It has occurred to me (perhaps belatedly) that all of our pictures for the last week have been of dirt and outside.
Well...
we're pretty much Dirt and Outside sort of people, so....
you've been warned, I guess.
: )
Saturday, February 28, 2009
February 28
Well, the last day of February.
It's fitting that it's cold out today, then.
Mama set up the Go Under (the enchanted entrance to the secret raspberry garden)
measuring
drawing
planting more sugar snap peas
playing in the water. you know-- because it's summertime.
the first bzzzing insect.
dancing chalk
juicy earthworms
It's fitting that it's cold out today, then.
But the sun was shining brightly, so....
Mama set up the Go Under (the enchanted entrance to the secret raspberry garden)
measuring
drawing
planting more sugar snap peas
playing in the water. you know-- because it's summertime.
the first bzzzing insect.
dancing chalk 
juicy earthworms
nothing and everything
yesterday we woke up to a bit of snow on the ground. !! :)
the day was filled with nothing in particular, and things fascinating at the same time.
such as a tiny moth flying about the kitchen
- the first moth
more spiders coming out of hibernation
introduction to the Flintstones
early Earth history
tidying up
trip to lunch at daddy's restaurant and Costco - for 85 pounds ;) of premium birdseed
we made chocolate chip cookies
and brownies
(with organic free-trade sugar and whole wheat flour. pretty proud of that one.)
Madd lugged in the globe from the den to ask to be shown where people she knows live
cuddles and loves and conversations.
***
Today it warms up (close to fifty?), and will continue thru tomorrow, so we'll prob'ly be playin' in the sunshine and dirt again for a couple of days
how nice.
the day was filled with nothing in particular, and things fascinating at the same time.
such as a tiny moth flying about the kitchen
- the first moth
more spiders coming out of hibernation
introduction to the Flintstones
early Earth history
tidying up
trip to lunch at daddy's restaurant and Costco - for 85 pounds ;) of premium birdseed
we made chocolate chip cookies
and brownies
(with organic free-trade sugar and whole wheat flour. pretty proud of that one.)
Madd lugged in the globe from the den to ask to be shown where people she knows live
cuddles and loves and conversations.
***
Today it warms up (close to fifty?), and will continue thru tomorrow, so we'll prob'ly be playin' in the sunshine and dirt again for a couple of days
how nice.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
in a moment
It seemed that everything happened in the Very Same Moment today.
the official Maypole was found and claimed.
Mama's new garden gloves were broken in. thoroughly.
the compost was relocated and turned.
(as this fenced garden grows again in size this year.)
what a glorious Moment it was.
the official Maypole was found and claimed.
Mama's new garden gloves were broken in. thoroughly.
the compost was relocated and turned.(as this fenced garden grows again in size this year.)
what a glorious Moment it was.
February 25
ah, Seed Day!
Being the Wild Heathens that we are, we were holding out for some timely and friendly earth mojo before we officially began our gardens.
When you grow butterfly, herb, and fairy gardens, you tend to be influenced by such ideas as compatibility, astrological influences, and magic. (Want those gardens to be extra-fine sparkly, don't you know.)
So there you have it.
Today was the day.
Trev was still waking up, and Maddie was thinking 'plant beans' (watermelon beans, to be more precise) from an idea in our seed book yesterday. You plant several in eggshells, and then can easily check on the progress every few days, hopefully with a bean plant or two left in tact at the end of your investigations.
So after designing/painting spray bottles for keeping our seeds moist (and after breakfast) we got right to it.
Garden bush beans first.
(we'll keep you informed of this bean experiement.)
And then we began our flats.
We started our romas, sweet cherries (tomatoes), beef steaks, watermelon beans, red onions,
habeneros, sweet peppers, lots of italian large leaf sweet basil (one for the happiness of every tomato plant), giant pumpkins and jack o-lantern pumpkins.
Every magical garden needs a few pupmpkins, you know.
And we got the sugar snaps into their pre-soak water.
Mama did some planting while the babes played in the backyard.
"Mom... have you noticed that Daddy gets home so much earlier, now?"
"Actually, honey, Daddy doesn't get home any earlier, it just seems that way because the days are getting longer."
