Chapter 15: Spring
Spring means growing things
and so Karen asked the kids to come up with a plan for the garden. They didn’t
know if they were going to be there the whole summer, but they should try to
get a garden going while they still had the opportunity to use this wonderful
big garden space. Sarah decided they should go over to see Rose and ask her
some questions. They had figured out how to get to her house using back roads.
It was two miles away. Karen allowed them to go provided they stayed together
and were very careful, and she said that if Rose was busy or unavailable they
should come right home. She could have called Rose, of course, but it seemed
more of an adventure for the kids to just go see.
They found Rose out in her
own garden plot. She was planting lettuce, carrots and peas in her usual
overalls and big floppy hat. It was a glorious cool sunny morning. She welcomed
them and they offered to help, so she put them to work tilling the soil,
pulling weeds, and putting seeds in the ground. They also marked each space
with small plastic markers. They had a wonderful time, and eventually Karen drove
up with Emma and Joe in tow to see what was going on. The kids had been gone
for several hours.
What a learning experience!
Rose told them what to plant in the early spring and how to care for what they
planted. She told them how far apart to plant each seed and what to plant close
to what. They also talked of other things. It was a very companionable morning,
and when Karen showed up with the little ones, Joe had fun pulling weeds and
Emma crawled around and generally tried to undo everything they had done. In a
few minutes the two of them were covered in mud and having a blast.
When the sun was high in the
sky, and they were all getting a bit tired, she looked up and said, “Well, I
think it’s about time for a break. Thank you so much for all your help and
companionship! I never would have thought all of this would have gotten done
today, but you have saved me several days of work! Let’s go see if I have
anything in the house to eat.”
They all filed in to her
house, taking off their muddy shoes at the doorway. She sent them all into the
bathroom to wash up. This took some time, as there were so many of them. Rose
said, “I do love having a house full of kids!”
Karen said, “Well, this has
been a very nice afternoon, and an educational one too!”
“Honey, you are all welcome
any time.”
Karen said, “Well, we might
just take you up on that. Don’t be surprised if some of us end up on your
doorstep quite frequently. I suspect Ellie and Sarah are going want to be here
a bit.” Rose brought out some crackers and cheese and they all had a nice and
very informal lunch. The kids were enjoying the change of scenery and Rose was
enjoying the company.
“Where is David?” Karen
asked.
“Well, my daughter needed
some help to move into a new apartment… she’s still in school you know… and
David went up to help her out. He also needs to bring back her cat. They won’t
allow pets in her new place.”
“Wow. How long will he be
gone?”
“I’m not sure. It might be
two or three more days. Somebody had to stay home and take care of things. I
would have loved to have seen her, but I also wanted to get this garden
planted. Besides, we had a lovely visit over the holidays. I’m sorry you didn’t
meet either of my kids.”
“Yes, it would have been
nice to meet them. Somehow, I think any kids of yours must be very nice
people.”
“You’re very sweet” Rose
said.
Soon after that, they took
their leave. It was time to put Emma down for her nap. Of course, she was going
to need a bath first. The kids got on their bikes and they all headed home.
When they got home, everyone was tired and dirty, so after a round of baths
they were happy to spend the afternoon inside.
Karen said, “Well guys, it
sounds like you got quite a lesson in gardening over there. I think you all
should get together and make a plan for our own garden. So that afternoon for
Sarah, Jack and Ellie was pleasantly taken up with drawings and negotiations
about what they would do. The garden plot that had been there when they moved
in was smaller than Rose’s, but they had had a little success last year with
carrots, peppers and tomatoes. They had tried lettuce late in the summer, but
it had all gotten eaten by bugs and rabbits. In the end they each took a
section and planned it for themselves the way each of them wanted it.
After their morning schoolwork
the next day, Karen sent them out with spades and hoes and told them to weed
and turn up the ground. They would go look for seeds the next day at the garden
center. Ellie was in seventh heaven. Turning up the earth was bringing to light
so many bugs, worms and cocoons. She got slightly distracted, what with
studying and sketching some of them, that it was late afternoon before she
finished with the hoeing.
Jack had to take several
breaks. He would work really hard and then get tired and have to stop. Usually,
he’d go in and get something to eat or drink. He seemed to be hungry all of the
time these days. Sarah got right
to work and efficiently did her little spot in an hour or so and then went in
to work on her writing. She had a story she was working on and several ideas
had come to her while she was working. She was eager to go write them down. Joe
and Emma came out several times to “help”. It was hard not to be outside with
the weather warming up and getting so cool and sunny.
Karen would have loved to
stay out more, but her allergies had taken hold of her and she preferred to
stay inside if at all possible. Feeding the chickens, finding grass to feed the
goats, shoveling dirt, finding bugs, and climbing trees were all favorite
activities, especially with Emma and Joe. Emma was toddling around the yard and
Joe was helping her to find some nice bits of grass to feed the goats. Joe had
been talking up a storm lately, so he took great pleasure in telling her all
about the goats and the chickens and the grass and what he thought about it
all.
The older kids, Ellie excepted,
kept and eye on them most of the time. Snitch even took part in the fun and
made a circuit of the yard several times, checking up on each person or animal
in turn. When the weeding and hoeing were at least mostly done, Joe got Jack
and Ellie distracted enough with his new make-believe game that they had some
fun pretending they were super heroes on a quest from the evil black and white
monster (Snitch). This eventually devolved into a game of hide and seek.
Playing hide and seek with Joe and Emma was pretty easy. Jack knew enough not
to make himself too hard to find and to pretend like he couldn’t find Emma and
Joe, even when they were giggling behind a tree. Pretty soon, Karen called them
all in for lunch. It had been a terrific morning.
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