Gus and Trudy Watch a Beautiful Sunset

Gus and Trudy were so very lucky to watch this beautiful sunset!

Gus Eats His First Watermelon

The watermelons were coming out finally and Gus was very excited. Even though he was a garden gnome he had never tasted a watermelon before. It's not that he wasn't interested in watermelons it was just that he usually gave all the watermelons away. This year he was determined to at least taste a watermelon.

He crept into the garden and plucked a nice ripe watermelon off of the vine. He went back to his house and cut the watermelon up into chunks. He remembered Elaine saying that she ate her watermelon with salt. She always said that it made the watermelon taste a little sweeter.

Gus liked the watermelon so much that he ate the whole watermelon by the end of the day. He was so full that he didn't eat dinner. He just shuffled off to bed with a full belly and fell right to sleep in his tiny bed in his little house in the tidy garden on Bloomfield Avenue.

Gus and Trudy Meet the Gargoyle

Gus and Trudy were feeling slow and lazy because of the heat. They really did not want to leave the garden and travel about because it was so hot and humid.

Trudy thought it might be a nice idea just to take a walking tour of the yard surrounding the garden.

"I don't know", Gus said "Elaine waters the garden but the grass is all dead in the yard. How much fun would we have?"

"Gus, I think you would be surprised at what else is in the yard besides grass" Trudy said.

So they decided to start their walk earlier in the morning so when the heat of the day came they would not be out in the sun. They went out of the garden by the sunflowers and went in to the front yard.

"Look Gus", Trudy sighed, "there are pink roses in the front yard and hostas lots of hostas!"

Gus kind of mumbled and grumbled at the pink roses but he clearly enjoyed the hostas. He enjoyed the shade that their broad leaves provided. He was pleasantly surprised at the soft green moss that grew, protected from the harsh sun, under the hosta leaves.

Gus and Trudy spent some time stretched out under the hostas and on the soft green moss. They talked about this and that. Gus decided tha they should stay away from the sewer because he knew that without the rain to keep him happy, the sewer troll was in a horrible no good mood. And nobody would want to be around a sewer troll in a horrible no good mood , if they knew what was good for them!

Gus decided they should walk down the side of the house where the shed was. They turned the corner of the house and surprise! There was net row of hosta planted against the side of the house!

"So that is what Elaine was doing the other day," Gus said,"she was digging around with a shovel and had the wheelbarrow going like crazy. She was planting hosta here."

Trudy smiled at him and nodded. She knew that Gus enjoyed seeing new plants in the yard.

They turned and looked at the shed. Then they looked at each other. Each knew what the other was thinking. They would stay away from the shed and the opossum and groundhog war that was going on over who should own the cool den underneath it.

Gus and Trudy saw the bird bath filled with cool clean water. They knew Elaine changed the water every day. Trudy told Gus to climb on her back and they flew up to the bird bath. They took the opportunity to cool off. They splashed and laughed and spent a whole glorious hour sitting in the cool water.

When they had enough of the water, Trudy flew Gus up to the deck and they laid out in the sun until their clothes were dry and warm. Elaine happened to look out the door and saw Gus and Trudy. She popped her head out the door and asked them if they would like some blackberry ice tea and a scone. Gus, Trudy and Elaine sat on the deck enjoying the cold ice tea and the sweet scone. Elaine told them to walk down the steps instead of flying. She said they would find someone interesting on the step.

Gus and Trudy tiptoed own the stairs and who did they see? The Gargoyle! The Gargoyle had been missing for some time but now he was back! The Gargoyle laughed as Gus and Trudy danced around him. Gus and Trudy spent the rest of the afternoon chatting with the Gargoyle. It was the best part of their day - to see an old friend back at home.

