Conversation with an 11-year-old

(Setting: The Manor House)

11-year-old: Hey, L, what's this?
Me: What?
11YO: What is this thing?
Me: You're kidding. You don't know what THAT is?
11YO: Huh-uh. I've never seen one before. What is it?
Me: Um. That, my dear young pup, is what we fogeys call a 'Record Player'.
11YO: Oh. What does it do?
Me: Uh, boy.

(Fade out of scene as L proceeds to give a demonstration to poor 11-year-old-has-lived-under-a-rock-boy. His first record was Finlandia. Why not.)

Obsession

I'm convinced that the matron border collie on the farm, Sydney, has Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder. Of course, I think ALL border collies have OCD in varying levels, but Sydney's is definitely the most pronounced.

A couple of years ago, we had pigs on the farm. Sydney was transfixed by these critters. Anytime you couldn't find her up on the porch, she was stalking around the hog lot, staring them down, sizing them up, and basically flaunting her status on the totem pole.

Now that we don't have pigs anymore, Sydney has developed a new obsession. This one is even more weird, 'cause no one has seen the object of her fascination. She'll go out and lay about 25 feet from the mulberry tree and stare up into the branches. And not for just a couple of minutes here and there ... she does this FOR HOURS.



Never breaking her stare, she is absolutely mesmerized by whatever the heck it is up there in the tree. We've all tried to analyze the look that's on her face ... is it malice? Is this an old rivalry? Or maybe it's pleading, as in, 'Come down, let's romp!' The jury is still out. One thing is for certain, though. The girl has dedication. And because of the as-yet 'imaginary friend' status of this obsession, she's also maybe got a little bit of the ol' family crazy.

Summertime at the Office

It happens every year here. Right around April/May, all the office ladies get so excited about gardening season! Can't wait to get in the garden and put out my tomatoes! Green beans! Cucumbers! Squash! I'll can and freeze to my heart's content and won't even glance at the grocery store produce section until November, HURRAH!

And then, about July/August ... reality. All those beans, maters, and vines have to be picked. And picked. Aaaand picked. and picked. And canned, and frozen, and fed to the children in as many imaginative ways as possible until the kids are dying for a meatloaf. No one can just leave a bean on a plant and let it go to useless waste. Better to bend over, pick 'em dry, and ...



Pawn 'em off on the officemates! Ha! And usually, I admit, I'm one of the pawnees. But not this year - the folks and I have quite a productive community garden. I might even bring some beans into the office ...