Pondered In My Heart

Small Successes - July 9

"It's important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph."

1. I am winning the war against the Japanese beetles that have invaded my yard, and I'm trying mightily to avoid the Sevin. Handpicking is working well and if you see me wandering in my yard with my red Solo cup full of suds, know it's not ale or even root beer but just soapy beetlejuice. I go outside a couple of times a day and hit all their favorite spots - the raspberries, the pussywillows, the crepe myrtle, the astilbes, the zinnias (oh, my poor zinnias). Every day there are fewer beetles. I am winning. (As this post is supposed to be about successes we will not discuss the groundhog who is actually living in my vegetable garden.)

2. I am making slow but steady progress in cleaning out and organizing all of the drawers and cupboards in my kitchen. Today we even tackled one of the drawers which could be considered a minor Junk Drawer with all of its doodads and thingamabobs that you don't know what to do with because even though you have no idea what they actually are they Look Important so you can't throw them out. I also discarded oodles of old syringes found in said drawer (fear not - they're oral syringes).

3. My daughters went outside to play and left me inside with all of the taffy they made and I didn't eat it all.

Stop by Faith and Family to check out all the other Small Successes and Terrific Triumphs! Go, Moms, go!

Lessons From the Cherry Orchard

We had such a good time on our strawberry picking outing in June that we planned to return to the same farm for more picking. (Did you read Elizabeth's  inspiring and informative article about these memorable family times in the fruit field?) And so last week we actually went cherry picking twice. After the first batch of 39 pounds was cooked or tucked away in the freezer for winter cobblers and all the pie was eaten we realized we wanted more pie. So we went back and picked just a few more - another 18 pounds. Here are some pictures and things we learned along the cherry way.

Cherry orchards are beautiful, idyllic places to be on a hot summer day.

 

 Cherry trees are nice if you are wearing brown pants and want to camouflage yourself as a tree.

 

Picking cherries is easier than picking strawberries as you don't have to bend down.

 

Even though they are certainly not blueberries, you still have to say ker-plink, ker-plank, ker-plunk with every cherry you drop in the bowl. You also have to run through the orchard and hide now and then to make sure there aren't any bears, large or small.

 

Even rangers like to pick cherries as long as Farmer Maggot isn't around.

 

You might find some lovely surprises in the cherry trees,

 

as well as some most unusual nests.

 

Picking cherries makes you happy.

 

Sometimes you have to stretch up really high to reach the cherries.

 

Sometimes you don't actually get to pick cherries when you go cherry picking, but you have the privilege of holding down the branches so a little person can carefully do the job.

 

Sometimes you just have to go off chasing the little one when she decides it's time to 'fly like a birdie'.

 

We don't cry over spilled cherries - we just laugh and pick them all up.

 

Lots and lots of cherries make a pretty sight.

 

If you were foolish enough to wash your hair right before cherry picking a kind ranger may lend you his cloak to keep the gnats from swarming around your flowery smelling head.

 

But beware - he'll most certainly take your picture if you try to dash about in the field making your cloak fly.

 

It takes a long time to pit 39 pounds of cherries.

But taking turns is nice and a handy dandy cherry pitter is worth every penny.

 

Lattice topped pies certainly look beautiful but the best tasting pie is with French crumb topping made with lots of butter and just a bit of almond extract. Not that we are opinionated or anything - that's just the general consensus here. Deciding on whipped cream or ice cream is up to you. :-)

There are also a few more ideas for using sour cherries over on my cooking blog.

Love in the Little Things

After Mass the other day Father used his long hooked pole to fetch the dried out crown of baby's breath off of the statue of Our Lady, and on a whim he plunked the little wreath on Kateri's head. He muttered something about it looked like it belonged there on top of her mass of curls.

It made her day.

She went home and drew this self-portrait, including her crown of flowers. Look at this happy, happy picture- 

She beamed as she wore her crown all day. Look, Daddy, Father gave me a crown! The next morning when she woke up the first words out of her mouth were to ask who the priest would be that day. When I told her it was Father P. she rolled over to wake up her sister saying, Wake up, Eliza! Wake up! It's going to be Father P! That was over a week ago, but this morning on the way to Mass she again asked who the priest would be, and again she gushed her approval, Father P! He's the best priest! I'm sure dear Father P. has no idea what affection his little gesture has inspired.

