i hope you spent some part of yesterday, MAY DAY, outside. such dazzling weather, and it’s nice that this weekend the rain has been restricted to late at night instead of ruining everybody’s weekends with deluges during the day.

we have a whole lotta goslings in our yard. yes, a GAGGLE OF GEESE! but really the gaggle is mostly goslings. yesterday we were down by the dock, pulling weeds, and noticed that the geese with their many goslings were up in the yard. they hadn’t minded that we walked all the way to the dock, maybe because they saw we hadn’t noticed them yet. there were two families, one with sixteen little goslings and the other family with only three teenagers.

so cute, and i think that soon they’ll be walking right into the house because they’re so tame. they kept waddling further and further up the hill towards the house yesterday, and when i got up this morning they were still there.

these are the goslings that are a little bigger, the teen geese.

i love the way that geese can bend their necks in all kinds of ways.

i didn’t spend all my day here at home, even though i’d have liked to because it’s so nice and peaceful here and there are so many outside things to do. we went to a craft fair at the brinkerhoff house – i loaded up mom and dad, amy and jim, into the van. mom and i had a lengthy and almost incomprehensible conversation on the way to the event about where, exactly, it was located. i kept saying “it’s at that big mansion next to the art association, right?” and she kept saying “no, that’s the art association – this is the brinkerhoff house.” “but they have craft fairs there in the fall, too, right? and i’ve been there before?” “it’s between sixth and seventh…”

and then dad would interject something like “no, it’s between fifth and sixth,” and i’d say “and there’s a big silver statue thing out front, right? and i’ve been there before?”

sometimes, from way in the back seat, amy would pipe up with “grace, you’re not listening to mom at all.”

somehow we finally managed to get there and no, i hadn’t ever been before. it was the EDWARDS PLACE i had been thinking of, which is also between fifth and sixth…or sixth and seventh…or third and fourth…and the whole thing really didn’t matter and the meaningful discussion did keep us busy for the entire trip.

i wasn’t planning on buying anything, but i immediately saw a plant sale, put on by the lincoln park neighborhood association. they had some awesome, really tall ferns – they were about two feet high, at least, and the nice woman i talked to said they came from a 100 year-old fern! plus because the fair was winding down, all the plants were HALF OFF. wow. i bought three giant ferns for the ridiculously low price of only four bucks apiece. four bucks! i also got three hostas and two big boxes of canna lilly bulbs – the cannas were only $5/box and i bought one for amy, but then she said she already has some cannas in her basement that need to be planted. but she has to take that other box! because now we have a WHOLE LOT of them.

plus i don’t know where i’m actually going to put the ferns. they’d dwarf all the other ferns and hostas i’ve already planted. but we have so much shade, surely there’s a place somewhere.

after i bought the plants i started wandering around looking at the crafts. i came to a booth selling some cool-looking earrings and the woman at the booth said to me “i’m so happy to meet you!” her name is mary ann, or at least i’m pretty sure that’s what she said, and she’s been reading this since before i got married. she said she felt like she knew me. amy and mom were with me, lurking in the background, and she said “and i feel like i know them, too,” as amy and mom went scurrying away. i told her it was nice to meet a reader because i know people are out there reading but since i only hear mostly from pam, or sometimes kynda, i have no idea who any of these people might be.

she wanted to know if kevin still had a band – some guy, i think her cousin, or her mom’s cousin, had been in the band for a few fleeting moments. this was an old guy who was an amazing, incredible steel guitar player, but he quit right after the band’s new year’s eve gig in a freezing-cold barn. the guy, they called him jip or spud or swiz or spib or something like that, didn’t like the freezing-cold aspect of the night. i can’t blame him, but it’s too bad he quit. i told mary ann that the band isn’t really doing that much now, but when they do do things, it’s mostly just rehearsing.

i’m sure this is just a dormant phase they’re going through, though, and eventually they’ll start up again. i’ll keep you posted, mary ann, and if they ever have a real gig anywhere in the next five or ten years, i’ll let you know.

here’s a photo of kevin’s many many ribbons and medals he won at the state civil war shoot last weekend.  many MANY ribbons – i think he did better than any of the other guys from springfield who went with him.

tonight we’re celebrating dad’s birthday, and this afternoon we’re going on some tour of homes and gardens, and i have to get busy, but i’ll leave you with this little goose video.

ok then,

sunday morning may grace.