princess peas

:: "princess peas" or "fairy peas." Just a little incentive to get my little one to eat some snap peas from our small container garden. Usually she opens the pods to eat the sweet peas, but our beans seem to have very small peas. I think they need a wee bit longer time on the vine.

snap shots

:: Today, I came home from an appointment and all our pillows from the couches and beds were made into a secret princess palace. A sign was made that said, "No DoG AND BroTHER ALLOWEd". I was invited in for some snuggling time. I only had 2 minutes before the gates closed. I grab my camera to take some special pictures of us girls together. I rarely make an appearance in our daily pictures and I know that one day I will want to look back at some pictures and see us together.

double-crested cormorant

:: closer pics of our friend down the pond. If the identification is correct, he is a double-crested cormorant. For most of our visit he was fishing and when the rain came he headed to the shore.

bugs & beans

:: looking for insects



:: a handful of green beans to munch on. I purchased a stringless variety, by accident, which only grows 12 inches tall. I think it is more fun for kids if there is a jungle.

bullfrog

:: I came across these pictures today and had to post them. This was our little one, last year, catching bullfrogs down at the pond. We have some fun family memories of catching this big guy.

waterbirds

While the common waterbirds we see down the pond tend to be mallards and Canadian geese, this year, a single snow goose is seen. The snow goose is pure white and seems to be running things down at the pond (she's is the most vocal). Today, we seen a new waterbird. Wondering what type of water bird this is?

So, I always turn to my father-in-law, who is a bird enthusiast. He has identified the waterbird as a double-crested Cormorant.

the planet mars

the planet mars

slept through the night

Vince slept through the night for the first time since he was born. Oh, the sleep deprivation. It still resides, but there is a hope that tonight we might sleep again. While, there was a bunch of things to do around the house, but I needed to create something. I put aside the house work and enjoyed some needle felting.

summer fun

:: Planting some flowers that she picked out at the nursery

:: Sorting in progress




:: Sorted treasures. The beach rocks were from her great grandmother and the polished shells are from her grandmother.

:: A natural in the water

the naturalist intelligence

directly from the KinderNature website.

A Menu of Instructional Strategies for the Naturalist Intelligence

• Collecting data
• Collecting objects from the natural world
• Labeling and mounting specimens from nature
• Organizing collections
• Observing nature
• Doing experiments in nature
• Noticing changes in the environment
• Sorting articles from nature
• Categorizing objects
• Classifying information
• Keeping notebooks
• Learning names of natural phenomena
• Learning characteristics of the natural world
• Using magnifiers or microscopes to study nature
• Using binoculars or telescopes to study nature
• Drawing or photographing natural objects
• Nature hikes or field trips in nature
• Gardening
• Caring for pets
• Wildlife protection projects
• Setting up winter feeding stations for wild animals or birds
• Comparing natural observations with others
• Visiting zoos and botanical gardens
• Visiting museums of natural history
• Drying flowers
• Studying books about nature
• Learning about the work of famous naturalists such as:
  • John Muir
  • Rachel Carson
  • Charles Darwin
  • George Washington Carver
  • Luther Burbank
  • Annie Dillard
  • John James Audubon
  • Aldo Leopold

Some Naturalist Subjects

Animals
Astronomy
Balance of Nature
Birds
Botany
Butterflies
Conservation
Constellations
Deserts
Earth
Fish
Flowers
Forests
Game
Gardening
Geology
Insects
Lakes
Mountains
Oceans
Plants
Rivers
Rocks
Seasons
Seeds
Shells
Stars
Tides
Trees
Volcanoes
Weather
Zoology

Some Naturalist Resources

Audubon Society
Boy Scouts
Girl Scouts
Campfire
Izaak Walton League
Natural History Museums
National Forest Service
National Park Service
Observatories
Parks
Planetariums
Zoos

4 months

:: my little ham.
:: new discoveries. ears and tongue. grabbing feet. thumb in mouth
:: delightful squeals. ah-goos. laughing out loud
:: enjoys animal books, tickling his sister and chit chatting
:: loves face to face time and bouncing

a little reading

:: A little reading in the morning light. Of course, some nature inspired books, The Sense of Wonder Series for beginning readers.

making bark boats

:: today we gather and collect some additional supplies to make our bark boats, found among the wonderful activities in Earthways by Carol Petrash. we've been collecting bark for the last few weeks. some pieces of bark went into soup, other were incorporated into play scenes and the little brittle pieces left a winding trail through my house.

:: boat one

:: boat two

:: boat three & four


:: a bark boat makes it's way to our summer nature table



:: other pics of our summer nature table. my daughter had fun painting some sea shells last summer. the summer has come in quickly and already it is july (oops, I noticed our book is still in june)

playing in the stream

:: i never know what the night holds with the baby. we happened to have a little more sleep than normal so we had some energy to get out of the house. off to the pond we go. dad was off getting his hands dirt (and playing in the stream) with ava and i kept my hands clean, as to be able to tend to the little guy.


:: fungi discoveries.

oh, boy

Lately, we've been ending our day playing some games. "Family game night" was part of our regular weekly rhythm that is slowly being reestablished. We have had this Honey Bee Tree game for some time now and it is still a favorite. There is a moment of silence and anticipation as we wait to see if any bumble bees will be woken. An "oh, boy" follows a larger cascade of bumble bees.

where's the inch worm

:: the inch worm vigorously traveled up my little one's arm in a matter of seconds. amazement and giggles filled the air

:: mica discovered in a friend's yard

:: a fairy toad house among the foxgloves and daisies. we have seen evidence of the toads being out and about in the neighborhood but have our them in our bushes or yard as of yet.