Baby Animal Days

My mom’s emailed comment to me after my last post about having “nothing” planned for our spring break summed up well how I often feel:

“The great thing about Nothing days is that they are so full of magical potential.

Even the best appointments tie us back to earth and hedge us with time limits. Somehow Free Agency is best appreciated  in NOTHING days!”

Yes. They can be . . . strictly nothing. Or, of a sudden, they can become something.

“Magical potential”.

On Thursday (in the late morning) Mike called from work to say he was taking the rest of the day off so we could take the kids to a fun local(ish) event: Baby Animal Days.

The weather was a little chilly and it was rather crowded, but the kids were mostly good sports. And, the times that were less “sporting”? When sifting back through our little trove of family memories, those parts always seem to burn off like the haze of early mornings on a warm day.

The crowds died down enough at the end that Penny got to ride the ponies a second time, lucky girl. Goldie might have joined her, but she took advantage of the pony-riding delay in our departure to dash off and see the piglets one last time.

Before driving the 45 minutes back home, we went to scope out a local river where Mike will be taking the scouts canoeing later this month. On our way there, we drove past some land Mike’s parents own but don’t actually live on (“Grandpa’s Farm”). Weren’t we surprised to find that “Grandpa” was there! (Perhaps doing something or other with the bee hives?)

Naturally we stopped to chat, throw a few stones in the canal . . . and have at least one child fall up to their knees in canal water and sludge.