Poppy Cat

The times of hanging out with Nana out in the country have come and gone.  Apparently now, it is Eli and Poppy time.  Eli is no longer interested in helping me make cookies or wrap a present - no it's Pops all the way.

You know Poppy the farm kid, the one that was able to drive an old Chevy pickup at the ripe of age of 10 or the very same Poppy that stepped up to drive a tractor well enough to work the field not long after that.  Yes it is the same Pops that at age 14 put in  40 hour work weeks on the farm and it was only Wednesday.  Um and the very same little kid who got on the school bus an hour before school started and got off the bus sometimes while the sun was setting.

All of those old facts gave me no comfort on this morning  when I saw Eli and his Poppy attempting to down two trees in our back yard that had died over the summer.  I never ask what the two of them are up to but everywhere Jon goes he has a little, slow moving, non stop talking shadow....with an attitude.  Saturday morning when the two of them loaded a pile of tools into the tractor wagon it didn't even cause me to pause.  The initial load and constant banging in the backyard didn't even initiate concern.

It wasn't until I glanced out the window that I had to catch my breath.  Jon was bending over pulling on a tree stump, one hand clutching an ax while Eli, wielded yet another ax as he focused completely on the stump....or Poppy's head I couldn't tell from my vantage point. I breathed slowly as Eli would get the ax up above his head and then the weight of the iron would drop behind him and spin him completely around. Do Crocs make steel toed shoes for children?   I rolled my eyes as I walked calmly to the laundry room and gathered my tools, bandages, alcohol....tourniquets,the  units of blood I have started stocking.  My curiosity got the best of me though as I watched them pound the tree stump and it didn't give an inch.  I moved a dining room chair closer to the window so I could witness the scene in complete comfort.

After a few minutes - and a few close calls - out came the chain attached to the tractor, once again little Eli in the middle of it all.  From my perch I could see the chain attached to the stump and attached to the tractor and then Eli driving the John Deere while he sat on Poppy's lap.  Apparently both the farm boys had underestimated the strength of the wood, or maybe they had overestimated their lumberjack talents perhaps because again the stump was victorious!

As I got up to push the dining room chair back  to  its place thinking my very old ER skills were not necessary this morning I glimpsed something silver flash by the window.  The Chevy truck and it was coming closer at a pace that made me a bit nervous.  I could see  that at least Eli wasn't driving THAT vehicle.  The truck never paused, never slowed just simply rammed the stump, it finally fell onto the ground as the deep roots were now exposed.  Jon stopped the pickup and smiled as he turned to see the wood.  Eli came out of the truck like a fighter gearing up for a match.  He was chanting something and pumping his fist in the air with a huge grin on his face.  After a series of high fives between them they loaded the old tree trunk and took it away.

All while staying with Poppy for a mere few hours,  It is apparent though that Eli is one huge POPPY CAT!