Planting a Garden

Once upon a time, just the other day, there lived a family of five just down the street. Some days Momma stayed home, and some days Daddy stayed home. Every day Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, and Hunter Thomas stayed home. Nothing extravagant ever seemed to happen. In fact, every day seemed almost the same as the day before. When Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn and Hunter Thomas awoke, they would tiptoe out of their bedrooms, down the hall, and to the kitchen. Momma or Daddy would be there or on the nearby couch, reading or eating or doing something uninteresting like sorting mail.

On this particular day, Momma and Daddy were both awake first. They tiptoed down the hall so as not to wake Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, or Hunter Thomas. After full mugs of hot coffee and crunchy toast with butter and strawberry jam Momma slipped on her garden clogs and Daddy pulled on his brown leather cowboy boots.

The spring-time sun was shining just above the trees, birds were singing, and the grass was still wet with dew. Today was the day to plant the gardens. Momma cared for the gardens in the front of the house. They were mostly flower gardens with a few strawberry and rhubarb plants, too.

Daddy mostly cared for the gardens behind the house. Every year he planted a variety of vegetables. He also tended to several fruit trees around the yard. Today he had bags of seeds, fertilizer, and small flower plants.

Inside the house, Ava Anne had heard Momma and Daddy getting ready. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over to see if Savannah Lynn was awake.

“Savannah Lynn, wake up.” Ava Anne waited for Savannah Lynn’s response. “Savannah Lynn, let’s go out to the gardens with Momma and Daddy. They’re planting today.”

Savannah Lynn rubbed her sleepy eyes and yawned. “Ok.”

They quickly dressed in old jeans and shirts they could get dirty. Ava Anne pulled on rain boots and Savannah Lynn pulled on cowgirl boots. After eating toast with butter and jam they, too, went out to the gardens.

Savannah Lynn found Momma in the front. Momma was planting several flats of Zinnias in the soft, tilled soil.

“These will be pink and orange and red and yellow,” Momma told Savannah Lynn. “They will be tall and beautiful. Will you help me plant them?’

Savannah Lynn watched how Momma dug a hole with a small, handheld shovel and placed a single plant in the hole. Then she covered up the hole with dirt. Then she knelt down in the dirt and began planting.

In the vegetable garden, Daddy was showing Ava Anne how to plant seeds for corn. He had already dug five shallow trenches. He showed Ava Anne how far apart to drop each seed. As Ava Anne dropped the seeds Daddy followed behind her with a hoe to cover the seeds with dirt.

When they finished the corn rows Daddy said, “How about some pole beans? First, I need to pound these steaks in the ground. Then, we’ll attach some wire for the beans to grow on.”

Ava Anne always thought of eating juicy steak when Daddy talked about the steaks, or poles, he used in the garden. She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Daddy asked.

“When you said ‘steaks’ I thought of eating venison steaks,” Ava Anne said.

Daddy grinned. “You sure are a funny one.”

Ava Anne looked at the flats of flower plants and searched for worms while Daddy pounded the steaks into the ground and strung up the wire. In no time, it seemed, the pole beans were in the ground and Daddy and Ava Anne were planting tomatoes. Ava Anne only liked garden-fresh, sun-warmed tomatoes.

By ten o’clock Daddy and Ava Anne had planted half of their huge vegetable garden. Momma and Savannah Lynn had planted all of the Zinnias and were weeding another small flower garden.

“How about a snack?” Momma asked as she and Savannah Lynn walked up to the vegetable garden.

“Yeah!” Ava Anne said. “I’m hungry!”

Daddy stood up with a trickle of sweat on his face. “I could go for something cold to drink.”

Momma looked around. “Looks like you two have gotten a lot done,” she said.

“We have,” Daddy said, “But we still have half the garden to go. Did you get the flowers planted?”

“We planted lots of flowers,” Savannah Lynn replied.

“We planted all the Zinnias and pulled some weeds, but we still have some flowers to plant in the side garden,” Momma said.

“Alright, let’s get a snack so we can get back to work,” Daddy said.

“Let’s go!” Savannah Lynn yelled as she grabbed Ava Anne’s hand and ran toward the house.

Momma and Daddy smiled. They loved spring-time gardening with their girls.

Butterfly House

Once upon a time, just the other day, there lived a family of five just down the street. Some days Momma stayed home, and some days Daddy stayed home. Every day Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, and Hunter Thomas stayed home. Nothing extravagant ever seemed to happen. In fact, every day seemed almost the same as the day before. When Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn and Hunter Thomas awoke, they would tiptoe out of their bedrooms, down the hall, and to the kitchen. Momma or Daddy would be there or on the nearby couch, reading or eating or doing something uninteresting like sorting mail.

On this particular day, they were celebrating. It was the first day of spring. Everyone was awake and happily eating breakfast together. Today they were going to visit a butterfly house. Momma and Daddy had been talking about it for weeks, saying they would take Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, and Hunter Thomas on the first day of spring.

