Getting Ready for the Storm!

At last!  The storm we've been longing for has appeared on the horizon and should be here by this coming Thursday. We haven't had a storm of this magnitude come our way in several years.  If all goes as predicted, we can hope for five or more inches of rain.  Happy day!

Our plans for our Sunday took a radical shift when we learned about the amount of rain and wind that is scheduled to hit our area.  So instead of grocery shopping and getting Cornelius ready for his annual Christmas photo shoot, we spent the day readying Frogpond for the storm.

Fortunately the twin boys who come over to help with chores came today.  They are only 13 years old, but are hard workers and eager to earn money for the sports programs they participate in.  So they spent four hours working to help us clean out the culvert that leads to the pond (willow roots and branches had it clogged) and then muck out the gutters.

They are good at working, but also good at playing.  In between digging out the culvert and cleaning out gutters, they hopped up on the duck raft and there was actually enough water in the pond for them to pole around with sticks.  I'm not sure who had more fun:  the boys scooting around the pond and trying to unbalance each other, the dogs plunging after them and searching for underwater sticks or Bruce and I watching them and laughing at the water circus.






What is so wonderful about these boys is that they DO things.  They know how to play.  Mark Twain could easily have used them as prototypes for characters in his books.

In addition to their skill at working and playing, they also have extremely hearty appetites.  I mistakenly thought I'd boiled up too many hotdogs when I put in the entire package.  Hah!  With only a little help from Bruce and I, they made short work of them.  They also are mighty cookie eaters.  It's fun to feed teenage boys.  Who knew?

We are so fortunate to have these fine young people as neighbors.