Out and About - April 2016

I don't have much to show you even though it was a busy month!  On the 1st we flew to Phoenix for Ken's nephew's wedding.  It was a lovely affair and we got to spend time with several other family members we hadn't seen in awhile.  I captured the sun setting just over Ken's greatniece's head. . . . 

A Year With Beatrix Potter & Friends - April

If you are a first-time visitor to this monthly Beatrix Potter & Friends post, you may want to view the earlier posts first:  January   February   March

It has come to my attention that our guide, Miss Jemima Puddle-Duck is otherwise occupied with nest sitting.  I am told that Mrs. Cannon, the caretaker's wife, has agreed to let Jemima hatch her own eggs after her earlier near-disastrous attempt.  So, we must content ourselves with a story about two bad mice in the meantime.

Tom Thumb and Hunca Munca were Beatrix's pet mice.  She'd rescued them from a cage trap at her cousin Caroline's in 1903 and wrote a story about them while there during a week of relentless rain.  Later, Norman Warne would provide her a photograph of the doll house he was building his niece, Winifred.  Beatrix's mother would not allow her to visit Warne's brother's home to see it for herself.  One commentator on the story felt, "The tale's themes of rebellion, insurrection, and individualism reflect not only Potter's desire to free herself of her domineering parents and build a home of her own, but her fears about independence and her frustrations with Victorian domesticity."  You can read Beatrix's letters, below, concerning the ordeal. . . .

More Or Less - April 2016

This past weekend we were in Phoenix, AZ to attend a family wedding.  The next day Ken's brother and sister-in-law took us to the Desert Botanical Garden where we spent the day into the evening walking the paths or sitting in the shade.  There was lots in bloom which really put me in the mood to get into my garden.  Unfortunately, we came home to a freeze warning, so I will have to wait a few more weeks before I head for the garden center.