The Holiday Weekend

I bet this is not something a parent often says but "I didn't buy enough fireworks." Frost was exuberantly excited about them and managed to wait until 4pm. However, the fireworks I had allowed him did not last as long as his passion. Here he is leaping with energy while watching a blue smoke bomb. Before Josh started to light them, Frost lined them up along the deck in order of appearance. Thankfully, it will be dark earlier for new year's eve and my largesses will be better appreciated.



The other big theme of the weekend was SNAILS. A couple of weeks ago I planted a second batch of beans and some squash starts. Our first batch of beans which Joshua grew from seed were all decimated by snails from a few days after germination until they grew 5" tall. Only 2 survived. This time, I decided to barricade them with inverted soda bottles which I topped and tailed and gave a crenelated border to discourage snailvaders.

The method lasted about a week before the first silver trail and missing leaves announced the offensive. One sunflower and one bean were eaten bare (and the sunflower, beheaded 2" from the ground, before I decided to start stomping on snails. Wren noticed my obsession with snails and enjoys our morning snail hunts. Here are a couple of pictures of Wren on the driveway and pointing out a snail on the wall, which is where they congregate in the hundreds after a rain.



On Sunday, Wren came outside in barefeet and started stomping on snails. Clearly, this was a problem. Plus, as Joshua pointed out, I would have to squash hundreds and hundreds to save a few plants. My first Plan B was to capture lots of snails. Here are the prisoners getting rowdy. Frost was very agitated by the capture and Wren was thrilled. He found he could pick up snails and put them against things and they stuck. He said "on" and then pulled them "off" and put them "in" the cup again. Needless to say, many escaped and the rest of them went into a hardy shrub by the curb. Lauren said she puts them in the yard waste but I couldn't bring myself to do that either.



Our final plan is Sluggo. This stuff is sold for "organic gardening" but I don't think its really in the spirit of organics. It is some naturally occuring iron compound which is delicious to snails but makes them stop eating and starve to death. Frost overheard Josh reading that "the dead snails may not be visible because they may move away into a hidden area to die". Josh and I exclaimed that this sounded awful and Frost is very upset about it. But after another bean plant was eaten to death overnight I have no mercy left. We are now sluggoed and the rate of eating has not stopped, but was much diminished last night.

Wren's Health Update
Wren's fever subsided on Saturday and aside from some unexplained sad wakings at night, he seems back to his usual state of health. He is waking at 5am thesedays but I am doing OK thanks to my naturopath prescribed licorice potion.

I spoke with his doctor today and she mentioned that Wren's platelets are not as low as I thought Thursday. They are actually at 185 (base of low range is 150). Still, I have been giving him broccoli potato soup and oatmeal and am planning on some lamb tonight to help get his iron and vitamin K up.

He is also going to start on a mild iron supplement.

Yesterday I went to our monthly Heart to Heart Support group held at Childrens' Hospital. Usually, the meeting is reassuring but this time I came away with concerns about inexperienced interns (apparently it is inadvisable to be in a teaching hospital in July because the new crop of graduates comes on June 25th lacking experience). Also, problems with weekend staffing and intensivist shortages.

As if the mere procedure isn't enough. Argh.

Today we are going on a school playdate to a local wading pool playground.