Shhhh Please

The birdie is sleeping!!!  We have a cardinal's nest in a rhododendron bush only inches from the front window.  I was able to see two eggs, the one brief moment when the mother bird wasn't roosting on her nest.  I haven't show Ben or Caroline where the nest is yet because I'm afraid they'll scare the mother and cause her to abandon her nest.  But, after the babies are born and are a few days old, we'll take a look together.  I didn't know the nest was there, but I heard the distinctive cardinal chirp....chirp...chirp while I was weeding the flower bed.  Then I looked up and saw the nest (and moved elsewhere to weed).  So, now I have a legitimate excuse as to why the front bed is a weedy mess -- at least for a few weeks. 

In lieu of birds, Caroline and Abby have been taking turns discovering frogs.  Abby found one in our front yard earlier this week. Caroline discovered a bullfrog relaxing in a storm drain today (below), while I was staring at the magnificent tulips and foxgloves at Longwood.  I would have never thought to look down into a grate, but leave it to younger inquisitive eyes to make a discovery like this!

The flowers were lovely at Longwood too, but it was definitely too hot to visit for long. 

Sweaty Kids with Foxgloves

Sweaty Kids with Fountains

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Topiary Hide and Seek

The weather isn't the only thing that is hot.  At my lacrosse game yesterday (Saturday) I issued my first ever card to a coach for unsportsmanlike conduct (i.e., yelling at me continuously for duration of first half).  Needless to say, it was a super fun game, with the temperatures over 90 degrees on the turf and having the coach and some fans screaming (which, conduct aside, was ridiculous because the coach who got carded was winning by 9 goals).   I did have a little chuckle when some brave fans actually applauded the coach's card.  The lacrosse season will be winding down in another two weeks -- only 5 more scheduled days and maybe some playoffs.  It has mostly been fun, but I will admit it is a relief when the season ends too, although I'll certainly miss all my adult "alone" time.