I think he's made a friend for life.

Happy Fourth of July!

 

We've had an incredibly busy two days. Yesterday started with Mass at 7:30 after which we came home and made pancakes, drove an hour to a field trip at a farm, after that decided to drive around the local historic sites, drove back to town and went cherry picking, stopped for milk, came home and pitted the sixteen pounds of cherries and made six pies finishing at about never mind what time at night. Today we started with Mass after which the girls tidied the whole house including the cherried kitchen, did laundry and made bread while the menfolk mowed and fertilized the lawn. Then it was off to a lovely picnic including football, volleyball, sword fighting, lots of good food and good friends and fellowship and finishing up with a rosary at dusk. Whew. The picture is of Kateri but that's how we all feel. It's been a wonderful, memorable two days but now it's really time to get some rest!

Hope your Fourth was a terrific one!

Small Successes - July 2

"It's important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph."

 

1. I figured out how to keep my hibiscus happy. Knowing that flowers are one of the surest ways to my heart, my dear husband surprised me with a hibiscus for Mother's Day. It had one flower on it when I got it, and single blooms appeared occasionally after that. And then it started to drop leaves. Great handfuls of yellow leaves fell off day after day and I thought my lovely gift would soon be no more. But after a little researching and experimenting I discovered they mean it when they say hibiscus likes a lot of water. I now give it a full half gallon pitcher of water every other day, and I check the buds for aphids that often as well (a little rub with soapy water cleans them right off). Now my plant blooms almost every day, with as many as six or seven flowers at a time. I am so pleased with its beauty (and very relieved I didn't kill my present). :-)

2. I have caught up on answering all of my emails (at least I think I have) that have been piling up. And yes I just sent out a few last emails just so I could write that. :-)

3. I have managed to squeeze in time to sit down at the computer, only mildly distracted by my three-year-old interrupting me every couple of sentences, and write a blog post! I have also overcome the 'I haven't posted in a long time so I better post something of Great Substance' post-a-phobia and just written a little something. How's that for a small success! :-) 

Stop by Faith and Family to check out all the other Small Successes and Terrific Triumphs! Go, Moms, go!

Ready!

The sets are ready. Here's just a peek at Lady Dendroica's throne room-

Josiah's camera died but he got a new one just in time-

We have lots of ale-

 

And even cheese-

 

 Please feel free to disregard this blog post if you are not the family coming to visit us tomorrow.  But you do get bonus points if you know where the name Dendroica comes from. :-)

Happy Father's Day!

 

Eliza was all over her Daddy at Mass this morning.

 

She was hugging and nuzzling and snuggling and loving him while grinning her little grin that makes her eyes scrunch up and disappear and you think her cheeks are going to burst from grinning so hard.

 

Just being with her Dad made her so happy that every time I caught her eye she just burst into gleeful giggles. We had trouble keeping her quiet in church - she was too happy. It is quite likely that she is so delighted to sit with her Daddy and just love him for an hour every Sunday, but as it is Father's Day I was sentimentally paying much closer attention.

 

Being a most wise judge of character, Eliza has chosen her Daddy as her most favorite, most loved person in the whole wide world. She knows how good he is, and how much he loves her, and her face just tells it all about him. I don't think there can be anything that makes a mother's heart happier than seeing her husband and children love each other. Father's Day is a beautiful day for just basking in that love.

 

(On top of all that, the dude hit a home run at the church picnic.)

Solemnity of the Sacred Heart

Helen has a lovely post up today for the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart with some meditations and activities for children. She suggests having the children cut out 33 red hearts and write prayers on them, following St. Margaret Mary who was asked by Our Lord to adore Him 33 times upon the cross.

 Helen also mentions the 'Jesus meek and humble' prayer, and I immediately thought of combining the two. You already know how I love to put little prayer cards around the house for Lent and Advent as frequent, visual reminders to stop and pray many times throughout the day. So using supplies I had on hand we made 33 red heart prayer cards. (Call me predictable, but my need for incessant prayer is quite constant.) We are midway through June but they would be nice to have out for July as well, the month of the Precious Blood.

