Huge Mother's Day surprise

I've never celebrated holidays, nor encouraged my kids to. I guess society pressures people. Anyway, I knew my son from Austin was making a quick trip to Alpine to fix a bathtub in one of our rental houses, He told me he was going to the oasis afterwards and then head back to Austin today. I thought it strange that as busy as he is, he'd come to the oasis. I asked him why and he said he just needed a break from all the craziness (not his exact words). Well, this morning happened to be Mother's Day and he presented me with a plaque that my three kids had all chipped in on. After he installed it, I immediately couldn't imagine the house at the oasis without it. It just belonged, like the finishing touch.

The brass plaque was so heavy I could barely lift it. He anchored it into the wall, drilling deep holes, etc. Barring drastic action, it'll still be there a thousand years from now. I wonder if it'll feel different living there now. Will I feel the need to label heirlooms, and such? Maybe to make displays of old photos? Will I see my house through a different lens? Probably. I already made the comment that old trellis needs to go. I had never thought that before. Hmmm...

Back in Alpine, I discovered at least one duckling has hatched. Tomorrow I should be able to assess the situation better. Expect photos tomorrow. The mother is still on the nest, a storm is brewing and I couldn't tell much this afternoon. But I did see at least one rambunctious duckling jumping around in there. (I had today or tomorrow on the calendar, so right on schedule.)