"i was playing with my sand castle, and i was afraid of the javelinas..."

     The past two days were mild. Warm, even! Sparrow and I were out in the back yard this afternoon. I on my laptop and she playing with the net in the fish pond. When she saw the hose she thought she'd like to water something (everything in the yard looks like it is dying right now...oops!) and pretty soon she thought she'd like to play in the mud. well, who doesn't wanna play in the mud sometimes, right? So after we had put on appropriate mud-playing clothes and gathered Golden, newly nap-woken, I put the hose on low on one of the crackly plants and gave them some buckets and shovels. they were up on a rise held in by a stone wall on the east side of the house. I decided to run in and clean out the bathtub so it would be ready for them when they were done! The bathtub normally houses my mop/mop bucket, and Silas' dirty diaper bucket. It's been ages since they took a bath in it; I've just been getting them clean in the shower lately, with me! I decided to soak the dirty diapers while I was at it, and then Thomas called. When i went out to check on them, I got startled by a group of javelina running off; they had been eating the moldy remains of the old pumpkin that Uncle Rick had thrown out into the "desert" for me (read: the front yard). A second later, I heard bloodcurdling screams coming from around the corner. Oh no; had one of them fallen? I ran to the east side of the house, and there were both of my girls screaming at the tops of their lungs, hysterical tears streaming down their faces. "MAAAMAAAA!" "I'll call you back!" I shouted to Thomas, running over. The gathering of my mud-stained, tear-streaked, shaking little bundles was the most precious moment of my day.

     Yes, the hysteria was on account of the wild pigs, which have no interest in humans, besides the fact that they can generate some tasty trash. sparrow, later: "where WERE you?" wow. true. i have never left them alone outside before. they are usually within earshot at least. i can't believe i didn't hear them screaming like that, from in the house! Golden, later :"i was playing with my sand castle, pecause i was playing with my shovel, and i was afraid of the javelinas." she said it again and again! poor babies! well that is the last time that happens until they are older and more trained in desert savvy! Time to be more of a sheep mother again. Goat mothers leave their children on a hill while they go off to do stuff goat mothers do. Sheep mothers keep their babies within earshot.