Bouffant Blonde

The clouds started building in the later afternoon sky. Mama was busy in the shop. She painted and painted. Sunshine watched for squirrels in the front yard. Little Guy watched the clouds. Mama finally got done. She closed up the shop. Little Guy was relieved. He thought he heard thunder and he really wanted to go in the house. Mama said they had to go put feed in the calf feeder. Little Guy didn't think it was necessary. Mama said it was, so off they went. Then they had to feed the geese. Again. The geese have a lot of wild duck friends that come to visit. Those friends sure do like to eat! Thunder rolled over them. Little Guy headed to the back door and waited. Sunshine stood beside him. Mama opened the door and they rushed in. It isn't safe to be outside when you hear thunder. That's what Rich Thomas says all the time. He's the weatherman on TV. Little Guy likes to watch TV. Mama fixed them all supper. It was good. Little Guy and Sunshine like ham. When Mam...

Little Guy and Sunshine hurried after Grandaddy. He likes to check out the cows first thing in the morning, counting them and making sure the calves have feed. Little Guy and Sunshine like to check out everything else. Sunshine immediately realized something was amiss in the garden. She sniffed and stuck her tail up. Little Guy quietly crept to her side. Then they were off! A rabbit was eating Grandaddy's garden and it just wouldn't do. They chased the rabbit from the garden, across the pasture, past the grain bin and into a small grassy area. The rabbit rushed into an old PVC pipe and there it stayed. Sunshine determinably lifted the pipe up and dropped it. She did it again and again but the rabbit managed to hold on and remained inside the pipe. Little Guy shoved his nose into one end of the pipe. He was too big. Only his nose would fit. They guarded the pipe, one at each end, for hours. Sunshine and Little Guy heard Mama calling and calling. They pretended they didn...

Little Guy stood up tall as he walked with Gran and Grandaddy to the garden. They were going to check things out. Grandaddy likes to keep watch and make sure the fruits and vegetables are growing like they should. Gran likes to make sure Grandaddy is doing his job. Little Guy just likes to explore. Unfortunately, Little Guy gets bored easily. So while Gran and Grandaddy were walking around the garden, he was looking for something else to do. That's when he spied the blueberries. They looked so enticing as they hung from the small bushes. Grandaddy had put a single strand of wire around them. He didn't want anyone to eat his blueberries. He licked his lips. Those blueberries sure looked good. Surely, Grandaddy wouldn't mind if Little Guy ate just a few. Grandaddy probably wouldn't even notice. Little Guy glanced over at Gran and Grandaddy. They weren't paying him any attention. He looked back at the blueberries. He could just slide right under that wire, grab ...

Little Guy jumped up and down. He was so excited! Christopher was coming and they were going fishing. Little Guy doesn't really go fishing. He doesn't like to fish. But he really, really likes to follow Christopher around and watch him fish. That's a lot of fun. As soon as he arrived, Christopher grabbed a bunch of fishing gear Grandaddy keeps in the garage. He headed for the pond, with Little Guy and Sunshine right behind him. They all hopped onto the pier to see how the fish were biting from there. When Sunshine was a baby, she saw the fish and jumped into pond to try and catch one. Little Guy would never do that. He doesn't even like to swim. They didn't stay on the pier very long. Christopher said the fish weren't biting. So they headed around the pond and toward the dam. Little Guy stepped too close to the water and his feet got dirty. Eww! Mud squished between his toes. Christopher cast into the water and a fish struck the line. He waited. Pretty...

Little Guy sat in the backseat and pouted all the way to the grocery store. He didn't like to go to the grocery store with Gran. It took forever and it wasn't any fun at all. But Mama said they had to go and so they went. When they got to the store, Mama helped Little Guy into the driver's seat of a shopping car. At least he could "help" drive them around the store. That made Little Guy feel a little better. Plus, being up high meant he was less likely to get stepped on. Little Guy doesn't like to get stepped on. First, they headed down the soda and chips aisle. Gran really likes Diet Cokes. Mama does too. Little Guy doesn't get to drink soda. It's not good for him. Mama grabbed some chips too. They're okay but Little Guy likes cookies better. He hoped Mama would put some of those in the the shopping car when they got to that aisle. Next, they headed to the produce section. That area took a while. Gran likes to buy fruit and vegetables. An...

Little Guy and Sunshine were enjoying a lazy morning. The cool breeze floated over them while they dreamed of rawhide bones and hunting. Suddenly, Sunshine lifted her head and looked over toward the pecan tree in the front yard. Little Guy sat up and looked too. Oh, no! A squirrel had invaded the yard. They were not going to allow it. They simply weren't. Little Guy and Sunshine raced across the yard. Sunshine always wins. Her legs are longer than Little Guy's legs. It didn't matter. They were too late. The squirrel was already in the tree, gazing down at them. Sunshine immediately tried to climb the tree. She's almost tall enough to reach the bottom limb. But almost doesn't quite make it. Little Guy raced around the tree again and again. The squirrel was hiding. Sunshine and Little Guy started barking furiously. Mama came outside to see what the commotion was all about. They explained the situation. Mama looked and looked but didn't see the squirrel. ...

