Spring is bustin' out all over.

There is growth all over this little house in Motownville. The most obvious and important is my increasingly-"voluptuous" (read:awkward and waddly) form. I've got probably eight weeks and change to go so yay. This is where the fun starts. Right? RIGHT?!

Another is Gladys the Christmas Kitten. She managed to escape the house while we were on vacation for nine days in June/July and came back knocked up. We weren't certain at first but she's getting pretty rounded around the middle. Anyone want a kitten? Right about on time to start protecting your hard work from the summer, your harvest? Drop a line in the comments box. Son Dale in his blessed naiveté thought we could sell them; I'm thinking I'm grateful for Freecycle.

The other area of outward growth is our garden. We had lots of seeds but we've discovered that some things work better as seedlings. Next year, the eggplant and green peppers will be purchased as seedlings; the beans will be potted indoors around the first of May. But when all has been said and done, three bean plants made it, for a while at least. I think they're pretty much done and produced enough for random snacks for whichever child noticed. The tomatoes are beginning to ripen; our third and fourth are on the kitchen counter as I type. That fourth one is bigger than the palm of my hand! And, if the weather heats up this weekend like I'm hearing, that could mean the couple out there starting to turn orange could be ready sooner rather than later. And then some more.
One of the many good things about this garden thing is Madeleine has overcome her dislike of tomatoes. The fact that they grew in her own back yard could be it; maybe it was just she didn't like that I served them with a sprinkle of black pepper. I don't care. Plain is okay too.

The sunflowers that I planted didn't make it. Somehow, though, the birds or something got hold of some of the seeds and we have half a dozen in the flower boxes on the south side of the house. I guess that's where we should put them next year without the avian assistance.

Of course, then there are the pumpkins. I've never grown those before, and only visited a pumpkin patch once in my life (it was during college). Our neighbor-turned-landlord advised that they would take over the yard and he wasn't kidding. It's like something out of Little Shop of Horrors. I'm afraid sometimes that I won't be able to find Louie out there among them.
To date, we only have four actual pumpkins, but the number of blooms on the vine and the simple length of the vines are... intimidating. Dale is thrilled that "his" pumpkins are doing so well. Next year, fewer pumpkin seeds. I saw some to grow white pumpkins; that sure would be different, wouldn't it?