The Aardsma Weekly

March 2, 2008

Writer: Rachel Aardsma

One day as I was building a puzzle, my cat came over and took a nap right on top of all the pieces and the half-built puzzle! Photo by Beka.

I watched what I decided were snowmobiles skim down our road. (I guessed they were snowmobiles because we received a good layer of snow recently. But as it turned out, they weren't snowmobiles, they were four-wheelers.) My hopes rose as they neared the end of the gravel stretch and appeared to be leaving, but quickly sank as the vehicles pulled into a group and stopped. Their lights were on. I could see clearly outlined figures of three people leaning against their vehicles. There was a long wait. I wondered what they were doing, while my ever-active imagination (that thing just goes crazy in the dark, silent house at night) began to conjure up numerous situations. I had already decided that the three strange people were robbers, drug dealers, smugglers, pirates, convicts, murderers, and gang members by the time they started up their vehicles again. However, they proved to have slightly more innocent intentions. All they wanted to do was play around in the snow with their toys. I watched in frustration as they made wide circles to go flying over one of the snow-filled ditches. Their machines were loud. I wished they would go away. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep with all that racket.

Again and again the vehicles went around and jumped over the ditch. After a while the vehicles started to get stuck. The stuck wheels would spin, sending a fountain of snow into the air. I could see everything well because of the bright lights on the vehicles. One of the vehicles got badly stuck, and the others spent five minutes helping him out. After that they seemed to think better of that particular kind of play, so they started doing wide figure eights in the field, spicing this boring amusement by getting stuck in every available drift. By this time I was getting sleepy and wished very much that they would leave. I heard Dad walking around in the house, and went out to tell him what was going on. He went back to bed and I went back to my window.

Ten minutes later they stopped their wild games, pulled up into a tight group, and turned their vehicles off entirely. I wondered what they were doing, but heard nothing. I wondered what had happened. It looked like they wanted to have a friendly chat in the middle of the field. I wondered if they were frozen yet. It was very cold out. I kept hoping they would leave so I could go to sleep.

Buddy takes advantage of a long car ride and takes a quick rest on Matthew's arm. Photo by me.

After about five minutes spent in the middle of the field, the teenagers decided they had had enough fun for one night. They came slowly down the road towards the house, stopping often. When they neared the house Dad heard the motors and appeared again.

We talked for a few minutes, watching the three guys through the window. That's when we discovered, to our shock, that they were driving four-wheelers through the thick snow! That explained why they were getting stuck all the time. Dad, wondering what these guys were up to and hoping they had enough sense to stay out of our yard, watched from the screen door as they paused by our house. One man was stuck. Another one pulled his four-wheeler up behind, and pushed the other out. Mom joined us at the windows. We watched, unsure what the hooligans had in mind. The boys, as they appeared to be, moved past our house and began riding in and out of the ditches ten or fifteen yards up from our house. They appeared to be having fun. I wished they would leave. Up and down they went. We watched them, and breathed a simultaneous sigh of relief when they finally decided they had disturbed our sleep enough. The three four-wheelers disappeared into the night. Mom and Dad went back to bed. I picked up my cat and got in my own warm bed. My heart was pounding. I could hear it. I knew there was little chance of getting any sleep for a while.

I got out of bed after a few minutes and wandered around the house. My cat couldn't understand why I was disturbing her peaceful reign over the house in the dark hours, and came over to say hi. I picked her up again and carried her into my room. Hit with a sudden inspiration, I turned my computer back on and closed my door. I could at least do something if I couldn't sleep. I've been wanting to write an article about sleep for a couple of weeks now...

The Weekly Bible Verse

Proverbs 22:2: The rich and poor have this in common: the Lord is Maker of them all.

Bits and Pieces

We have had a fairly busy week. School is really winding down now. Most of us are in our last month of school, but Beka and Matthew both have two more months before they are finished. Beka, however, is working like mad to get her school done in time to help out with the major garden planting.

We did some neat things this week, which I hope to write about very soon. Beka and I got to go with Matthew to one of his dog obedience classes. He is currently getting involved in rally obedience, which I don't know much about! (Talk to Matthew. He is a walking dog obedience encyclopedia.) He hopes to start attending obedience trials soon.

One of our growing lambs with its very protective mother! Photo by me.

This week we adopted a jar-full of praying mantids. (I looked it up. 'Mantids' is the plural form of 'mantis'.) Timmy hatched them from an egg sack he found on our Christmas tree. He kept the sack in a little jar on a shelf. A few nights ago, Matthew was rummaging through the shelves looking for chili pepper. He kept handing me jars of spices and asking what they were, when suddenly he gasped and said,
"Good grief! There are bugs up here! Millions of them!"

We have been feeding our praying mantids on fruit flies, which they seem to enjoy. It is yet to be seen, of course, if they live until it is warm enough to release them, but we hope they do. Praying mantids are excellent bug eaters and we want them for our garden.

Beka in the middle of a tricky transfer operation! She had to get the very fragile praying mantids from a small jar to a big one, squashing as few as possible. Photo by me.

Everybody has been sick with my cold this week. Throat lozenges and chewing gum (our own little remedy for sore throats) abound everywhere. All night long I lie in bed and listen to everybody coughing all over the house. I keep cheerfully telling them that they only have a week or so more to suffer, but it doesn't seem to be encouraging them.

A Word About The Weather

It has been spring-like and nice this week, but with a lot of wet! Rain and melting snow combine to make everything slush and mud. Matthew hates letting Buddy outside, because every time Buddy goes out, he requires an immediate and thorough bath!

An Easter Joke

Q: Where does Valentine's Day come after Easter?
A: In the dictionary.