Ballard Street by Jerry Van Amerongen for May 12, 2023

I see that Delbert is no longer growing his ‘forest’ in the basement, it must save him a fortune because those grow lights really run the electric bill up.

Delbert likes to set the scene for story time.

See how sharp his inserts are? That shows you how caring he is, both toward plants and dogs. Unfortunately Phideaux isn’t fond of this story and will latch on to his pencil ankle.. the ensuing chaos will send the plants into shock and Phideaux into the basement. Thus endeth the narrative.

Too many choices for Scooters hiking needs.

yeah…. i wanna do this

Scooter’s waiting for the part about the squirrels.

Sometimes he gets lost in the stories he reads.

Delbert just reached that ‘AHA!’ moment when he realizes the book is upside down…

Phideaux: So many plants to mark, so little time.

That’s quite a forest.

Excellent !

“…there was a boy and his dog..” Go on.

“…There were four sisters, Rose, Daisy, Violet, and Hyacinth…”

“…And, of course, their cousins Fern, Lily, Holly, and Ivy…”

“…And their cats Ginger and Rhubarb…”

His wife is house plant fanatic gone crazy…poor guy!

Phideaux is doing a good job at keeping the forest creatures away.

Gerald’s marijuana grow operation comes in handy during story time.

“… there lived a dog who loved to dig and knock over potted plants …”

Good morning Balladeers!

Immersive reading is the next best thing to virtual reality story time.

Mabel still hasn’t forgiven Delbert for staging Moby Dick in the livingroom. The high water marks are still faintly visible, despite a thorough scrubbing.