Tali's Mining Shovel

Tal has a mine. This seems to be his most usual outdoor haunt for the past couple of years, and all of his friends (and some of Annie's) make a habit of not only helping dig, there, but also often of checking out its progress before even coming to our front door! They were all rather upset when the mine was filled in by an overzealous Opa with a new tractor, last January... but then Opa made amends by putting up a steel fence and a "Slow Men Working" sign. The digging began again, and now the mine is better than ever. The mine is becoming so famous that Uncle Ralph gave Tali his own brand new shovel, this year. After repeated reminders, Tal has become a little more reliable about putting our shovels away, but now he has his own to look after. And it even has his name carved into it, so that passing adults will leave it alone.