Bouffant Blonde

It was a wonderful day. Little Guy and Sunshine helped Grandaddy with his new tiller. They chased a squirrel up a tree. They took naps. Gran cooked a big lunch so they ate really well. The sky was starting to dim when Little Guy and Sunshine ate supper. Little Guy was still cleaning his bowl when Sunshine spotted something at the end of the garage. Mama came out about then to get their pans for washing. She went to see what Sunshine had found. Then she screamed. Little Guy jumped. He didn't know whether to go get whatever had upset Mama or run for cover. He didn't get a chance to decide. Mama practically shoved Little Guy and Sunshine in the backdoor. She yelled for Gran to come help, then slammed the door. Gran came running. Mama was trying to find a hoe. Someone had moved the hoe from beside the backdoor. That same someone had taken the shop key and was out with the cows. Mama put Gran in charge of watching the, gulp, snake, and she went running out through the laundr...

It was a long night. Sunshine was sick and Little Guy didn't know what to do. He was very upset. As a matter of fact, he felt sick too! Mama hugged Sunshine close. She was worried. Little Guy could tell. She kept lingering even though she was supposed to go to work. Mama didn't want to leave Sunshine. Finally, she left. Sunshine looked really pitiful. Grandaddy offered to take Sunshine and Little Guy over to the barn. Sunshine didn't really want to go but she went anyway. It made Grandaddy feel better. When it was time to go back to the house, Grandaddy couldn't find Sunshine anywhere. He looked and looked. Little Guy starting looking too. He found his sister under a flatbed trailer. She slowly crawled out and made her way back to the house. She didn't feel good at all. Gran took Sunshine to the doctor. The day before she got sick, Sunshine found a dead dove. She brought it to Mama and dropped it at her feet. Sunshine likes to give Mama presents. Gran said i...

Heavy rain woke Little Guy up this morning. It made him really nervous. He woke Sunshine up but she wasn't concerned and went back to sleep. Little Guy went back to bed but he didn't sleep at all. Before too long he heard Grandaddy in the kitchen. He was glad to know someone else was awake. He knew Mama would come and get him if the weather got bad. Mama knows he gets scared. Grandaddy just tells him to be a big boy. Little Guy doesn't want to be a big boy when the weather is loud. The weather wasn't too bad during breakfast. Mama and Grandaddy left for Georgia and the weather almost cleared up. Little Guy and Sunshine went with Gran to the garden. Gran wanted to see how things looked. She was pleased with all the little plants popping up. Late in the day Mama and Grandaddy came home. Mama brushed Little Guy and Sunshine. It felt really good. Then she gathered strawberries. She got four. She was really pleased. About the time for supper, the rain started agai...

Little Guy thought he was having a pretty good day. He and Sunshine spent the morning helping Grandaddy spray the fence rows for weeds. They'd even counted the cows. Gran had fixed spaghetti for lunch. Little Guy really likes spaghetti. After lunch, he'd stretched out on the cool tile floor for his afternoon nap. Then Mama had an idea. It was not a good idea. Mama decided that Little Guy and Sunshine needed baths. And it wasn't even Saturday! Little Guy didn't realize what Mama had planned until it was too late. Sunshine had her bath first. Since Little Guy was inside having a nap, he didn't know anything about it. He should have suspected something when Mama opened the back door, called his name and insisted he come outside. Sunshine met him at the door to tell him what was about to happen. Little Guy scurried toward the shop but Mama caught him. She picked him up and carried him to the wash area. Little Guy started shaking before Mama even turned the ...

Everyone got up early. Mama rushed to work at Toyota for an hour. Gran. Sunshine and Little Guy stopped by the dealership and picked her up. Then they headed to Dothan. Gran had to go to the surgery center for pre-admission. She has melanoma again and the doctor has to remove it. Mama said they caught it early and Gran should be fine. Little Guy thinks it's all very scary. The ladies at the reception desk gave Gran a number. After a little while, the lady at another desk called her number. The lady asked lots of questions. Mama helped Gran answer. The lady put a plastic bracelet on Gran's wrist. She didn't want Gran to forget her name or birth date. Gran, Mama, Sunshine and Little Guy had barely got settled in the waiting room again when someone called Gran to the back. Little Guy and Sunshine went too. Little Guy wanted to stay close to Gran. The first nurse took Gran's blood pressure and asked her a lot of questions. Gran had already answered them. She didn...