 

Here is a pdf of the prayer cards if you would like to make them: Download Meek Hearts The text is in red, as at first I thought I'd like to use a light colored paper. If you want to print on red paper as I did, just change to black and white before you print.

 

We cut the hearts out and glued them onto patterned scrapbook paper. I was tempted to stop at the craft store for cross stickers, but ended up sticking with things we had on hand. We cut crucifixes out of catalogs and glued them on top, reminiscent of the Sacred Heart image. We are reminded of Our Lord's meekness and humility even as He suffered His passion, and it is through His sacrifice that we beg the graces to become like Him always.

 

 

 

Thank you, Helen, for your inspiration, as always. And if there is anyone out there who doesn't already subscribe to Helen's daily Mary Vitamin, today would be a wonderful day to sign up!

Jesus meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine!

(Edited to add: I can't figure out why the heart pictures are coming up blurry and I have no more time to fiddle with them. If you click on them to enlarge you can see them clearly. Sorry!)

Wordless Wednesday: Strawberry Edition

  

 

 

(signing strawberry)

 

Solemnity of Corpus Christi

 

Today we celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, the Body of Christ. The Church has ordered the feast days following Easter - after we celebrate the Resurrection, the Ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, we have Corpus Christi. As the Lord ascended He declared He would be with us always, even to the end of the age, and the Eucharist is how He remains with us. Our Lord Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. At every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass He keeps His promise to stay with us always. As the Holy Father said in his address today, the Eucharist is proof that God is love. The simple explanation I have for why we attend daily Mass is this:  if Our Lord Jesus is willing to come to us every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, how can we not go and receive Him?

We had a beautiful Eucharistic procession after Mass today - traffic halted, passersby stopped to watch, people came out of doorways, and rose petals were strewn on the pathway as Our Lord was carried through the streets, followed by the faithful. Josiah has put up a lovely video compilation of highlights of the procession on his blog.

O God, who under a wonderful sacrament hast left us a memorial of Thy passion, grant us, we beseech Thee, so to venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, that we may ever perceive within us the fruit of Thy redemption.

(From the Collect)

Wordless Wednesday: Always Kiss Me Goodnight

 

 

 

(I do know it's really Thursday, but I took the pictures last night.)

First Friday in June, Month of the Sacred Heart

June is the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart. In the year 1672 Our Lord Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and asked her to promote a special devotion to His Sacred Heart as a symbol of His love and mercy for us. (You can read more about this devotion here and here. ) We had our First Friday gathering here today and so our theme was the Sacred Heart.

As it is Pentecost Friday (surely you've seen this story about Paul VI and the Octave of Pentecost) and also during Embertide, we made these flame cookies:

Lydia and Anna made sugar cookies, and then iced them with a mix of yellow and red to resemble flames. I took an extra holly leaf cookie cutter that I had (a fifteen cent Christmas clearance item) and bent it a bit to make the flame shape like so:

For the younger children I printed out some nice coloring pages found here. They look very nice glued onto red construction paper like so:

The older children's Sacred Heart craft is seen above. Now, I must tell you that I just came up with this idea last night. All week my children were asking me what our craft was going to be and I would say, "Something for the Sacred Heart".  As we dashed off to the craft store last night half an hour before it closed my girls kept asking, "But what are we going to buy?" And I repeatedly insisted, "I have no idea." I told them we'd figure it out when we got there, and I reminded them of Mrs. Gunther who says she walks through the aisles of the craft store praying to the Holy Spirit for inspiration. Mary Rose remarked it was like the book she just read, in which the family was having twins but didn't have a van large enough for the family, but the Dad said if God gives the twins He will also provide for all their needs. She concluded if God is giving us the party with our friends, He would also provide the inspiration.  "Yes, that's it exactly," I told her.