Evening finally arrived and Gus and Trudy were very sleepy from their exciting day. They hugged Gargoyle good night and left for home. They had a glass of milk and a peanut butter sandwich. They sat up and watched the fireflies flitting around the garden. They played a game of checkers. Gus was yawning and Trudy's eyes were starting to close. Gus shook Trudy awake and helped her into her bed. Then he went into his room, said his prayers, and climbed into his bed. Very quickly he fell asleep in his tiny bed in his little house in the orderly garden on Bloomfield Avenue.

Sand Gnomes

Gus and Trudy had entered a sand building contest at the beach. They were so excited. They woke up very early and flew down to the beach just so they could get started.

Gus and Trudy worked for hours and hours. They were very pleased with what they had made. The judges were pleased also - they won First Place - the Blue Ribbon!

Gus and Trudy celebrated by going out for ice cream sodas. Then they took a long walk down the beach. Finally when the moon was up high in the sky, Gus climbed on Trudy's back and they flew home. They climbed into their beds, exhausted from the day. Gus and Trudy soon fell asleep in their little house in the orderly garden on Bloomfield Avenue.

Gus and Trudy Spend the Afternoon with Flamingos

Gus and Trudy were very excited! The Great Flamingo was sending a few flamingos to spend the afternoon with Gus and Trudy. Gus knew the Great Flamingo wanted an update on how Dorrie and Florrie were doing over at Abby's. And how was Tommy doing with his pal?

In the early afternoon the three flamingos landed in the orderly garden on Bloomfield Avenue and spent the afternoon with Gus and Trudy. They flew to the roof of Elaine's house and watched Abby and Tommy outside with their mom. Tommy was playing with his new bubble gun and Abby was looking through her American Doll catalog, circling everything she wanted with her blue crayon.

They looked very happy and they were listening to their mom. Tommy even went inside to let in the dog so that his mom didn't have to!

The flamingos and Gus and Trudy flew up to Abby's window and tap tap tapped on the window. Dorrie and Florrie answered. They gave the flamingos their report for the Great Flamingo. They gave Gus and Trudy a big hug and then they went to have some quiet time.

The evening was coming and the flamingos had to get ready to go home. Gus and Trudy hugged them all and waved good bye to them as they rose into the air and started to fly away.

Then Gus and Trudy went back to their little house in the orderly garden on Bloomfield Avenue to spend a quiet night.

More Pictures of the Sunflowers Gus and Trudy Love...

Gus and Trudy just wanted to share more pictures of the sunflowers they so dearly love.

Gus and Trudy Love Sunflowers

Gus and Trudy were so excited when they woke up this morning. They had a feeling that something special was going on with the sunflowers next to their house in the orderly garden on Bloomfield Avenue. They washed up and didn't even eat breakfast - st raced out the front door and over to the flowers.

They looked up, up, up at least eight feet up! The sunflowers had gotten soooo tall! And at the tippy top of one of the sunflower stems was a brand new opened flower! They were so happy. they stood looking at it for quite some time. Then Gus climbed on Trudy's back and they flew up to the flower. Gus could feel the petals ticking his face. He giggled out loud.

Trudy landed on the ground and she and Gus spent the morning sitting in the cool shade of the sunflowers. The were so happy.

Who Is This?

Gus and Trudy Harvest a Zuchinni

Gus and Trudy were taking care of the garden today when they found the first zucchini of the season! They were so excited that they picked it and carried to the house to give to Elaine.

Gus and Trudy Want to be Lifeguards

Gus and Trudy really enjoy going to the beach and they both enjoy helping people. They thought it would be a good idea to become lifeguards at the beach. That way they could combine the two things they loved - being at the beach and helping others.

They weren't really sure what they needed to do to become beach lifeguards. They decided to go to Ocean Grove and ask the lifeguards there about how to become one of them.

Gus climbed on Trudy's back and off they flew to the beach.

The lifeguards kind of looked at them funny.

"I don't think we have ever had a gnome or an owl lifeguard before," the head lifeguard stated.

"You know you have to be able to pull people out of the water," said the second lifeguard,"and we get some pretty big people here."