Little Guy climbed into the truck's backseat and snapped his seat belt on. They were in a hurry. Miss Linda had called Mama and said she had some stuff for them. Miss Linda picks up items from other people's trash if she thinks Mama might like it. It was starting to cloud up and rain was likely. Little Guy and Mama were in a rush to get to Miss Linda's before the rain came down. Mama backed into Miss Linda's driveway. She was waiting for them. Mama was excited. Miss Linda had found wood doors, two drawers and a bunch of scrap wood. Mama will take all that trash and turn it into art and furniture. Little Guy helped Mama and Miss Linda load it into the back of the truck. After it was all loaded they went inside to visit. Miss Linda had made lemonade. Little Guy got his very own glass. He sat at the teddy bear table and sipped it while Mama and Miss Linda talked. And talked. They know a lot of people. They were outside saying goodbye when Miss Linda's neighbor ...

Little Guy knew it would be a busy day. Grandaddy had sold the two small grain bins and the man was coming to get them. There was a lot to do to get ready. First, Grandaddy had to use the chain saw to cut down several trees. The trees weren't there when Grandaddy used the grain bins. It has been along time since Grandaddy used the grain bins. Little Guy had to stand way back while Grandaddy used the chain saw. Mama doesn't  allow Little Guy anywhere near power tools while they are running. She's afraid he'll get hurt. Next, Grandaddy used Liquid Wrench on all the screws. Little Guy watched carefully to make sure Grandaddy did it right. Those screws have been there a really long time but Grandaddy has a powerful wrench that operates with the air compressor. Little Guy helped Grandaddy put all the tools on the tractor for the ride to the grain bin site. Little Guy and Grandaddy were having a snack when the man and his friend arrived. They brought two trucks with ...

Little Guy was so excited! Mama and Gran were going to visit some yard sales and he was invited to go. Little Guy had never been to a yard sale before. Mama had a yard sale once but Little Guy didn't get to go. It was at the road and Little Guy and Sunshine aren't allowed anywhere near the road. Little Guy jumped out of bed the minute he heard Mama up. He rushed outside to do his business, then waited patiently for Grandaddy to fix his breakfast. Grandaddy couldn't cook but he was really good at pouring cereal and Moist 'n Meaty. Mama and Little Guy were ready to go. The yard sales started at 7 a.m. and it was about that time. Gran wasn't ready to go. Mama wasn't pleased. She poured herself another cup of coffee. That made Mama feel better. Soon, Mama, Gran and Little Guy piled into the van and away they went. The first stop was a community-wide yard sale. They didn't buy a thing! Mama said it was all over-priced. The next stop was a church fundrai...

Little Guy was excited. He and Sunshine were going to visit a new friend and he had goats. Little Guy had never met a goat. Neither had Sunshine. She acted like it was no big deal. Meeting a goat was a very big deal to Little Guy. Mama drove them to the man's house. Little Guy could see the goats playing in a nearby pasture. He hurried from the car and went to stand by the fence. Some of the goats were so little. Way littlier than the baby calves he had at his house. The man came outside to greet them. Little Guy sat sweetly beside Sunshine. He wanted to impress the man with his good manners. He really, really wanted to play with the goats. Sure enough, the man invited them to walk through the gate and into the pasture with the goats. Some of the goats came up to check out Little Guy and Sunshine. He wondered if they had ever seen a little dog. The man explained that he had large guard dogs that stayed with the goats at night to protect them. Several mama goats came by to...

