“Crosby, wake up! WAKE UP, CROSBY!!”

“What do you want, Buddy? I was taking my afternoon nap. “

“Crosby, I just saw Mom’s car pull down the driveway to the backyard.

Let’s get in the Catio and spy on her!”

“Mom, what are you doing? We see a box of plants in your car!”

“Hi guys. I’m getting ready to start my garden today and plant pretty flowers for the patio.”

“Are you planting corn and tomatoes and peppers and other icky edgetables, Mom? Can you plant Greenies salmon bite treats for us?”

“Well, I am planting tomatoes but I have to buy the Greenies at the store. No corn or peppers- that’s what real farmers do! Let me get my gloves on and we’ll start. “

“Yikes – those look like doctor tools to cut somebody open!!”

“What is the pink visor for, Mom? Isn’t Duck Commander part of the Duck Dynasty TV show? QUACK, QUACK, QUACK! That’s my Duck call!”

“Buddy, you are silly! I got the visor from the Duck Dynasty guys when they were here in Nashville signing autographs. I was part of their security team at the convention center and they gave us visors as a thank you. It’s my good luck charm when I plant my flowers and vegetables.”

“Dad says you have a brown thumb and things you plant don’t grow very good, Mom”.

“Thanks, Crosby. We’ll just have to take really good care of them and hope they grow. I started some tomatoes from seeds in the house that are still really tiny, so I also bought a few plants from The Veggie Patch that are bigger. “

“I remember those purple psychedelic lights – Buddy thought his eyes were going crazy!”

“I have to get my wagon out. Do you guys want to help me?”

“EEEWWW- THERE’S A SKUNK IN THE GARAGE!! HE’S GONNA SPRAY STINKY STUFF ON ME!!”

Buddy, don’t worry. That’s Crosby!”

“OK, I don’t smell anything too bad.

Can we ride in the wagon? Where’s the engine? Do we steer with this handle? Is the blue basket where I ride and Crosby steers from the front seat? WHEE, this is going to be fun!!”

“Mom, your maters are tiny. Are we going to get those little cherry tomatoes? That red bird is HUGE!!”

“”So many questions from you boys! The big red cardinal is a bird feeder the Amish made, and I think it will keep the crows away.

The tomato plants are babies. This is April, and they take about 2-3 months to grow until they can be eaten. So they should be ready in July. I planted German Johnson and Mortgage Lifter tomatoes that get really big.”

“What’s Mom doing on our catio?”

“She’s decorating it with surfboard and beachy stuff because Dad used to surf. This is where they sit and drink cocktails!”

“Now we can put these pretty flowers in the planters and enjoy the colors all summer on the patio.”

“See how pretty they look when planted?”

“So that’s it for today, boys. We’ll take pictures every few weeks to compare how big everything gets from what it is today. “

“Anyone want to make bets on how good Mom’s garden does?? Until next time…Crosby and Buddy are out of here – we have farming to do!!”