Happy April, everyone!
My website was having problems, so I couldn’t tell you about my March adventures. I hope it stays up now!
The middle of last month, I helped Grandma make a broken phyllo cake. We cut a package of phyllo into strips and toasted them. Then we stirred them into an egg batter, instead of using flour to make a cake. There was a layer of pistachios, too! Grandma decided it was interesting, but not worth doing again.
Getting the phyllo out of the freezer reminded us that it was time to defrost! Most of the coldest weather was over, but we had a below-freezing night to help us get that done! I helped Grandma and Grandpa put all the food from the freezer into coolers. Those went into the garage. Then Grandpa put a hair dryer in the freezer to melt the ice. All the melt water came running out of the drain tube! I let Grandma know when the catch pan needed to be emptied! When all the ice was out, Grandma dried off the shelves and turned the freezer back on. Once it was cold enough, all the food came back from the garage.
The day after our cold night, the first of my flower friends bloomed! The first ones I saw were the crocus that come up where they weren’t planted. Then I found a crocus in the south foundation planting. Some years, the daffodils are in bloom by mid-March, but not this year! The next day, St. Patrick’s Day, we had snow again! I helped Grandma pack up the baby blankets she’s crocheted this year to go to the babies in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The next Saturday, Grandma and I went to the pancake breakfast at the Cumming Nature Center. Uncle Steven and James were at a regional Odyssey of the Mind competition, so they couldn’t come. Thomas invited his friend Cam and Cam’s parents to come with us, instead! We got there right at the opening time, but there was already a long line of people ahead of us. We had to wait for another family to finish eating before we could sit down! I said hello to some old friends while we were waiting.
Cam had never been on the Maple Trail before, so Thomas had a lot to show him! They practiced drilling tap holes and learned how the Haudensaunee turned sap into sugar. At the Pioneer Cabin, they made spigots for the tap holes and got to carry the sap buckets around. I even got a ride!
Thomas and Cam got syrup samples at the sugar shack. That’s where the sap is heated so the water steams off. They chose a different path to return to the Nature Center building. I liked the boardwalk and the bench made out of cross country skis! I was sorry James missed coming with us, but his team did well enough at Regionals that they’re going to Worlds in May!
When the spring flower display went in at Lamberton Conservatory, Grandma asked me if I wanted to take my pride to see it. I said “Yes”! It was fun to show them all the pots of daffodils and other spring flowers in bloom! Guess what? We met another grandma who had a lion with her! We made friends with Roarie right away!
We said hello to the turtles in the seasonal display room, but the button quail wasn’t interested in us. When we moved on into the tropical room, we saw roaming turtles and tortoises. Minivan was too interested in meeting us!
I showed my pride the barrel cactus in the desert room and Shellville in the final room. When we saw the blooming plumeria, I told them about all the trees like that I saw in Hawaii. Before we left, we posed for a pride photo in our outing bag.
We’re still having some cold weather, but there are more springlike days in between. More of my flower friends are blooming. Last week there were more crocus out. This week, the first daffodils finally bloomed! And inside, my cactus friend that’s supposed to bloom at Christmas has its first two blossoms open. I guess it’s an Easter cactus, instead!
Love,
Lion-san