Mama was not a happy camper. The cows with the two youngest calves were in one pasture. Everyone else was in the other pasture. And Grandaddy didn't seem to care. It was all that little cow's fault. This was her very first baby and she couldn't seem to do a thing with her. The calf went where she wanted to go, which frequently was where Grandaddy didn't want her to be. Little Guy helped Grandaddy get the calf out of briars and bushes several times. That meant that Skittles, the other cow with a newborn, had to stay with her. Skittles was unhappy. Why should she be put in time out? She always knew where her baby was and kept him in line. Skittles was experienced. This was her eighth calf. Mama called all the cows to come around. She opened the gate. Most had come through when Gran said it was time to eat. Right now! Mama left the gate open so everyone else could come through. The cows like to be in that pasture at night. It should have been simple. After supper, ...

Little Guy Helps Fix the Car Little Guy had a headache. Grandaddy was working on the car and he had to help. Little Guy's job was to hold the light and listen to Grandaddy complain. It was a hard job. The handle on the driver's door wasn't working right. Grandaddy said a spring was broken. Gran was really glad it broke while Grandaddy was using it otherwise she would never have heard the end of it. Grandaddy had already taken the door apart one time to figure out the problem. Little Guy was excited to help. He didn't know much about fixing cars but he really wanted to learn. He was disappointed that Grandaddy couldn't fix it right that moment. He had to go to town to get a part. Little Guy was rested up by the time Grandaddy got back. So they took the door apart again and Grandaddy put the new spring into place. They were putting the handle back in when the spring popped out. Grandaddy and Little Guy couldn't find it anywhere. Then Little Guy shined th...

Little Guy wanted to go fishing. He loves to sit on the pier and wait for the fish to bite. The only problem is he usually only gets to go fishing when Christopher comes. Christopher plays baseball. He can't come anytime soon. Sometimes Grandaddy will go fishing with Little Guy. He's not much fun. He usually gets the line hung in a tree or a limb, gets upset and heads back to the house. Sometimes they catch fish but not too often. Mama never goes fishing. She doesn't like it at all. Gran rarely goes and only with her friends. She won't go fishing with Little Guy. Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Harold like to fish. Little Guy wanted to fish with Uncle Harold. He can stay out on the pier for hours. It's lots of fun. Aunt JoAnn likes to fish too. Except her ankles have been swelling and she hasn't been able to fish too much lately. Still, Aunt JoAnn came out to check on Uncle Harold and Little Guy. She watched on the pier for a little while and then she turned to hea...

Little Guy waved good-bye until he couldn't see the top of the silver van. Gran and Grandaddy were going on a day trip. Sunshine and Little Guy were staying home with Mama. She wasn't even awake yet. Mama was tired and she wanted to rest. Little Guy didn't want to rest. He wanted to play and hunt and explore. It was going to be a boring, boring, boring day. He lay down and rested his chin on his little paws. It was down-right depressing. Mama finally came outside. She was on a mission. That was unusual. Mama wasn't know for getting an early start or for starting anything right after she got up. "Let's go open up the shop," she told her babies. Little Guy pushed himself up. He guessed he could check out the area next to the shop, just in case something was after the strawberries. He didn't know why anything would want to eat them. Little Guy preferred blueberries but Grandaddy wouldn't let him near them anymore. He just couldn't resist blu...

Envy filled Little Guy as he watched Sunshine. His big sister lept up on a large roll of hay, then effortlessly jumped from hay roll to hay roll. It looked like so much fun. Little Guy put his front paws on a hay roll and tried to climb up. He couldn't get his foot into a place where he could leverage himself up. Sunshine was so tall she didn't need a foothold. She just jumped and there she was. Little Guy wanted to be big too. He looked around the enclosure. Grandaddy was busy. He'd gotten two truck loads of lay delivered and it all had to be put in place. Little Guy sat down and watched his sister. There had to be a way to get up on a hay roll. He thought and thought. Suddenly, Little Guy had an idea. He went dashing down to the house as fast as his little legs would carry him. He went into the house and finally found Mama downstairs painting. "Mama! I need you to help me with something. Please! Can you help me right now?" Mama put her paint brush down...