Santa Ana

Another weather related post. OK, well only kind of.

We are currently experiencing a Santa Ana here in So. Cal. Bad for the sinuses but good for evening play. Also, the full moon lighting helps.

Giving that it was in the 70s last night before dinner, we spent some extra time outside with the boys. We played with bubbles. We have a large bubble maker and the guys take turns popping the bubbles I make. Drewbie walks like Frankenstein (arms rigidly extended in front of him while walking) as he tries to pop the bubble. They love this simple game.

Then, I noticed our collection of snails need some fresh habitat so we went hunting for “lettuce.” Lettuce is any kind of weed we can pick or other fallen plant (rose petals that have fallen to the ground, etc.) to give to the snails to eat. Sometimes, we use real lettuce that was destined for the garbage disposal – mangled, dirty pieces. But most of the time it’s weeds.

This is where my tomboy nature helps. First, we take all the snails out of the container that we have found on previous hunts. It’s really amazing how those little suckers eat everything in sight, especially when we have neglected them for a few days. :-) Next, we clean out the container and then go over to the end of the O’s drive way, and scoop up some good dirt. The sides of their driveway get watered very well and the bushes keep the dirt from drying completely so we use their moss-filled dirt. Finally, we’re off to find some lettuce.

Seems like we’ve either cleaned up everyone’s lettuce on previous runs or our neighbors are getting better at wedding. Given the dry weather, we weren’t successful in getting snails either. We’ve had a couple neighbors look at us strangely recently as we head up the street with our flashlights, searching in the dirt and grass for snails or slugs. I’d probably wonder what was going on, too, given that we look like some sort of traveling circus with our “talking” flashlights, bikes, toy cars, and always a couple neighbor kids in tow.

Well, we always have a back up plan, so we headed to the back, back yard and picked some lettuce there. Weather Boy is always game, but this is the first time Drewbie got into collecting lettuce. With the dry weather, we gave the snails a couple squirts from the squirt bottle of water, and now they’ll be good to go for at least 4 days.

It’s the little things that make life great. Life is good.

Sidenotes: My cold is going away slowly. Still have little sinus headaches, but much better than earlier in the week.

Favorite Uncle P was hospitalized overnight on Monday. Back home on Tuesday. More tests today and Friday. Hopefully issues will be easy to correct. Send happy thoughts, prayers, etc.