Day Ninety, Ninety-One: A Teenager, Native Plants, and the Creek

Having Owen here is giving me a good preview of what it might be like when my kids are teenagers. If nothing else, it is an excellent reminder of the differences in sleeping habits. He sleeps so late! Jeremy rousted him out of bed one morning to help him do some firewood cutting, but let him sleep in as long as he wanted the next day. He woke up right when Taiya, William and I returned from a trip to Fayetteville to pick up some native plants from a farmer friend, at about 1 pm. It has been so fun having him here, though, when he's awake. I asked him, "So, is it nice to hang out with different boring grown-ups for a little while?" And he laughed. He's a good sport. 

But let me jump back to the plants we picked up on Sunday, day Ninety-One. My farmer friend Janet and I made an order together this past winter from Prairie Moon Nursery for a mix of native flowering plants, and they arrived at her house in May. I kept not going to get them, but they really need to be planted so the kids and I packed up and drove north Sunday morning. We pulled into Janet's driveway an hour later and were greeted by her and her dog Tinker, who gave the kids big kisses on the face. Janet grows cut flowers and organic veggies and usually sells them at the farmers market, which is where I met her. She worked for NCAT many years ago so my coworkers introduced us. She is in her mid-70's and reminds me of my parents' friends - her personality is sort of a mishmash of several of those amazing people I was lucky enough to grow up around. Her garden reminds me of my mother's - artful chaotic abundance is how I would describe the aesthetic. She has tons of different native flowers and trees for the birds and insects. It's what I aspire to. She's also an avid butterfly identifier, and she has a few entomologist friends she sends pictures to for help. I need to make friends with some entomologists, I think. I have been stumped several times just using an ID book. 

The kids' favorite part of the venture was getting to pet her cat, Long Legs, who willingly submitted to their gentle pets and belly scratches. They now are in full campaign mode to get a cat like that. I'm not opposed, I just worry about the wild bird populations and what cats do to them. And Jeremy is very opposed. And I don't know what Daisy would think. Anyway, they happily played with Long Legs while Janet and I chatted about life in coronatime. It was lovely to see her and to see her garden in full bloom. I loaded my plants up in the back of my car (18 total: a combination of liatris, wild quinine, sweet joe pye weed, prairie clover, blazing star, rattlesnake master, and there is one more I'm forgetting... baptisia, maybe?) and we headed for home. 

It was blazing hot all afternoon, the sun intense. Everyone but Jeremy stayed inside, the kids watching shows, Owen on his phone, me piddling in the kitchen. Owen and Jeremy did chores, and then we all went down to the creek to cool off. By that time there was some shade, so it felt doubly good to be in the knee-deep water playing, while protected from the scorching sun. The creek is the perfect place for the kids to play in the water. They can slide downstream on their butts, find rocks to throw in, find sticks to throw in, lay in little waterfalls. Not too long ago it was a roaring mass of brown water, and there was sediment cracking dry on either side as evidence of this recent state. But now it is a playful little creek, running over the flat sedimentary bedrock, through little channels, plunking its way downward toward Lee Creek and eventually the Arkansas River. It was a beautiful evening with cumulus clouds in a bright blue sky, the trees radiant green. Daisy threw herself into creek time wholeheartedly, sprinting and slipping all over the place in the water. William had a bit of a hard time and had one meltdown, but Jeremy got him cheered up before we had to go home by catching a crawdad for him to see. Owen and Taiya floated the farthest downstream, sticking together as they went. My heart melted a little seeing them playing together. 

At bedtime, Taiya and I started re-reading Juniper, the book that came before Wise Child, by Monica Furlong. The copy we're reading is the one I had when I was a kid. You can see my name written in my handwriting inside the cover. I love that she loves it as much as I do. William and I looked at a children's atlas, and then read Our Stars. They both fell asleep quickly, the oscillating fan ruffling their tangled hair. 

William spotted some baby praying mantises 
on our porch stairs railing. Can you see them above
and below the top plank? I've never seen them 
when they're this tiny!