So I sang Veni Sancte Spiritus under my breath as we walked into Michaels and the first thing we saw was a large display of wooden frames. I told the girls to grab a stack and we were on our way to our craft (I think my girls were quite relieved that I didn't need to sing the next line). The frames come in ovals and rectangles and have a little peg stand included and are only a dollar apiece. We found small heart plaques and a few other items and we were soon dashing home to make the prototype. Here is Lydia's sample project:

Start by using a wood burning tool to create the crown of thorns. I had Josiah do the crowns on some extra hearts so the younger children wouldn't have to do it themselves. Start with the wavy lines and then add the thorns.

Next we painted the heart with red acrylic paint watered down to a transparent 'wash' consistency. A paper towel is adequate for blotting on the wash, and you can add a second layer of paint around the edge of the heart to add more depth to the look. By using the watered down paint the crown is still clearly visible.

The frames were painted with plain acrylic paint and left to dry. The flames were cut from some neat crinkly orange scrapbook paper I found, and the crosses from gold paper. I purchased one of those gold metallic paint pens for the writing and it worked very nicely. The hearts are simply glued onto the frames with craft glue, and then the flame and cross are glued on as well.

I always enjoy seeing the variety of the children's finished projects as they add their own unique creativity and special touches.

 

They make a very nice addition to our June altar.

 

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!

Early Day, Late in May Daybook

 Outside my window...It's an overcast, misty, chilly morning. I can see Mrs. Killdeer scuttling about searching for breakfast, and a lonely tree swallow sitting atop the nest box post. It lost its mate a few weeks ago and is still in mourning. Soon the four geese will waddle up the road like they do every day for their morning stroll.

I am thankful for... Wednesday mornings. We started attending the TLM daily during Lent, so now on Wednesdays we go to Mass in the evening. I really enjoy having one day a week where we can start the day with a leisurely morning at home.

 

From the kitchen...A triple berry coffee cake is in the oven and the freezer is full of berry pops. Something about spring makes me want to eat berries, and that is what good little bunnies eat after all.

 

I am wearing...a floral skirt with mixed violet and lavender tones on black, a white tee topped with a lacey lavender cardigan, black Mary Janes.

 

I am creating...lots of rosary and chaplet special orders.

 

I am reading...Shakespeare. We just finished up As You Like It and have started the Merchant of Venice. Reading Merchant took me right back to high school and memorizing soliloquies, and I could vividly recall one of the girls in my glass (I can see her dark curly hair and glasses but, oh, what was her name?) giving her dramatic recitation of Shylock's speech, complete with costume, and my other friend telling our teacher a long a convoluted joke just to say 'The Koala tea of Mercy is not strained' as the punch line. Presently we are all enjoying the read alouds, and I follow up with a bit of Tales from Shakespeare every day to help Mary Rose follow things. Mary Rose has started writing a play of course -the heartless and blood thirsty Tropedes are about to invade the harbor!

 

I am hoping...That the newly hatched killdeer survived the cold rainy day yesterday. They spent the day in their 'nest' safely tucked under their mother, and we avoided disturbing them so they could stay warm. I also hope the hawks will stick to mice when they want a little tidbit and leave the fluffy little killdeer alone.

 

I am hearing...The mockingbird and a host of other bird songs, but Lydia is not awake to tell me what they are.

 

Living the Liturgical Year - Veni Sancte Spiritus!

 

A few plans for the rest of the week...I need to start working on portfolios in preparation for the end of the school year evaluations. Jonathan has been finished for a couple of weeks and everyone else is anxious for summer break as well.

 

A picture thought I am sharing... Lydia at this year's Fort Killdeer.

 

A Few More Alleluias

As the Easter season is drawing to a close with Pentecost just a week away, I thought I'd share Eliza leading the Regina Coeli. She's quite a spirited prayer leader. ;-)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Regina Coeli is prayed three times a day, replacing the Angelus during Eastertide.

Queen of Heaven, rejoice, Alleluia!

The Son whom you merited to bear, Alleluia!

Has risen as He said, Alleluia!

Pray to God for us Alleluia!

Rejoice and be glad, O Virgin Mary, Alleluia!

For the Lord has truly risen, Alleluia!