"They are!?!"
"Mmhmm, it starts getting dark after six now, instead of at five. It's getting to be spring!!"
"So let me get this straight.... the days are longer in the springtime?"
"That's what makes them seasons. The days are shorter in the winter, and longest in the summer..."
On and on it for about ten minutes or so, including things that are related to winter and spring.
It's funny... of course we've discussed these sorts of things before (uh, like at winter solstice, the equinoxes, Ostara, etc, not to mention have read books about the seasons).... but it's funny how it doesn't really matter to us until it really Matters. :) Like when Daddy starts coming home early enough to play in the sunlight.
The weather promised rain, and indeed we had just a few drops of it around noon, but we still wanted to spend our day outdoors. Eric had the truck (and our umbrella in the truck), but we have perfectly fine feet, so it was decided that we would walk up to the store to get ourselves a couple of umbrellas, and head to the library, lunch, and then on to the park.
We came back home with our new umbrellas, and with the wagon loaded with our returning library books and magnifying glasses we headed off for our adventures.
Spring bugs and library books.... here we come!
But not quite.
Madd had a little trouble in the library, and as it turned out we had to come back home to get her some dry britches.
The then tired babes rested for a bit, and it was decided that we'd wait for Daddy to come home, and invite him to come to our favorite pizza place with us.
We grabbed a few library books and read about early earth history while we waited for our pie to cook.
Er... and then Trev insisted that Mama continued to read between bites, as well. :)
One last stop to the video store for a couple of movies and to home! to home!
Eric slipped his wife this heart across the table with a grin.
A lovely day!
Being the Wild Heathens that we are, we were holding out for some timely and friendly earth mojo before we officially began our gardens.
When you grow butterfly, herb, and fairy gardens, you tend to be influenced by such ideas as compatibility, astrological influences, and magic. (Want those gardens to be extra-fine sparkly, don't you know.)
So there you have it.
Today was the day.
Trev was still waking up, and Maddie was thinking 'plant beans' (watermelon beans, to be more precise) from an idea in our seed book yesterday. You plant several in eggshells, and then can easily check on the progress every few days, hopefully with a bean plant or two left in tact at the end of your investigations.
So after designing/painting spray bottles for keeping our seeds moist (and after breakfast) we got right to it.
Garden bush beans first.
(we'll keep you informed of this bean experiement.)And then we began our flats.
We started our romas, sweet cherries (tomatoes), beef steaks, watermelon beans, red onions,
habeneros, sweet peppers, lots of italian large leaf sweet basil (one for the happiness of every tomato plant), giant pumpkins and jack o-lantern pumpkins.
Every magical garden needs a few pupmpkins, you know.And we got the sugar snaps into their pre-soak water.
Mama did some planting while the babes played in the backyard."Mom... have you noticed that Daddy gets home so much earlier, now?"
"Actually, honey, Daddy doesn't get home any earlier, it just seems that way because the days are getting longer."
"They are!?!"
"Mmhmm, it starts getting dark after six now, instead of at five. It's getting to be spring!!"
"So let me get this straight.... the days are longer in the springtime?"
"That's what makes them seasons. The days are shorter in the winter, and longest in the summer..."
On and on it for about ten minutes or so, including things that are related to winter and spring.
It's funny... of course we've discussed these sorts of things before (uh, like at winter solstice, the equinoxes, Ostara, etc, not to mention have read books about the seasons).... but it's funny how it doesn't really matter to us until it really Matters. :) Like when Daddy starts coming home early enough to play in the sunlight.
The weather promised rain, and indeed we had just a few drops of it around noon, but we still wanted to spend our day outdoors. Eric had the truck (and our umbrella in the truck), but we have perfectly fine feet, so it was decided that we would walk up to the store to get ourselves a couple of umbrellas, and head to the library, lunch, and then on to the park.
We came back home with our new umbrellas, and with the wagon loaded with our returning library books and magnifying glasses we headed off for our adventures.
Spring bugs and library books.... here we come!
But not quite.
Madd had a little trouble in the library, and as it turned out we had to come back home to get her some dry britches.
