The first nine days of April just dragged on, and on, and on as we awaited for little Olivia June's arrival. In the meantime, we went shopping for plants and brought home eight Forsythia to plant along our property line....
For awhile there it looked like Spring had, indeed, arrived. I even found two ticks on Gabriel. So I had to get him to the Groomers for his Spring/Summer haircut since you have to wait three days after they're bathed before applying the Frontline Tick & Flea medicine on him. For years I used natural means to keep the ticks & fleas off. Then two years ago a rabbit made her burrow in one of my flower beds and Gabriel brought her fleas into the house, giving them to Poetry, too! That was a battle to get rid of the fleas. So now I treat Gabriel so I don't have to also treat Poetry. This is Gabriel when I brought him home. He wouldn't come in the house--just sat in the front yard giving me the evil eye. Can you tell he was mad at me? He HATES getting groomed....
Then, finally! We got the call just after 10:00 p.m. April 9th. Olivia June (nickname Olive) had arrived at 9:33 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. 7 oz., 20.5 inches long. Mother and child were doing fine. We went to see her at the hospital the next morning. This is her grandpapa holding her little hand....
By the middle of the month my Daffodils were in full bloom....
I started buying flowers for my pots and potted them up in my little potting shed....
The next time we got to see little Olive was on Easter. To make things easier for the new parents we (both sets of grandparents) carted everything to our youngest son's apartment which was in the same complex. Our middle son and his wife joined us and with the addition of the other grandparents' guest from Sweden there were 10 of us, plus Olive. I made Susan Branch's bunny cake recipe. It turned out yellow because of the pineapple in the icing since the coconut topping which would have made it white is a no-no in my family. We made things easy and used paper plates. The other grandmother's flowers helped to pretty up the table....
When Olive began to fuss soon after her momma started eating (there must be a written baby rule somewhere to do this) I volunteered to take her. Eating can wait. Holding granddaughters can't. Gabriel was very interested in what was getting my attention....
The puddle will eventually soak into the ground, but the two wild cherry trees that toppled over, roots and all, will have to be cut down.....
For awhile there it looked like Spring had, indeed, arrived. I even found two ticks on Gabriel. So I had to get him to the Groomers for his Spring/Summer haircut since you have to wait three days after they're bathed before applying the Frontline Tick & Flea medicine on him. For years I used natural means to keep the ticks & fleas off. Then two years ago a rabbit made her burrow in one of my flower beds and Gabriel brought her fleas into the house, giving them to Poetry, too! That was a battle to get rid of the fleas. So now I treat Gabriel so I don't have to also treat Poetry. This is Gabriel when I brought him home. He wouldn't come in the house--just sat in the front yard giving me the evil eye. Can you tell he was mad at me? He HATES getting groomed....
Then, finally! We got the call just after 10:00 p.m. April 9th. Olivia June (nickname Olive) had arrived at 9:33 p.m., weighing 8 lbs. 7 oz., 20.5 inches long. Mother and child were doing fine. We went to see her at the hospital the next morning. This is her grandpapa holding her little hand....
Every nice-weather day we worked in the yard and gardens so we only managed to get to one of the many Spring events held in our area. You can read about the Ft. Frederick Market Fair here which we visited on the 25th....
It has not been a particularly wet month....until today. The deluge has probably washed away all of the grass seed on the sloping areas. It has flooded one of my garden beds and spilled over into the walkway....
These April showers will surely help bring the May flowers. The Redbud is already in bloom....
And the Dogwood is just about fully opened....
I hope you've all escaped the violent weather that has been moving across the country. Hopefully, things will settle down in May. Here's wishing you May Flowers in abundance!
You had some big events this month, Cathy, I love the picture of you, Olivia and Gabriel. Wow your daffodils are a sight to behold! The next thing in our yard are the peonies. They are about to burst open. They give us a big show for about two weeks.
ReplyDeleteDotsie, your comment did not come the regular route. I found that someone else who uses their Google Profile to comment also comes only to my Admin account. I will make a practice of checking it every day so I don't miss people's comments! My peonies are still only shoots less than a foot high. We live on a 1,000-foot mountain which I think delays some things. I have about 20 plants that along our open area where they can get some sun. They usually get eaten by the deer, though, before the blossoms open. I'm thinking of putting deer netting around them year. The only ones that get to bloom are the 15 plants I have in my front yard. I hate to cut them because they make my yard look so pretty.