Let us pray: O God, by the resurrection of Your Son, Our Lord, Jesus Christ, You have deigned to make glad the whole world. Grant we beseech Thee, that through His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, we may obtain the joys of eternal life. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Eliza follows this with the table blessing:

Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from Thy bounty, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

And she concludes with:

May the Divine Assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Which Way to Dublin Town

 

You may remember my post about my friends' album of Christmas music called Eventide Lullaby. Well, Seasons is back with another just-released CD, this time with an Irish theme. Seasons is a group of three siblings - Mary-Kate Spring, Peter Winter, and Mary-Theresa Summer and no, I don't know if their parents had a band name in mind when they named them. They are joined by many of their fellow musical homeschooled cousins and friends -actually, a number of them are college students now, but once a homeschooler, always a homeschooler, right? Together they play a wonderful and varied happy melange of harp, hammered dulcimer, mandolin, Irish whistles and both a fiddle and a violin. There's also an ever changing array of vocals in collaborative and solo pieces alike.

The music of Which Way to Dublin Town is an eclectic mix as well. There are traditional Irish tunes like Planxty Hewlett and a rousing medley of Johnny Has Gone to France and Drowsy Maggie.  There's also King of the Faeries, a couple of jigs, and the spirited Glory in the Meetinghouse on mandolin and bongos to get you up and dancing, or at least your pencil tapping if you're stuck at your desk. Intermingled with the these energetic pieces are some that soften the mood like Speic Seoigheach and Caitlin Trail that really highlight the beauty of the harp and hammered dulcimer. 

Some of the songs have vocals as well, such as Farewell to Liverpool and Kateri's favorite (start 'em young on Yeats!) - the lovely Red is the Rose/Down by the Salley Gardens. The harmonies on Paidir Eireann, the traditional Irish blessing set to the tune of Come Thou Fount are particularly beautiful - I like to think it's because the love that this trio of brother, sister and their mother have for each other comes through on every note.

Mixed in with all of this tradition are two sets of original lyrics. Dalriada is a haunting ballad telling the story of St. Patrick and what he may have felt like being kidnapped as a young boy, concluding beautifully with words from the Lorica. And you'll have to forgive Eliza for being a little biased but her favorite seems to be The Helmsman, adapted from a portion of St. Fautina's Diary. She gets me every time she sings along, belting out Sail on, sail on, Sail on along, Fear not the storms or the evil one, For God will guide your hand. Sail on, sail on, Sail on along, Fix your course and remain strong, Sail on with all her heart. It is always a beautiful and efficacious thing to have the words of the saints set to music, making it so easy for their wisdom and encouragement to be continuously wafting through our minds, comforting our spirits and turning out hearts to God.

You can find out more about this very talented group of musicians at their website. You can listen to samples of their music and they have CD's available for purchase as well. If you decide to buy a CD, you can tell them Eliza sent you. :-)

Deo Gratias

 

Can you guess the occasion of this little celebration today?

 

Every year on this day we set out this little picture of St. Faustina, and we dig out the horse-who-looks-like-a-giraffe, and we make heart shaped cookies.

 

And we celebrate this very special little lively girl.

 

And we remember and relive so many moments of that incredible time.

 

And we marvel in wonder and we laugh and we cry.

 

Five years ago today Eliza had her open heart surgery. St. Faustina's picture was in the hospital bed with her. The nurse's liked to use the horse, which arrived in the mail as a gift the night before surgery, to help position her respirator tubes.

 

Someday soon I hope to write more about that amazing time in our lives.

 

But today is just for rejoicing and thanking God. All day.

Happy Mother's Day!

As Josiah put it, today is Tuesday of the First Week of Mother's Day Time so I can still say Happy Mother's Day to all of you dear mothers!

We had a very nice day and I received some lovely gifts. My handsome husband made me happy with a hibiscus-

 

There were sweet homemade cards-

Anna made me this charming brooch-

 

Lydia stitched up these beautiful goldfinches-

 

So now I have two-

Josiah carved this little shrine-

And Jonathan gave me chocolate, so all bases were covered. Flowers, birds, the Blessed Mother and chocolate. And lots of tea, of course.

