After Alice

So, I worked my A$$ off for my daughter's birthday party a few weeks ago.....as I do every year. Every year my husband tells me that the smallest little details I put into the party go unnoticed (the same thing he told me about the Arden Park Garden Tour). I guess I am more detail-oriented, whereas most of my visitors look at the "big picture". That being said, the day after a birthday bash at our place is incredibly entertaining to me. I prefer to go out into the garden early- around 7am- and check out the damage. After seeing the accident scene in our bird bath (above), I went back into the house and grabbed my camera.
The day before was fun, and cheerful.... with kids and adults dressed in grandiose hats or as characters from Alice in Wonderland.
The day after....I find several moustaches stuck to various pieces of backyard furniture. Some I don't find for several days after the party, and I assume they are a piece of rodent.
And the Four of Diamonds....I was pretty disappointed in his behavior. But he got his punishment when the sprinklers came on in the morning....

......as did the Ace of Spades, who remained slouched and soggy in a lawn chair.
But what worried me the most was the pile of seeds that I put out for the kids to plant in little pots. Most of the pots remained, un-planted. But the seed packets? All were empty. Where the seeds went...I had no clue! And this was a week before a garden tour coming through.
At least the bean seeds were easy to find. I found most of them in the mulch, tucked in like they were eggs in a bird nest.

And some were found in the actual pots....although a little more than I would have put in a single pot.

And some of the six packs of annuals that I put out made their way into the middle of our pathways.....

I'm assuming there are seeds there. There's a shovel, and some soil that appears to have been moved around.... I guess we'll find out soon what landed here.

The ladybugs we released? We found them hiding in clusters in the lawn furniture. I'm sure a 5 year old's birthday was the LAST place they wanted to end up.

Part of me was sad to see the party over, much like the praying mantis that was enjoying the bright colored paper lanterns. But now, now we start planning NEXT years party.