Ava Anne had visited a butterfly house once before. She knew how magical it was to have butterflies landing on her arms and in her hair. She told Savannah Lynn and Hunter Thomas—who had never been to a butterfly house—how much they would love it.

“Is it time to go yet?” Savannah Lynn asked as she shoved the last bite of cereal in her mouth.

“In just a few minutes,” Momma replied. “You all need to finish your breakfast. Oh! I need to grab the camera, too.”

Daddy peered over his morning newspaper at Hunter Thomas.

“Are you ready to see those butterflies?” Daddy asked Hunter Thomas.

Hunter Thomas grinned and nodded.

“You know, there are birds, too. Maybe one of them will let you pet him,” Daddy said.

Hunter Thomas’s eyes grew bigger. He wondered what kinds of birds lived in the butterfly house.

“Ahw theh-ah wizards?” Hunter Thomas asked with wide eyes.

Daddy grinned and said, “No, I don’t think there are any lizards at the butterfly house, but you never know. We can certainly look for some.”

“Ok,” Momma said, “time to go!”

Ava Anne and Savannah Lynn had already taken their cereal bowls to the sink. Now they dashed toward the door. Hunter Thomas put down his spoon and ran to the door where his shoes were. He sat down and tried to stuff his feet into his new sandals.

“C’mon, Hunter Thomas, let’s go!” Ava Anne said impatiently.

Momma helped Hunter Thomas finish putting on his shoes, and the family of five was out the door. They climbed into their green minivan, buckled their seat belts, and off they went!

“How long will it take to get there?” Ava Anne asked.

“Oh, half an hour,” Daddy replied. “When the clock says ten o’clock, we should be there.”

“That’s kind of a long time,” Ava Anne said.

Momma put in their favorite music to pass the time more quickly. Sure enough, before they knew it, Daddy was pulling the minivan into the parking lot of the butterfly house.

“Ahw we he-ah?” Hunter Thomas asked.

“Yes!” Ava Anne answered.

She could hardly wait until Daddy had parked the minivan to unbuckle her seat belt. She and Savannah Lynn raced to the door before Momma could get Hunter Thomas out of his car seat.

Once inside, everyone received a large butterfly sticker to place on her shirt. This let the workers know they had paid to see the butterflies. They were also instructed not to touch the butterflies’ wings because this could harm them.

Finally, the family of five was allowed to slowly enter the butterfly house. They passed through two sets of doors designed to help keep the butterflies inside. Right inside the door was a large palm tree. The butterfly house warm and humid.

“Oh! Look at the waterfall,” Savannah Lynn said.

At the bottom of the small waterfall was a pool with many fish.

“Fish!” Hunter Thomas exclaimed. “Can we catch one?”

“No, the fish need to stay in the water to live,” Daddy said.

Just then a big, blue butterfly landed on the rocks between Ava Anne and Savannah Lynn. Momma had her camera ready and snapped a picture.

The family of five saw many more beautiful butterflies, and Momma snapped many more pictures. Without a doubt, everyone enjoyed the butterfly house. It was a magical first day of spring.

Frank the Repair Man

Once upon a time, just the other day, there lived a family of five just down the street. Some days Momma stayed home, and some days Daddy stayed home. Every day Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, and Hunter Thomas stayed home. Nothing extravagant ever seemed to happen. In fact, every day seemed almost the same as the day before. When Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn and Hunter Thomas awoke, they would tiptoe out of their bedrooms, down the hall, and to the kitchen. Momma or Daddy would be there or on the nearby couch, reading or eating or doing something uninteresting like sorting mail.

On this particular day, Ava Anne awoke first. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and rolled over. The sun was shining it an early-morning sort of way. Ava Anne yawned and slid out of bed. She tiptoed down the hall and toward the kitchen. Daddy was on the couch reading when Ava Anne entered the room.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Daddy sad with a smile.

He put down his book and reached to give Ava Anne a hug.

“A repair man is supposed to be here soon to fix the sink. You may want to get dressed before he comes,” Daddy said.

Ava Anne nodded and yawned.

“I’m hungry,” Ava Anne said.

Ava Anne made a piece of toast with lots of butter and strawberry freezer jam Momma and Daddy had made in the summer. The toast crunched and crumbled in her mouth as she walked back to her bedroom to put on her clothes. As Ava Anne stood in front of the closet wondering what to wear, the doorbell rang. It was the repair man.

Ava Anne decided to play outside while the repair man fixed the sink. She always felt strange when people she did not know came to fix things. She always seemed to be in the way of their work. Ava Anne swallowed the last bite of toast and pulled out a striped shirt and jeans. She slid on her cowgirl boots and ran down the hall toward the kitchen.

“Dad, I’m going outside!” Ava Anne announced.

“Ok,” Daddy said in between discussing the sink with the repair man.

Ava Anne ran across the long back porch, jumped onto the grass, and stopped. What should I do? She thought. Climb a tree? Build a fort? Cats!

