When the kids were really small, we used to live in a basement suite in Kitsilano, underneath a super-wholesome family of Nature People. They wore only natural fibers, engaged only in wholesome pursuits and ate only natural, organic foods like cane sugar, carob and tofu. Whenever my neighbor would see me without my kids (for example, at naptime or when they were out with their grandparents) she would shake her head and ask  “But, but vhere are your children?“*. If I was a little less sleep deprived I might have come up with a snappy answer like “Sold ’em on Ebay!” or “Left ’em at the mall!” or “Locked ’em in the closet!” but instead I would get defensive because her question always felt like an accusation.

Today I looked at my garden and asked in that same accusing tone of voice:  “but, but vhere are the peas?”   It has now been more than a month and the peas are not yet peaking out. Because of the wire mesh on the beds, they have no excuses like “eaten by moles or squirrels”. The kale that I planted two weeks ago has already started to come up as little blue and green sprouts.  The spinach and radishes are growing enthusiastically, tempting me to plant more in some of the still empty beds, and even the rhubarb is finally growing. But no peas….

Other big news: the stone wall guys started early this morning and in a mere 9 hours managed to: (1) remove all the stones and boulders and some of the steps; (2) dig a huge 5 meter long trench in the wet much and transport the dirt (about a tonne) to the upper yard; (3) create most of the forms for the concrete; (4) have two loads of gravel dropped on the driveway; (5) transport much of the gravel into the trench. On the weekend I dug out most of the plants in the rock garden which are all waiting around in pots to get transplanted again.

Okay, I need a new picture for the blog banner….

( *We actually use this phrase all the time now. After I finished this entry, I was showing the Man a photo of our kids playing in the waves. The Man asked “But, but where are the parents?”  It made me laugh, because when we were on the beach watching our two kids in the waves, I overheard another parent saying “Wow, kid’s shouldn’t be left unsupervised in waves this size!”  As our kids were the only ones playing in the waves, we figured that he was referring to our negligent parenting. “But, but where are the parents?”).