Friday, April 15, 2011

Cold Pricklies, a.k.a. Poky Balls

Do you remember the story of the Warm Fuzzies and Cold Pricklies?  You know, Warm Fuzzies are the nice things people do or say - things that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Cold Pricklies are just the opposite.  I'm convinced that these little "poky balls" (as my kids call them) are nature's Cold Pricklies!  It seems we were, um, blessed with an abundance of them this year and I've spent several hours this spring raking and bagging them up.  (I've filled at least 5 huge garbage bags and that doesn't include all the poky balls Jeff took care of!)    If you aren't familiar with these nasty little things, they are a product of the sweet gum tree and we happen to have a huge one in our front yard.  As a side note, a few years ago we had some wacky spring weather and there was a frost at exactly the right time which kept the poky balls from forming.  There were NONE!  Ah, that was a great year!  :)

Anyway, last night we loaded up most of the kids and all our rakes and went to help a friend rake up her poky balls.  (And I thought we had a lot!)  As much as I detest these little things, it was great to see my kids getting along while we tackled the job.  Sadie was our little worker-bee.  She worked as hard as anyone and didn't let up until the job was complete.  I love seeing my kids work together and I was glad we could help our friend.

How's that for turning Cold Pricklies into Warm Fuzzies?

1 comment:

Karey said...

Are these the little things that stick relentlessly to socks, too? They look like a pain in the neck, although the picture you took is quite pretty.

How nice, though, that it gave you a chance to work together and serve. Maybe that's what cold pricklies are all about.