Rainy Day Stories

"Count the garden by the flowers, never by the leaves that fall.  Count your life with smiles and not the tears that roll."  ~Author Unknown

I heard a rumor the other day....

I heard someone say that it's almost June, but I don't believe  it.   Yes, it's still raining and we are now beginning to break records for not only the wettest May, but also the coldest.  Anyone tired of me whining yet?  I'm tired of hearing me whine, lol.    Yesterday was 47 degrees, today was 48.  We've had rain for the past week, and there is no end in sight.  As I type, we are being pounded by a nor'easter.  The wind is howling outside, and at this hour it sounds eerie, ghost-like.  Wind gusts are up to 50mph....  If I were a very religious person, I would be taking my cues from Noah and begin building that ark .....now.   

On Monday, during a very brief lull in the rain, I decided it was time to plant my garden.  I rented a 20' X 40' garden plot from a neighborhood church for $15.00.  Although I have a large yard in which I could have planted a garden, I thought that it would be more fun being part of a community garden.   Besides, I don't exactly have a green thumb, so my crops can use all the divine intervention they can get....  When I got to the field, there were no other plots planted.  But I was determined to get my plants into the ground before June.  I had only been working for about 15 minutes when the rain began again.  I put on my windbreaker and continued to work for 2 hours in 50 degree temps and rain.  I planted 4 bell pepper plants, 19 tomato plants, 6 cabbage plants, 11 broccoli plants, a package of carrot seeds, a package of snow peas, and then I planted wild flowers along the perimeter. 

By the time I finished I was soaked and covered in a thick layer of mud.  But it was worth it, I accomplished what I set out to do, and as I left the garden I felt quite proud of myself.  That is, until I climbed into the  van and realized that the van was stuck in the mud.  Really stuck.  What a sight I must have been walking home in the pouring rain, covered in mud.   When Mike got home he had to use the truck to tow me out of the mud hole that the van had sunk in.  I'm hoping that my tiny plants can hold up to this storm.  I guess we'll see....       

Last weekend Mike, Spencer and I went white water rafting.  In the rain of course, but hey, at least it was a balmy 52 degrees.  We went with a bunch of my co-workers and their families, 22 of us in all.  No, we weren't alone in our insanity.   Spencer fell out of his raft in a class four rapid.  He didn't spend too much time in the water, and was pulled back in very quickly.  We all had such a blast that we are planning another trip in July.  Hoping for warmth and sunshine. 

The last bit of sunshine in our lives this week is in the picture above.   Since we have had no luck with bunnies, we have been thinking of getting a kitten for Sammi.  We were planning on this summer, but this little tiger kitten came into our lives sooner than expected....  A co-worker has a mother cat who gave birth to five kittens... then she found 3 abandoned kittens from another litter outside.  After rescuing those three and thinking that the Mother cat would never notice, she slipped them in with the other five.  Well, Mom didn't appreciate that.  Not only did she reject the three extra kittens, but she rejected her five other kittens too.  So my co-worker had been hand raising all eight kittens since they were 3 weeks old.  When this little kitten was given to us, it was 6 weeks old.   

Sammi took one look at this little kitten and decided that his name should be Gilbert.  Because no one could tell exactly what sex he was, I agreed that Gilbert was a wonderful name.  On Tuesday, we took the kitten to the vets.  Everything was perfect except that Gilbert is definitely a girl.  I suppose in time we'll shorten her name to Gilly.  This little 1 lb creature is a bundle of energy, making us all laugh with her funny antics.  It's been years  since I've had a kitten around, I had forgotten how much fun they are.  She's fearless and has had no problems trying to make our 50 lb dog back up when it gets too close for comfort.  Sammi has hardly taken out any toys since the kitten arrived, and if I didn't make her put the kitten down, it would be carried all day long.  Hoping that this kitten won't mind getting dressed up in clothes, because I can tell that  will happen in the near future.  Little Mikey can breathe a sigh of relief, Sammi has someone else to dress up now....

                       ....and someone new to love