At the Shop.....

The little Gnomes have been good for 2 days now!! Except for 1 little incident when they hid in my shoes by the door yesterday. They really wanted to go to the shop and see if it is as fun as Kosmoe & Picabo say it is, so yes, I caved and said OK. They soon learned there's rules about going to the shop.... like you have to have a bath, be nice to the customers, and no playing in the shop during business hours. They promised they could follow the rules! Bath time.... they watched Kosmoe and Picabo get a bath and decided it was like a big puddle they play in when it rains..... they loved it!! Awesome! We will have clean little Gnomes!

I showed them their choices of plants they could tend to and asked which one they wanted to take care of. Mr Pichonio asked me if I could please turn around and let them discuss it in private. Hmmm, he was polite about it so I said OK.... like how much could they really talk about?? Finally, Mr Pichonio said they had made a decision. They want to take care of all the plants, so would it be OK if they move to the different planters as long as they do it when nobody is looking? Mr Billy Bob BoFlex piped up and said that was his idea! Wow! I thought to myself, these little guys are really trying! This won't be bad at all! I asked then where they would like to start.... "In the wheel barrow in front of the office!" they both hollered together. "That way everyone can see how cool we are". So the wheel barrow it is!

As I set them in the plants, they had to be moved several times until they were in just the right spot. I think I have the happiest & proudest little Gnomes on the planet! They did great all day! Did not move a muscle! We closed up shop and checked on Mr Pichonio and Mr Billy Bob BoFlex. All is good. I turned to walk away and hear a quite little voice.... "Can you please leave a light on?" Mr Pichonio is afraid of the dark! Ahhh, poor thing! Mr Billy Bob BoFlex starts laughing at him and I remind him that that isn't nice. What if he was afraid of something and someone teased him. "OK, OK, fine! But I'm not afraid of anything!" I turned on the porch light as we headed out....

Saturday morning I check on Mr Pichonio and Mr Billy Bob BoFlex to see how their first night outside went. Mr Billy Bob BoFlex speaks up and says "GREAT!" Mr Pichonio clears his throat and says... "ummm, not really so great, let's be honest." As I look puzzled, I asked Mr Pichonio what happened. "Well, let's just say I didn't get much sleep last night."  Really? Why not??  "Because Mr Billy Bob BoFlex is afraid of EVERYTHING!! I had just fallen asleep and deer walked by.... Mr Billy Bob BoFlex screamed like a girl. I get him calmed down and fall asleep again, only to be awaken by another scream. A spider crawled across his foot and he jumped and almost fell out of the wheel barrow!" Mr Billy Bob BoFlex buts in.... "Oh, and what about you!! You were crying because your feet were cold!" Now I'm thinking.... it's not over after all :(

How can we make this work? Mr Pichonio suggested bark mulch over their feet, and Mr Billy Bob BoFlex suggested putting them in the plants in the "bull pen" at night so the deer can't get them..... he'll work on the spiders.