Gran had to go to the dermatologist today. It was just a check-up after she had the cancer taken off. Still, Mama, Little Guy and Sunshine went along. Gran doesn't get to go to the doctor by herself. Little Guy doesn't ever want to go to the doctor. They passed a really sweet lady on the sidewalk going to the door. She smiled and said hello. Little Guy gave her a big grin. They hadn't reached the door yet when they heard something. The woman had fallen when she stepped off the curb. She was laying in a fetal position on the asphalt. Mama went running. Little Guy, Sunshine and Gran were right behind her. Mama knelt beside the woman and spoke to her. The woman seemed dazed. Mama sent Gran for help. Mama and a man who ran out of the office, helped the woman sit up. They started checking for injuries. The woman's head was bleeding. Her wrist was bleeding. Her knee was scraped. The ankle of her other leg started swelling. It was obvious she wouldn't be walking aw...

Little Guy and Sunshine rode with Mama down to the Senior Center. Mr. John was teaching a CPR class and they were invited to go. Mama goes every year but this was the first time Little Guy and Sunshine got to go. Mama said it was important. Little Guy and Sunshine knew quite a few people who were there. They got lots of neck hugs. One lady hugged Little Guy really tight. It almost hurt. Sunshine laughed. Little Guy didn't think it was funny. Mr. John is with the Battens Volunteer Fire Department. He is really smart. He has to be. He and his wife have five teenagers at home. Mr. John said it is really important to know what to do if someone collapses and isn't breathing. They could die unless someone helps them. Little Guy doesn't want anyone to die, especially his Mama. He was going to pay close attention to everything Mr. John said. Mr. John showed everyone how to find the proper place on someone's chest to start hand compressions. He even showed them how to...

It was Sunday so Mama, Little Guy and Sunshine got up early and went to church. It's important to go to church. There were a lot of people there. The big choir joined the praise band, then the hand bell ladies came out. It was awesome! Sunday school follows contemporary church. Mama goes to the adult class. Sunshine goes to the youth class. Little Guy goes to the children's class. One day he wants to go to Sunshine's class just to see. Little Guy doesn't think they have as much fun in their class as he has in his class. After class Mama collected her babies and they headed home for lunch. Gran and Grandaddy were already there. They go to senior church and Sunday school. When Mama opened the car door, they all heard a loud noise. Mama looked around. Sunshine started sniffing. Little Guy checked out Grandaddy's van. Oh, no! It was coming from a tire on Mama's car. Mama rushed inside and quickly changed clothes. She grabbed the shop keys and started running...

Little Guy and Sunshine were really excited. Mama and Gran were heading to town and they got to go. In the van! They never, ever get to ride in the van. They rode and rode and finally Mama pulled to a stop at a gate. A woman in a uniform checked Mama and Gran's ID's. Little Guy and Sunshine didn't have any ID's but the lady said that it was okay. Soon Mama pulled into a parking place. She opened the sliding doors and Little Guy and Sunshine hopped out. They looked around. They heard other dogs talking. Little Guy tried to get back in the van. Mama had already closed the door. He was not happy. Gran went inside and signed their names to the register. Mama stayed outside with Little Guy and Sunshine. They waited and waited. Finally, Gran suggested they go inside and sit. Sunshine was grateful to go inside the air conditioned building. Little Guy really wanted to stay outside. Sunshine sat beside Gran. Little Guy sat beside Mama. Little Guy decided he wanted to s...

Little Guy yawned loudly. He and Grandaddy were heading to Uncle Harold's farm to pick English peas. Sunshine was still asleep at home. Little Guy kind of wished he was too. But he knew Grandaddy needed somebody to help him and there really was no one else. They stopped by the house. Aunt JoAnn gave Little Guy something to eat. She likes to feed people. Little Guy likes to eat. Then Uncle Harold went with Little Guy and Grandaddy to the garden to show them where to pick. Uncle Harold had picked a bunch of rows of peas the day before. Little Guy and Grandaddy got to work. Little Guy went first and cleared all the rows of critters. Well, he didn't actually see any critters. But there could have been some critters and he scared them away. Grandaddy bent over and started picking peas. It was slow work. Little Guy helped as best he could. They picked peas for two hours. They got two buckets full. Little Guy was disappointed. He expected to get way more for all the time and e...

"Oh, no," Mama exclaimed. "I can not believe it!" Little Guy and Sunshine rushed to Mama's side. They stared down at the small patch of strawberry plants. Mama reached down among the leaves and came up with a deep, red strawberry. Little Guy thought it was beautiful. Then Mama turned it over. Something had eaten part of Mama's strawberry. Uh-oh! Sunshine immediately started searching for the culprit. Little Guy didn't know what to look for. Mama reached down and got another strawberry. Something small and slimy was eating it. Little Guy looked closely at it. He'd never seen anything like it. "Snails," Mama said with disgust. "I'm not going to put up with it! I've worked too hard to let them eat all the strawberries." "What do we do Mama," Little Guy asked. "Snail bait," Mama said firmly. She turned and marched toward the laundry room. The laundry room has really tall shelves. On the ver...

Little Guy watched Mama closely as she slept. He couldn't wait for her to wake up. He wanted to be the very first one to wish her a Happy Mother's Day. Little Guy glanced over at Sunshine. She was still sound asleep. Mama opened her eyes and Little Guy hopped on the bed. He kissed his Mama and smiled. She hugged him close. Sunshine opened one eye, then slowly got up and stretched. Then she came over and tried to shove Little Guy aside to give Mama her own kiss. Little Guy and Sunshine each presented Mama with a card. Grandaddy had taken then shopping at Walgreen's on Friday. Mama smiled as she read the cards. She was really happy. After breakfast, they all got ready and went to church. Little Guy likes to go to church. They sang songs and prayed a few times. Then Little Guy got to to Children's Church. Sunshine is too big. She has to stay with the adults until Sunday school. The teacher told Little Guy and the other children that they were going to make a spec...