Ellie loves growing things, though, so I thought we'd try again, this time with a smaller plot. We began with just a corner and planted two basil starts and six strawberry starts:
We soon discovered which pest probably did in my first horticultural attempt:
Now, Ellie has a thing for bugs and snails and all things Insecta (or rather, Gastropoda, in this case). She spent the entire gardening trip collecting snails with increasing zeal and joy. I don't mind bugs myself, but I was more than happy to let her grab up the handfuls (literally!) of snails that were hanging out in the corners of our plot. Altogether she found probably over 40 of them...and boy, was she thrilled!
These suckers are big! They are one of the varieties of snail that they eat in France. Apparently, some entreprenuring Frenchman brought them over to Oakland in the 1800's thinking he would make millions selling them as delicacies. Good for the snails -- they didn't catch on as the next tasty snack. Even better for the snails -- they LOVED our climate. Bad for the Frenchman, though: generations of gardeners now curse his name.
This is only some of Ellie's catch:
Here's my happy, happy snail girl:
Benji has learned to sit up. He likes balls. He likes holding them, chewing on them, rolling them, crawling after them, patting them, and giggling at them.
The many moods of Benji: thoughtful...
...amused...
...playful...
...and showing off... his new teeth, that is! He is just getting his third set in, bringing the grand total to six little white pearls. Looks like he has the same gap in his front teeth that Ellie has (courtesy of Mike's genes). I try not to think of our future orthodontist bills.
One last family photo, taken on the UC Berkeley campus. Can you find the scary, ferocious tiger? Hint: look for a gap in the front teeth.
