animal planet, dolores edition

it's been very interesting in my yard lately. there are all sorts of fascinating new dynamics, a new chain of command.

i am busy trying to keep the chickens from eating the plants,

the cats from eating the chickens,

and molly from eating the kittens...

it's a bit stressful.

(the girls have named the kitties ellis, ellie, and elmer.)

and, can you keep a secret? the main reason we are not keeping a kitten (aside from the fact that we already have two cats) is that hazel is getting a bunny for her upcoming birthday! if you know hazel, you know that she is obsessed with bunnies. well somehow glenn came up with the decision that she could get a bunny of her very own when she turned eight. apparently, all year at school all she ever wrote about was bunnies and how she could get one when she was eight. so recently when glenn saw hazel's teacher she said "shame on you for not letting hazel have a bunny." and it worked. glenn decided that hazel should be allowed to have a bunny now. we will be surprising her on her birthday on june 14th and i can hardly wait. here she is:

the future "daisy", for that is what hazel always says she will call her bunny.

patty put an ad on craigslist for me, saying i was looking for a baby bunny that would be ready to leave its mama around june 14th. the woman who is holding this little dear responded. she raises bunnies for meat and said she didn't see why they couldn't be pets. (i know, tragic, right? we're saving her from certain death.) she told me to come over and pick one out so she could be sure to handle it a lot and prepare it for life as a pet. i went over there yesterday and this is the little one i picked. she is a rex rabbit, known for being very soft and very intelligent. i absolutely cannot wait to give her to hazel. she is going to freak out. today i went and got the cage and all of the accessories for her. how fun. it will be a "house rabbit" and we will litter box train it; i did this with the pet rabbit i had in my classroom when i was a teacher. she will also have a hutch outside.

there are also lots of beautiful things growing in my yard right now.

this is an iris from a bulb that i planted seven years ago.

they have never come up until now.

columbines

and the lilacs are smelling fabulous.

okay, and here's the food i am growing this year:

peas

tomatoes

(yes, i planted them too close together. glenn and i are building a new bed and i will split them up tomorrow.)

eggplant

squash

cilantro

basil

cantaloupe

and strawberries.

i've also got potatoes, onions, green onions, peppers, cucumber, brussel sprouts, lettuce, mixed greens, chard, and carrots in the ground. so exciting! what are you growing?

and i hope that there is something in your life right now that brings you this much joy.