Warm Weather, Finally

Maddy here.

Wow! It was warm outside today. I slathered on my 70+ sunscreen with Helioplex, donned my Serengeti shades, then went outside to read a new book. Bliss!!

I love to feel the warmth of the sun radiating across the surface of my skin and down to my very core. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear the soothing sounds of Caribbean steel drums not far off, and the cool waves lapping at the hot sandy beach. I can feel the . . . what? . . . rain?

Of course, the islanders had pirates to deal with, right? Now, I don't actually have murderous and thieving pirates skulking about, but I've got my little brother, Mica, running amok with a water hose!

Below is a link to someone else who likes to read outside:
The Joys of Reading Outside: "Today’s post is, quite simply, an ode to the loveliness of being ..."

That's all for now,
Maddy

Happy A F Day!

Every year I step out into the world on April 1st with my guard up and my senses on red alert, determined not to fall victim to another silly April Fool's joke. This year my confidence was high. Throughout the school day I moved cautiously from classroom to classroom, checking my seat for gum and the usual stupidness. I was ever vigilant as I opened my locker, and as I ventured into the hallways and the lunchroom. So far, so good, I kept telling myself.

This was going to be a banner year for me! Only a few more hours to go, and I'd be safely back home where I had planned to finish the day sorting and slicing specimens from my box of Moroccan geodes.

That's right. A banner year.

Well when I got home, I went straight up to Grandpa's Attic where I kept my box of geodes. These particular geodes were from Morocco and said to have very good crystalline structure inside, even better than the geodes from Mexico.

Needless to say, I was excited to get started.

I grabbed my safety goggles and gloves, then hefted my box of rocks onto the work bench that Grandpa had set up for the messier jobs like this one I was about to start. I pulled the box flaps back and stared in horror at what lay at the bottom.

My box of beautiful Moroccan geodes had been reduced to a lumpy pile of brown dust littered with disintegrated white crystal crumbles. They looked like they had been through a meat grinder. Anger began to build and I knew if I didn't get control of it, blood would shoot out of my eyes. I knew what I had to do, and I knew where to find him.

I pulled my gloves on, stretching and snapping each finger into place. Then, I seated the safety goggles over my eyes and walked purposefully across the expanse of Grandpa's Attic to the spiral stairs. I usually ride the elevator, but Mica knows this. It was time to change my usual MO.

I found Mica in the backyard cavern. He and Digby were sitting, legs dangling, on the wall of the elevated stone pool in the center of our cavern. Perfect, I thought. I can pay him back for trashing my geodes and teach him a valuable lesson at the same time.

Mica is forbidden to be near the pool without either an adult with him, or me. But, there he was all the same. I sneaked in and came around behind the pool, staying low and out of sight. I could see that Mica was showing Digby something, a rock. No, it was a geode. A Moroccan geode!

I dropped down and leaned back against the pool wall. It was over three feet high, so I remained hidden while my anger intensified.

Finally, I rose up and reached across the pool to drag Mica in. Just as I grabbed the neck of his shirt, Grandpa shouted my name. I turned toward his voice and drew my hand back, crashing face first into the pool, generating a soaking Free Willy-style splash. The cave averages 54ºF year-round, but the water always seems warmer. Not geothermal warm, but still warmer than the air. Thank goodness.

I bobbed to the surface, pushing strands of hair from my face and was greeted by Grandpa and Mica laughing hysterically at me, and Digby polishing his dripping fur. That's when I noticed in Grandpa's arms, a cardboard box. Digby hopped on top of the box and disappeared beneath the loose flaps. When he emerged, he held beautiful Moroccan geodes in each paw! My geodes.

"April Fool's!" and "You're all wet," echoed throughout the cavern as Mica jumped in the pool with me for a swim.

That's all for now,
Maddy