Random bullets of what just happened?

The good news is that my home phone service has been restored, hurrah! But the bad news is that my home internet connection went from slow to nonexistent nearly a week ago and we can't figure out what the problem is or how to fix it, so I've been unable to keep up with news or post photos of my adorable grandkids or respond to important e-mails unless I go to town. I'm feeling utterly disconnected from the rest of the world but incredibly connected to my grandkids, who were a constant presence during the first half of the week. I'm having difficulty sorting the week into a coherent narrative, so here's what I've got:

• Garrison Keillor says "Nothing you do for children is ever wasted," and I sincerely hope that's true. It would be a shame if all those hand-washings and diaper-changings and storytellings counted for nothing.
• Speaking of handwashings, Nice Grandma takes her grandkids berry-picking and feeds them ice cream, but Mean Grandma says Wash those sticky hands before you move another inch. Nice Grandma takes her grandkids to The Wilds and shows them giraffes and camels and a cheetah right up close to the fence, but Mean Grandma snaps Sit down! every time the bus starts moving. And Nice Grandma reads stories at bedtime and then gently closes the door on the darkened room, at which point the two-year-old climbs up on the headboard, turns on the overhead light, and says More play! Which inspires Mean Grandma to loosen the lightbulbs in the overhead light to keep the room dark, a move that does not go unnoticed by the young persons present, who object, loudly and at length. But Mean Grandma neglects to wear gloves while loosening the bulbs, so she suffers a burn on her finger. Poor Mean Grandma! Who will kiss it and make it better?
• I'm pleased to report that my daughter continues to hone a valuable life skill she learned from her father: she's a champion stone-skipper, and she's passing her skills on to her children, albeit slowly. Throwing rocks in the creek can be endlessly fascinating for the little ones, so I'm really glad the creek is down to its normal summer level. The raging torrent that washed away our shed two weeks ago would have eaten us all alive if we'd gotten that close to the bank.
• And speaking of the raging torrent, I was just informed this morning that the flood washed away all of our tomato cages, which had been stored in the shed. Every single one. Well, there's a good excuse not to plant 60 tomato plants this season.
• The other day someone from Frontier Communications called me to make sure my service had been restored and ended the conversation with "Thank you for choosing Frontier!" I could not resist pointing out that we don't exactly have a choice and if we did, Frontier would not be at the top of my list. After three weeks with no phone service, the bottled-up snark just slipped right out.  

But at least I now have one reliable way to connect with the wider world. Too bad I can't think of anything terribly profound to say.  

The ostrich learned this expression from Mean Grandma.

Beautiful day for a wildlife safari.

Bobolinks were abundant at The Wilds, although difficult to photograph.

Who's a happy baby?

Making a splash.

"Grrr! I'm a monster!"

Hairy woodpecker?