Ava Anne walked slowly around the house so as not to scare the cats. She was hoping to find at least one of them laying in the sun on the driveway. Sure enough, Ava Anne found Oreo sunning himself.

“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” Ava Anne called in a high pitched little voice.

Oreo looked up at her and rolled over on his back. He wanted a belly rub.

“Aw, you’re so cute,” Ava Anne crooned.

She sat down and rubbed Oreo’s black and white belly. He hopped up and walked all the way around Ava Anne, rubbing his side on hers as he walked. Ava Anne giggled. When Oreo found her hand again he licked it with his rough tongue.

“Oreo! You’re tongue is so scratchy!” Ava Anne exclaimed.

She knew Oreo was just loving her back, but his tongue did not always feel good on her hand.

Just then Ava Anne heard the door open. Oreo glanced up quickly at the sound. Out of the door walked the repair man. He saw Ava Anne and Oreo and walked right over.

“Good morning,” he said. “This cat just loves to have a belly rub. When I got out of my truck this morning he rolled over right in front of me.”

Ava Anne was unsure what to say. She did not know the repair man, but she guessed he was all right since Daddy had been talking to him in the house.

“Yeah, he likes that,” Ava Anne finally said.

Now Oreo was licking the repair man’s hand vigorously. He laughed.

“He sure is a friendly cat. Oh, my name’s Frank,” the repair man said.

“My name’s Ava Anne,” Ava Anne said.

“Well, I better be back to work. I’ve got a sink to fix.”

“Ok,” Ava Anne said.

Frank looked for something in his truck and then walked back up to the house. Ava Anne watched him. The door clicked shut. He’s nice. She thought. Lots of people don’t like cats, but he thinks they’re friendly. Ava Anne was glad Frank liked Oreo. He was a pretty nice guy after all. Maybe next time she would introduce him to Butterscotch.

Polnailish

Once upon a time, just the other day, there lived a family of five just down the street. Some days Momma stayed home, and some days Daddy stayed home. Every day Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn, and Hunter Thomas stayed home. Nothing extravagant ever seemed to happen. In fact, every day seemed almost the same as the day before. When Ava Anne, Savannah Lynn and Hunter Thomas awoke, they would tiptoe out of their bedrooms, down the hall, and to the kitchen. Momma or Daddy would be there or on the nearby couch, reading or eating or doing something uninteresting like sorting mail.

On this particular day, Savannah Lynn awakened first. Well, she thought, it’s no fun to be awake first because there’s no one to play with. So, Savannah Lynn rolled over and kissed her big sissy on the cheek. Then she waited and stared, with her face very close to Ava Anne’s.

After just a few moments, Ava Anne blinked open her eyes and scowled.

“Savannah Lynn, what are you doing?” She mumbled.

Savannah Lynn giggled. Her nose was almost touching Ava Anne’s face.

“Waiting for you to get up,” she said in a high pitched voice.

Ava Anne sighed a deep sigh.

“Fine. But let’s get dressed so we can go outside and play.”

“I’m going to where my favorite shirt,” Savannah Lynn said as she pulled out her dresser drawer.

“What’s your favorite shirt?” Ava Anne asked.

“My polnailish shirt,” Savannah Lynn replied.

Ava Anne twisted her face. “Your what shirt?”

“My polnailish shirt.”

Savannah Lynn dug through one very large drawer and finally came out with the shirt. It was a white turtleneck with a pink and red print. The print was of lipstick and nail polish.

“Savannah Lynn, that’s nail polish not polnailish,” Ava Anne said.

“Whatever,” replied Savannah Lynn.

When Ava Anne and Savannah Lynn were fully dressed, they tip toed down the hall and toward the kitchen where Momma was making blueberry muffins.

“Good morning, girls,” Momma said as she glanced up from her work.

“Mom,” Ava Anne said in a whiny voice, “Savannah Lynn keeps calling it polnailish. And it’s not polnailish it’s nail polish! Make her stop.”

Momma stared at Ava Anne for a moment and grinned; she looked at Savannah Lynn in her lipstick and polnailish print shirt.

“She can call it whatever she wants, Ava Anne,” Momma replied.

“But, Mom! It’s so annoying. Why can’t she just use the right words?”

By now, Savannah Lynn had grown tired of the conversation and was in the living room watching cartoons.

“Ava Anne, she’s only five years old and it’s cute. So let her say polnailish if she wants to, ok?” Momma said.

Momma was not in the mood for Ava Anne’s whining, nor was she in a hurry to turn her little five year old into a big girl.

“Ugh! Fine.” Ava Anne said as she quickly turned and left the kitchen.

“What do you want to play, Savannah Lynn?” Ava Anne asked.

“Want to paint my nails?” asked Savannah Lynn.

“I guess. What color nail polish do you want?”

“I want purple polnailish, please,” Savannah Lynn said with a smile.

“Ok. Purple nail polish.”

“Yep. Purple polnailish.”

“Whatever,” Ava Anne said.

“Polnailish,” Savannah Lynn replied.