Behold my hazelnut trees! Look upon them and despair! Or cheer. Or just look upon them quietly so as to not startle them. Goofus is still not doing much of anything.
If you look closely, you can see that it still has buds and that those buds appear to be tipped with green. I’m taking that as a sign of life, but in all honesty, I’m not sure if those buds are actually bigger than they were last week or if I’m just wishful-thinking. No, I never did go get mulch. I’m not proud of that.
Gallant has leaves now, tiny delicate leaves. They look almost like insect wings. Gallant is all “I am practicing my baby photosynthesizing!” Keep going, Gallant! You will like photosynthesizing, once you get used to it!
Leaves feel like such a good sign. I will feel better about Goofus once he gets some.
Tiny Cat Pants 
Ya know, a college roommate of mine is now one of the senior editors at Highlights, and your last paragraph is so perfect in its tone that I’m tempted to send it to her.
I am surprised to hear that Highlights is still a going concern. I have very fond memories of its gentle artwork and Mr. Rogers’ vibe.
I certainly enjoyed it back in the day.
I only got to read Highlights at the doctors’ office, but I now feel like I have names for these trees.
I only read it at the optometrist. No money around our house for kids’ mags. Maybe that’s why I liked it…it meant I was getting new glasses.
Well, never before have I felt privileged about my parents having gotten us a subscription to Highlights. But now I do. How did you do the puzzles and things if you could only see it in waiting rooms?
A) I was a sickly kid and at the DR a lot
B) our doctors made us wait a lot