I know my daddy is secretly developing a fondness for them...