Several yards away, this little lady is enjoying her first warm day outside beneath a tree, sitting on a tasseled pillow and reading a thick novel with a questionably raunchy cover illustration. Frodo catches her attention, and she looks up to watch him every now and then, before finally speaking.

"You know," Rose calls out, "I believe the saying goes - 'A watched bulb never grows'? Are you expecting it to perform tricks?" Her tone is dry, but warm.