LIFE IS GOOD...

...When you own a canoe.

Saturday, Kurt and I took a little road trip to Memphis to pick up our new toy (and some Thai food). We'd been wanting a canoe ever since our friend, Nick, brought his over to our house for a little yard party that we had last year. Needless to say, it was a big hit--with our guests and with us. Now that we have what amounts to two ponds, it seemed obvious that we were in need of a canoe of our own.

We christened our new Old Town with the help of our friends April and Chris and their son, Jonah, Saturday night. I'm telling you, there's nothing like a campfire and dinner by the pond, prefaced by a little paddling in the canoe.

And so you know, Jerry Lee has taken to riding in the canoe. He's a good little passenger, too. Jackson, on the other hand, is content to sit in the yard and watch.

ED & EDNA

These two have been hanging out with us all week. They fly in each morning and fly out at dusk. We've decided that they must spend the night in the marsh behind our house. Who knows where they camp; we're just happy to see them in our pond. And the other day when we came home, they were making themselves right at home in our front yard. They're getting so comfortable around here, I feel like we might just see them up on the porch one of these days. They're more than welcome, although Friday, our cat, might have a thing or two to say about it.

A PEEK AT THE PONDS

Thought I'd round out your idea of what's going on here at the homestead with a little snapshot of our front yard. You can't really tell from the picture, but there's a narrow little inlet behind that clump of trees that connects the two ponds. Ed and Edna happen to appear in this photo, as well, although you can hardly see them. If you look closely, you might be able to make out two dark grey specks on the sandy pond bank near the center of the picture.

The yard is looking pretty good right now. The ponds are full, and the grass is getting green. Pretty soon, those trees will be full of leaves and the garden in full swing. I absolutely love spring in Mississippi.

DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE

Some Canadian geese landed in our pond on Sunday. We spent much of the day watching them eat our grass, swim from shore to shore, and honk at our neighbor's dog. It was quite entertaining. And really, there's nothing quite like seeing a couple of beautiful birds enjoying your pond, coasting effortlessly across the water's surface. Especially when there's now twice as much pond for them to enjoy.

Eventually, the geese, whom I've taken to calling Ed and Edna, took flight. But yesterday morning they returned and spent another day napping on the pond bank and waddling around the yard. We thought it was a fluke, until this morning when, as we were eating breakfast on the front porch, they gracefully landed in the pond once again. And then there they were, still enjoying our yard, when we arrived home from work this evening. I don't know where they spend the night, but they sure know a good thing when they have it.

See you in the morning, Ed and Edna.