DeleteCathy, you have had a busy April. Your granddaughter is just beautiful. How nice of the two Grandmothers to bring dinner for all at Easter. It's nice when all the families get together and celebrate the birth of a child. Your garden is lovely and I am surprised that your dogwoods are not fully opened yet. Our garden looks like yours today. I don't ever remember seeing so much water around our home. My rain gauge says we have received 4 inches in the past two days. That's a lot of rain. Unfortunately, our sump malfunctioned and we had water in the basement this morning. Luckily, my husband was able to open it so it would drain properly, so no more water came in. Needless to say, we have been pulling up carpeting and padding. We are running fans and hope we will be able to save the carpeting. Hope your weather is safe this evening, my friend. ♥
ReplyDeleteMartha Ellen, I'm sorry to hear about your basement flooding. We had a basement flood once from a burst pipe just before we were to go on vacation. Only one room had carpeting, but I never replaced it. I just use an area carpet now. We are due for more rain tonight. We have a leak in the porch roof, but so far no leak in the basement--which we've had in one corner before because of a clogged drain pipe. I heard that Washington, DC had 5 inches today. Parts of a road in Baltimore caved in taking 10 parked cars. It seems the weather is once again dominating conversations! Take care and get dried out soon!
DeleteApril was quite the month for you! Gabriel looks very nice, even if he wasn't happy about having been to the groomers. I shudder at the thought of ticks! Hopefully the flea and tick medicine works.
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of you holding your beautiful new granddaughter Olive, and Gabriel trying to figure out who had displaced him. When my new granddaughter Lucy was here for the first time last September and I was standing in the kitchen holding her, Fergus stood there, looked me in the eyes, and proceeded to pee on the floor. I could not believe it! Other than that one incidence of jealousy he has been fine with her.
That must have been a sight to see! And precisely why I took Gabriel with us to meet Olive in neutral territory. We'll have to see what he does the first time she comes here.
DeleteOlivia is just beautiful, Cathy. A genuine little dolly-face. Are you having a hard time avoiding the color pink lately? Funny about that baby rule too! "Wait until your mom starts to eat her own dinner - then begin to make a racket..." Here in the Finger Lakes, we've had A LOT of rain in the past few days. I don't know any numbers but have been hearing it almost non-stop - even the gutters are roaring with rain. And today my wind chimes at the front door - which faces west - are getting a workout too. Hopefully "April showers bring May flowers" will be true this year. Rochester holds its Lilac Festival in mid-May but so far we haven't had much color sprout, except green. There's plenty of that. Still waiting to see tulips, daffodils, forsythia though - hasn't been enough heat though. PS - I love the photo of Gabriel and yes, he clearly is not at all happy about being groomed. Please tell him for me that he looks very dapper - and the grooming was worth it for that. He reminds me of that wonderful old character actor, Charlie Winninger ["State Fair" etc]. I forgot if you mentioned his breed before - he looks like a Westie?
ReplyDeleteJanet, I love your description--dolly-face. ☺ Yes, I'll pick up pink, then set it down for a yellow or green--I don't want to be thought sexist! I've never been a feminist, per se, (I entered my 20's during the height of the movement), but I have always been for equality and rights, etc. You might call me a "feminity-ist" and all colors express that! Is it normal not to have even forsythia in bloom yet? Your Spring really does arrive late. I love winter, but I'm always ready for Spring to be firmly in full swing by the beginning of April. Ours seems to be running about 2 weeks late this year. You won't be able to sweet-talk Gabriel with flattery! He's all rough and tough, but also all bark and no bite. He wants what he wants and doesn't give up until he gets it, like last night after we went to sleep. His barking woke us up so I let him out of his room and he ran straight to under our bed (I bring his bed and shove it under ours--we have a high-off-the-floor bed). He slept the rest of the night there, not making a peep, except when he's dreaming. Then he makes little high-pitched chirping sounds. I think he must be chasing something in his dream and can't catch it because he sounds frustrated. You're correct, he's a Westie.
Delete