After Mass and social time I spent most of the day setting out my hundreds of seedlings. I started planting last Thursday, getting all the vegetables in first. I had planned to post this as one of my 'Small Successes', but after all that hard work and fresh air I fell asleep on the couch. :-)  I had been working on the flowers here and there, and I was determined to finish them all on Sunday. So my dear family cooked and tidied and brought out cups of tea while I planted and planted and planted. Here is that looong bed-

And here is my first bloom of the year from one of my seedlings-

 

At the end of the day my dear husband sat down with me and our cups of tea. He asked me what I planted, and he very kindly and patiently sat while I told him not only what but how many of each. All the way from the nine bee balms and ten black eyed Susans and nineteen cosmos and ten daisies to the forty-two zinnias in three varieties. And he looked at pictures of the ones he didn't know as I pointed them out in my gardening book. True love. 

 

I hope that your Mother's Day was a blessed one, and that even though it's back to the laundry pile you are still basking in all the joys, large and small, of Mother's Day Time.

Lovely Ladies Dressed in Blue

 

Dark blue, light blue, and gentlemen too-

Wearing blue on Saturdays is a very simple, yet memorable, way to honor Our Lady on her special day. We've long had this little family tradition, but if it's new to you May is a lovely time to give it a try!

Tis the Month of Our Mother

Tis the month of Our Mother

The blessed and beautiful days,

When our lips and our spirits,

Are glowing with love and with praise.

May Altar-

We just found this beautiful wooden book holder at a thrift sale on Saturday, and one of my children keeps a missal there opened to the propers of the day.

May Crowning-

All the excitement and anticipation! The May Crowning was also the occasion for a 'baby shower' and a celebration of the lives of the babies the children have spiritually adopted. For the procession the girls all carried up baby gifts which will be donated to various local crisis pregnancy centers. My dear daughters donated ten baby hats and a dozen hat and bootie sets that they crocheted.

Hail holy Queen enthroned above, O Maria

Hail Mother of mercy and of love, O Maria

Triumph all ye cherubim, Sing with us ye seraphim

Heaven and earth resound the hymn:

Salve, salve, salve, Regina!

First Friday in May-

Our group made Marian May Baskets as popularized by dear Alice some years ago.

 

Simple supplies such as stickers, catalogs of religious goods, construction paper and bits of ribbon and glue are all that's needed for the children to create an endless array of bookmarks and holy cards to put in the baskets.

 I also provided plain sugar cookies for them to decorate with colored frostings and such to add, and a few candy treats. My girls later made additional baskets for various friends and godparents, including some homemade fudge. (Cute little templates for homemade boxes can be found here: Mirkwood Designs.)

 

 May Music-

Actually it's August music- the Introit from the Feast of the Assumption. Jonathan wrote this music for his composition class, and it was performed by four of his fellow students the other night. I think they did a lovely job, and I trust Our Lady was pleased.

Signum magnum aparuit in coelo: mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus ejus, et in capite ejus corona stellarum duodecim. Cantate Domino canticum novum: quia mirabilia fecit. Gloria Patri, et Fillio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

A great sign appeared in the heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. Sing ye to the Lord a new canticle: because He hath done wonderful things. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Blessed May to all of you, and may Our Lady rain down her love and care to all who seek to honor her during this most special month.

Spring Sights

Glorious, delightful, fickle, teasing spring is finally here-

Lovely blooms are everywhere-

Last spring Dawn mentioned her spring violets, inspiring us to dig up some from the empty lots nearby.  Now we have our own cheery clumps, so pretty to look at and a lovely reminder of Dawn's sunny spirit -

The goldfinches are fairly neon-

New life is everywhere-

There are lots of extra chores to do, but it feels so good to be working outside. Not to mention the breaks-

Yes, dining al fresco is definitely in style. Nice warm lid-potatoes, anyone?

We've also been doing lots of this-

So that my kitchen looks like this-

And outside there is beauty unfolding on its own-

And beauty thwarted-

Albeit by cuteness-

But these are cuter still-

And verily bursting with the flavor joy that only warm sunshine and fresh air can bring-