I haven’t been on the computer or anywhere near the phone lately because the sun has finally come out - FINALLY! And for BC residents, that means that everyone goes outside and stays there for as long as they possibly can every day

We’ve been working lots in the garden and just being outside playing and enjoying the sun. This weekend we had a bike ride along a trail in a local park, and we’ve been out taking walks and playing in the park and just doing anything we can outside lately. It’s been days since I’ve even been on the computer.

We have a big compilation of photos we made from Quinn’s memorial on our wall in our stairway, and lately Kiernen wants to stop and look at it frequently when we’re walking on the stairs. He talks about Quinn a lot - he understands that he died (just like Gandalf and Palomei) and he says, “Quinn died. I don’t have him anymore.” Oh, my heart, my heart. We talk about the photos and he asks, “Where are me?” and we explain that Quinn was here before he was born. We go over all of this fairly regularly, as we do anything he is interested in - he wants to hear the stories of things over and over again.

Wednesdays I’m taking a beekeeping class with one of my neighbours, because we’re both really interested in beekeeping. Bees are SO fascinating! Kiernen and I went to the garden center and bought a couple of plants that attract bees. They were all over the heather and these other plants whose names escape me right now - there was this huge display just surrounded by little honeybees, and Kiernen was absolutely fascinated. So I bought two of these fragrant beauties and I told Kiernen that the bees would come to our house of we had these outside - and the very next day we had bees outside on these plants!

Kiernen was playing by the back door and came running into the kitchen to get me, saying, “Mama, I need you - come see!” I went with him and he showed me, “Look Mama! A bee!” We watched the bee through the screen door and then went outside and watched her, and I told him about how they’re collecting pollen to take back to the nest - he said, “Mama, I love the bees - they’re so cute!” He stands back and just watches them intently - I’m pretty sure that has I just let him, we’d have been at that garden store for hours just watching the bees. And I am delighted