"I am sure that Trudy and I could handle it," Gus said with certainty.

The head lifeguard looked them up and down. "Why don't you sit with us today and see what it is all about."

Gus and Trudy found a seat on the chair and sat with the lifeguards. They watched to guards run their laps up and down the beach, put up the chair and set up the lifeguard station. They watched them get into the rowboat and row through the waves and then back and forth in the ocean. They watched the lifeguards swim their laps also.

As the beach began to fill Gus and Trudy watched the lifeguards puling people who couldn't swim very well out of the water. They watched the lifeguards blowing their whistles to get people off the jetty. And when the people pretended they couldn't hear the whistles, the lifeguards had to run down the beach to the jetty and tell them to get off. The lifeguards took care of cuts and scrapes, helped an old lady put up her umbrella and answered many , many questions.

And all the time they were doing this they had to keep their eyes on the water. They had to make sure that they watched all the people in the water and kept them safe. There were lots of people in the water. And it was hot, hot sitting in the glaring sun all day.

Gus and Trudy looked at each other. It was loud and it was hot and some of the people were very annoying.

The head lifeguard watched them. "Gus and Trudy, we have many lifeguards on the beach all during the day. Maybe you could come in the evening or earl early in the morning just to make sure the beach is alright. You would be protectors of the beach."

Gus and Trudy loved the idea. They really liked the cool quiet times of the evening and the early early morning. The fact that there wouldn't be many if any people around was a bonus also.

they agreed to become protectors of the beach. They shook hands with the lifeguards and left to go home and take a nap. It had been exhausting watching the guards do all that work!

Gus and Trudy Hunt for Raspberries

Gus and Trudy both love raspberries. They love to eat them just picked, in pies, cakes and cookies, in jams and jellies, made into ice cream or pudding, just about any way you could imagine. They just plain love raspberries.

Both Gus and Trudy have been pretty bored because Abby and Tommy have been in Disney. They have no one to play tricks on. They were going to head to the beach but the sky looked cloudy and Trudy could swear that she heard the rumbling of thunder in the distance.

Gus was all for taking a nap. he did not even want to take off his pajamas. he figured he could just be lazy all day long. Nap.

Trudy pestered and nagged him and finally he got dressed. They took a little flight around the garden and Gus spotted the raspberry bush - he could see the bright red berries ready for picking.

They flew to the bush and began to pick the berries. A few times Trudy tried to talk to Gus but when he answered her his voice sounded funny. Kind of like his mouth was full. Trudy suspected that Gus ate as many raspberries as he picked. But that was OK with her.

When they were finished picking raspberries they flew back to their house and made some raspberry ice cream. Trudy made a few scones also. They had a big glass of iced orange tea and a raspberry scone.

It had been a good day.

Happy 4th of July!

Relaxing on a Summer Day

Gus and Trudy have always loved summer time. Even though it is usually hot and humid and there are some thunder storms, they both still enjoy the summer. Gus especially enjoys sitting outside on his lawn chair.

Gus was very happy when he noticed that the mommies on the block liked to sit out in front on their lawn chairs also. The past two days, though, he had noticed that only two of the mommies had been sitting outside.

He jumped on Trudy's back and they flew up to Abby's window. Tap tap tap. Nothing. Tap tap tap. No noise from inside. Gus climbed off of Trudy's back and walked along the window sill and peered into Abby's room. It was dark and quiet. He walked over to Tommy's room and looked in. Dark and quiet also.

Gus and Trudy were worried. What happened to Tommy and Abby? Why were only two mommies sitting outside? They spent the day sitting on Abby's windowsill wondering aloud to each other.

Shortly, they noticed the two other mommies sitting outisde on their lawn chairs. Gus and Trudy flew a little closer to them to hear their conversation.

After a few minutes Gus and Trduy flew back home. They were very calm. They knew nothing had happened to Abby and Tommy. Abby and Tommy were in Disney World!

Gus went back to siiting in his lawn chair.