Green and Growing

My youngest has said some memorable things this week. First, he has repeated with gusto the phrase, "I'm growing into a big MAN!" He has also called the newly blooming ornamental pink crabapples, "strawberry trees." He thinks the dark pink petals look like sliced strawberries. The white crabapple is the "popcorn tree." I love his food-centric perspective!

Then there's the dressing incident. He walked in on me while I was getting dressed a few days ago. I was preparing to put my shirt on. He said, "I see your belly." I responded affirmatively. So he continued, "You have big chunks." I was confused by this at first, but eventually he made it clear that he was referring to my breasts. Then I was simply amused. Two year olds are funny!

The poor little guy may be humorous, but he is also a handful- in more ways than one. First of all, like his 4 year old sister, he is still battling the awful cough and head cold, along with the sleep deprivation that makes him extra-fickle, extra-loud, and extra-mean. He has also swung from diarrhea to constipation- of his own making- which hasn't helped things either. He's decided to do his best to hold "it" this week, thinking he'll avoid any unpleasantness. Of course, it's made him feel awful instead. But despite our discussions, he's very firm about the fact that he's not going to go if he can help it. You see, when he had diarrhea before, his bottom hurt from being scrubbed so much. He associated a sore tush with the term "diarrhea". Now his torso hurts because he needs to go. So he told me yesterday that he has "body-rrhea."   Hill AIR E us!

The little man has also been picking dandelions every chance he gets. For instance, between the few steps between the parking lot and where my children receive music lessons, he managed to pick a fistful of dandelions in a matter of seconds. The squashed, yellow, gooey mass was soon offered to me, only to be demanded back several times. His hands were thoroughly sticky and looked sickly yellow. But really, if you were two years old, would you be able to resist tightly cupping a brilliant handful of shining yellow sun?

Speaking of yellow, the majority of our daffodils are nearly finished flowering. We are down to the late bloomers now. There are these frill-filled solid yellow ones.

There are also these pale yellow daffodils with orange-tipped, darker yellow, short bells.

There are some white beauties with warm, golden trumpets,

these fancy star-like blossoms,

these delicate, petite-cupped blooms,

these showy, heavy flowering ones,

and finally, these pale-petalled wonders.

After a rain this week I let my oldest girl snip all the bent-stemmed blossoms that were "face-down." In this way, we got to enjoy the daffodils a bit longer. They are surprisingly long lasting cut flowers and are very aromatic.

It is sad that the sprinting spring is bringing the loveliness of these flowers to an end, but there's always a consolation prize. I stumbled upon a patch of blue bells in the paddock next to the horse pasture. 

And even parts 

of the  unmown lawn 

are full of blooming weeds 

and woodland wildflowers. 

Plus, the continuance of freakish temperatures persisting in the 80's has put spring in "fast-forward" mode. The redbuds purpled the place yesterday. The dogwood blossoms have begun floating like foam and flotsam on eddies of warm wind where the waving hay and forest meet like the sea and the shore.

The children have been enjoying the hammock again, whether for cuddling

or for "boating".

The fruit trees are unfurling 

and perfuming the moist air.

And everything is becoming 

gloriously green.