A rose by any other name

She calls them 'puffs' and insists on picking them all
Originally uploaded by toyfoto.

We spent a good portion of the day today searching for puffs, the cotton-headed dandylions that disperse hang-gliding seeds with the gentlest breeze. It's been so long since I've picked one of these nasty little weeds with something else in mind than depositing it on the compost heap that I'd almost forgotten how delicate and ethereal they can be.

One after another, we picked as many as we could find. I chose the ones with full globes. She didn't care if they only had a few seeds clinging to an empty stem. Just the idea of it made her happy. Who knew such joy could be contageous?

Other things I learned today:
* Annabel knows ama Linda lives in Minnesota but doesn't know we live in New York
* She will sing Happy Birthday! over and over again at dinner unless it is ACTUALLY someone's birthday. (Happy Birthday, papa).
* Toast should NEVER, under any circumstances, touch (or even be on the same plate as) scrambled eggs.
* Jed and Annabel can fit in the tool box on his new crane truck.
* Tire swings are completely underrated for playground pleasure. New rating: 9.0.

UPDATE
A couple of days ago I told the internets our CO detector was waking us up at night. And while we did open up all the windows and go right back to sleep, we also called in the fire department the following day to sweep the place and find the cause. Turns out the problem is Jed's forklift. When its battery is charging it emits some kind of hydrogen gas. The KFD claims the fumes are not carbon monoxide but will set off the detectors anyway.

I'm fairly certain this kind of thing doesn't happen to too many folks. It's just what you end up having to deal with when you are part of a circus (or you live in a barn).

mobil home - traveling circus
Originally uploaded by toyfoto.