The garden.

With all the warm and sunny weather we're been having lately, the boys and I have been spending a lot more time out in the garden. I've really been enjoying it, and they seem to have been too.
Aesop is a funny thing, always complaining if he has to do things outdoors. Often being heard saying things like 'oh maaaan, I haaaate sunny days, I wish I could just stay inside!', especially if it involves something like bike riding. I kid you not.
But the thing is, just like me and exercise, once he gets out there, and finds something fun to do, he loves it.
He's also a little bit of a, erm, sensitive soul. He's never liked to get his hands dirty, or try anything that might be deemed remotely 'scary'. Even as a baby he didn't even really like crawling on grass, and wouldn't investigate creepy crawlies etc.  But times are a changin' round these parts.
Aesop has taken a liking to slaters.
He has a book, that his Nana sent him, all about insects and animals you find in the garden. It has been such a life-changer for him. He is out in the garden every afternoon turning over logs and catching the slaters and snails he finds underneath them. He puts them in a container, or holds them in his hand, and just watches them, fascinated. They are his 'pets'. I'm so, so pleased. I really should have realised that the way to get Aesop outside was through the very thing that was keeping him inside - books! ( Just need to find one about bike riding... hmm..)
Otto, on the other hand, has been head-first into anything mucky from the moment he could move! He spends his afternoons (and mornings!) up to his elbows in soil, tipping in on himself, filling up buckets, splashing in any water he can find, and pulling all off the leaves of my poor plants. There's no stopping him now that he can walk, and I'm feeling so glad that our section is fenced 'cause he's also the running sort! Mischief!

I prefer to spend my garden arvos following in Porridge's (our cat's) footsteps.. sitting in the sun, with the occasional walk to get a snack, or to check what the boys are doing. Pretty glorious.

I'll say it again... perhaps this summer won't be so bad after all!




Oh, and a few pictures of what's growing in and around the vegie patch too, since it seems to be taking off!