Saturday I had the most enjoyable time with my three grandkids: Aurelia, Felix and Leo. Peder had asked me to come to stay with them for a couple of hours while he went to an appointment.

After chatting with them for awhile, I gave them 15 minutes to complete what they were doing on their screens (iPad plus two other devices). When time was up, I had no push back and then asked them to get their jackets on so we could go for a walk. This was an idea that popped into my head as I drove up to their home – trees abloom in many yards and on the boulevards.

We started out by stopping at each house to look at what was blooming and to point out any interesting aspects of the house. (A rule I made was that they had to stay on the sidewalk.) It wasn't long before one of them would stop us to point out the tiny wild violets in the grass.

After turning the first corner, Felix and Leo ran up to the house at the next corner. They were excited to show me the large rock that was sitting on the stone wall. "Look, Grandma D – it has sparkles in it!" Sure enough, it was a large piece of granite. That particular house had many lovely and unusual features. We spent a bunch of time there.

Onward we went, spotting tulips, daffodils, lilacs, flowering plum trees, porches with swings, little ponds—one with gargoyles around the edge.

On the next block, I spotted a gorgeous cat – about the size of Nels – who was paying no attention to us. It was behind a beautiful black wrought iron fence and eating grass. Its house (my assumption) was a lovely Victorian, painted in tan, purple and blue. I should have brought along my phone so I could have taken a photo—not only of this house and cat, but of my three darling grandkids who were enjoying this so much!

When we came upon a brick house that is just inches from the sidewalk, there we saw a large patch of lily of the valley. The ones nearer the foundation were already open. The kids enjoyed seeing their little bell-shaped flowers.

One particular flower really impressed Felix and Aurelia. It was the bleeding heart. I pointed out the heart-shape and then showed them the little drop of "blood" dripping from it. Felix gently pinched one of the petals and then released it to see it return to its original state.

Yesterday I returned to Peder and Sarah's for Felix's birthday party. Aurelia was the greeter at the front steps. She told me she had drawn a picture that morning of a bleeding heart. Sarah later told me Aurelia had been drawing flowers all morning long. I loved hearing that.