May 5, 2014

I spent the first part of the morning, after dropping Harry off at school, repairing his brightly striped mini sock monkey (an Easter gift from Auntie Laura) who had sprung a "bean leak" from his left foot.  

Newly-repaired sock monkey.

We began finding roughly-shaped white plastic tiny little balls in Harry's bed, under the covers, on the floor near where he has his snacks, and in the seat of the big beige chair where Harry and I often snuggle just after waking up and coming downstairs in the morning.

I soon learned that Harry had discovered the small hole in the monkey's foot some time ago and thought it was kind of fun to push the beans out one by one.

I had collected them and put them into my eye glass case, saving them for the time when I actually learned exactly what they were.

Upon that discovery, we collected the ones from the upstairs shelf, the living room chair and the eye glass case and I told Harry I would repair his monkey while he was away at school.

I didn't want to make the hole any bigger than it already was, so I painstakingly pushed the missing 43 beans, one by one, back into the monkey foot, just as they had come out.

I sewed the hole tightly shut and sat the monkey back in the chair next to Bunny, where they will wait, together, for Harry's return.

Waiting.

.....

We are well into phase two of eradicating the moles from Mom's yard...the whole yard.

Last weekend I assembled the "Mole Chasers" that Mom had ordered online, after, of course, seeking out the best method of mole eradication while not harming the little fellas in any way.

Mole Chasers: windmill-like tops attach to an 8 foot pole.

She has had these "Mole Chasers" for some time already.  I remember them sitting just where they were still sitting when Harry and I were home visiting last May. I was supposed to put them together then, but I'm sure we just plain ran out of time during our visit. 

They were still there when we returned here to live temporarily, but other things have occupied my time.

I developed a new dedication to the project when Harry and I were outside in the front yard playing kick ball.  Poor Harry tripped over mole mounds every single time he ran after the ball, splatting to the ground at full speed.  

No mole messes with my kid and gets away with it!

We had tried to secure the "mole poles" for the project last weekend too, but we forgot to bring the dimensions needed for the pole and so we could only just look around and ask a few generic questions at Home Depot. 

Frustrating.

This time, we went to Farm & Fleet (that eclectic store that has a little bit of a lot of stuff) and secured the two (we actually needed three) mole poles of the appropriate dimensions that they had in stock. 

When we got back home, my brother-in-law was across the road in the barn yard, so I took advantage of the moment and asked him if he had any kind of tool to dig a pilot hole for a pole, or maybe something to just pound a pole into the ground?

The question was enough to bring him across the road to drive the poles into the ground himself, and then to get his crazy black grease to prime the fan structure at the point it connects to the pole, so that it would move easily in the wind.

The windmill top has a horizontal pipe that contains a small ball.  When the blades of the windmill turn, the ball moves, rattling along the pipe.  This sound (and vibration) is apparently very unpleasant to a mole.  They are eventually driven from the area of the sound (and vibration) to dig their little annoying tunnels (that cause havoc in my Mother's yard) elsewhere.

The Mole Chaser at work.

I will plant a solar-powered spike (operating on the same principal as the Mole Chasers) in the front yard today.

Our next step is to spread some Mole-X (distasteful - at least to a mole - pellets) that will be (we hope) the final phase of eradication, returning our mound-free ground to its former state.

 .....

Mom's spring flowers are beginning to bloom in full force, even though it's been really chilly.

Afternoon sunlit Daffodil.

Daffodils in the yard.

There are new kittens in the barn yard. 

The chickens are laying eggs again. 

The rhubarb is progressing nicely. 

I LOVE rhubarb pie, so I am especially...personally...concerned about the progress of the rhubarb...

New kitten.

Barn cat.

The chickens.

Soon-to-be rhubarb pie.

We've also made a few trips down the road to check on the pond and the lilies.

Happily, the pond is brimming with water.

The Trout Lilies are beginning to bloom, now that they have soaked up just a ray or two of bright sunshine that has squeezed between the clouds that have filled the sky.

The pond, the Trout Lilies and moss in the woods.

And there is always something interesting to investigate in the woods...

An old moss-covered hollow tree trunk.

.....

There has been a great deal going on in our family...much of it way too personal to share. But it's brought us closer than ever together...to help one another and support each other in need.

We are also blessed with a loving Mother who is our constant reminder of what real 'strength of character' and pure will looks like.

She has been an example to each of her children while we have struggled through our own grown-up challenges, coming out on the other side to thrive and grow still.
.....

I will be making plans to travel to Washington, D.C. for a more formal interview soon. 

Things are progressing there nicely too.