The then tired babes rested for a bit, and it was decided that we'd wait for Daddy to come home, and invite him to come to our favorite pizza place with us.
We grabbed a few library books and read about early earth history while we waited for our pie to cook.
Er... and then Trev insisted that Mama continued to read between bites, as well. :)
One last stop to the video store for a couple of movies and to home! to home!
Eric slipped his wife this heart across the table with a grin.Tuesday, February 24, 2009
February 24
Maddie started out her morning with puzzles that she hauled up from downstairs.
And we made our cleaners
and salt dough for sculpting, baking, and painting
and kites.
The babes got the soil ready (soaked) for our seed planting adventures tomorrow.
Which brought to mind (and then our hands) our two seed children's books - How a Seed Grows and My First Book of Questions and Answers: Things That Grow.
Then of course we had to watch Magic School Bus' Goes To Seed. (and All Dried Up. And Gets Planted.)
Zoo Tycoon
Spore
Scootin' magnets across the floor with Daddy
Guitar 101
(Which carried this Mama thru the rest of the night, while the babes played and loved with Daddy.)
Life is good.
'Night, then.
And we made our cleaners
and salt dough for sculpting, baking, and painting
and kites.
The babes got the soil ready (soaked) for our seed planting adventures tomorrow.
Which brought to mind (and then our hands) our two seed children's books - How a Seed Grows and My First Book of Questions and Answers: Things That Grow.
Then of course we had to watch Magic School Bus' Goes To Seed. (and All Dried Up. And Gets Planted.)
Zoo Tycoon
Spore
Scootin' magnets across the floor with Daddy
Guitar 101
(Which carried this Mama thru the rest of the night, while the babes played and loved with Daddy.)
Life is good.
'Night, then.
Making Kites
There is a warm wind blowing today.
After discovering that isn't nearly as cold outside as it looks, I remembered a fun project from a couple of years ago... Kites!!
On to it, then!
You'll need paper (the lighter in weight the better), barbecue skewers, tape, a small piece of cardboard, string, and something for a tail - we are using surveyor's tape (from the hardware store), but you could use strips of really light plastic (cut from a plastic bag), if you like.
Choose your paper.
Fold it in half.
While it's still folded in half, make a second fold.
Fold back one edge (along the same line, only folding it backwards) to see your kite shape.
To make the spine of the kite, crease the middle, and tape the length of the opened fold.
Cut the skewer to the width of your kite, corner to corner.
Tape down the skewer.
Turn the kite back over, and crease the fold back and forth on both sides so the flap stands up, and is not leaning to one side to act as a rudder (otherwise it will just spin).
Punch a hole in the flap, at about the 1/3 point of the kite.
Wrap your string around a piece of cardboard (taping the end or tying it on is a good idea).
Put a paper reinforcer over your hole, if you like, and tie on your string. To keep it attached to your kite, you may want to tape down the short end to keep the knot from coming undone.
Tape on six to 10 feet of your surveyor's tape or cut plastic for your tail.
Now run!
After discovering that isn't nearly as cold outside as it looks, I remembered a fun project from a couple of years ago... Kites!!
On to it, then!
You'll need paper (the lighter in weight the better), barbecue skewers, tape, a small piece of cardboard, string, and something for a tail - we are using surveyor's tape (from the hardware store), but you could use strips of really light plastic (cut from a plastic bag), if you like.
Choose your paper.Fold it in half.
While it's still folded in half, make a second fold.
Fold back one edge (along the same line, only folding it backwards) to see your kite shape.
To make the spine of the kite, crease the middle, and tape the length of the opened fold.
Cut the skewer to the width of your kite, corner to corner.
Tape down the skewer.
Turn the kite back over, and crease the fold back and forth on both sides so the flap stands up, and is not leaning to one side to act as a rudder (otherwise it will just spin).
Punch a hole in the flap, at about the 1/3 point of the kite.
Wrap your string around a piece of cardboard (taping the end or tying it on is a good idea).
Put a paper reinforcer over your hole, if you like, and tie on your string. To keep it attached to your kite, you may want to tape down the short end to keep the knot from coming undone.
Tape on six to 10 feet of your surveyor's tape or cut plastic for your tail.
Now run!
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