Tag: Emmy

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Emmy vs. the canoe

It seemed like such a simple idea. Ed and I had decided to rent a canoe and spend a couple of hours on the lazy Clarion River with Lily and Emmy. 

Our excitement rose as the van driver took us to the canoe launch. The girls had their life jackets on and sat in the middle of the canoe as Ed and I pushed it in the water. The day was hot and hazy, but a cool breeze floated along the water. Ed and I hopped in, ready to enjoy the next 4 miles on the river.

Then the canoe wobbled, got stuck on the rocks, and Emmy burst into tears.

We tried to console her as Ed hopped out of the canoe to push us off the rocks. But she wasn’t hearing any of us tell her it was okay. It was the middle of July, and so the depth of the water was not very deep. It had never even occured to Ed and me that the wobbly, tippy feeling of a canoe would terrify our youngest daughter so much. She had a death grip on the bar in front of her, knuckles turning white, tears flowing down her cheeks.

Lily, of course, loved every minute.

We got stuck a few more times in the shallow parts of the river, and as Emmy got used to the feeling of the canoe and Ed and I managed to start avoiding some of the bigger rocks, she even started to enjoy our adventure.

Emmy was NOT going to let go of that metal bar in front of her, however. She was very relieved when our canoe ride was over and she was back on solid ground.

I think we may be able to convince her to ride another canoe next summer.

Emmy makes peace with those wibbly wobbly canoes.

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Friday Follow-Up: My Stump

A couple of weeks ago, you may recall that I wrote about a stump in my backyard. To make a long story short, my stump was unrightfully removed, and so I complained and got it back.

The workmen put my stump on the other side of the yard, so I had to move it back to the spot where I wanted it. My stump is a heavy piece of wood, and as I tried rolling it across the yard, I spotted a bright, shiny green bug.

You know me…I always jump to the worst conclusion. Remember the whole “poison ivy” episode?

So of course, I started worrying that this bug was the Emerald ash borer, which in an invasive insect and are supposed to be reported if you spot one. This time, though, I was more rational. The stump was from a maple tree, not an ash, and it was not a live tree. But I had to figure out what kind of bug has such a shiny green color!

I just love this insect identification website. It showed me the insect I saw right away…it was the Augochora Sweat Bee. Who knew a bee could be green?

I wrestled the stump to where I wanted it to be. The next day, Emmy and I happened to catch the end of Sid the Science Kid on PBS. The episode was all about a stump in Sid’s backyard — Sid decided to Save the Stump. What a coincidence! After we had lunch, Emmy and I went to the backyard with potting soil and a magnifying glass. We looked for bugs and planted some flowers.

We saved our stump!

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P.S. It’s here! This weekend, June 4-5, I’ll be walking 39 miles in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. I’ll be tweeting about the walk on twitter: @lemondroppie. Come back next week to see if I made it!