planting sunflowers

:: planting some sunny sunflowers. this was a seed packet i picked up, with lots of variety. they are easy to grow, usually sprouting up in a few days. we wait in anticipation of what color and size sunflower will come up.

last bits of summer saved

:: late summer nature table. our nature table has had a lot of activity with our recent trips down the shore. found treasures occupy the table as we hold on to the last bits of summer

:: my little one quickly pulled this little acorn off the table as I was about to take the nature table pictures. she said if was for fall table, which will soon be here. we talked about the progression of the seasons today. we noticed the green leaves on the trees and just a tiny bit of autumn color coming in, picking apples, picking up pumpkins at the pumpkin patch, celebrating Halloween and Thanksgiving, winter with snow and sledding and making gingerbread cookies and hot chocolate. as she grows older, the rhythms of the year are emphasized by our activities and celebrations.

watch out for those wooley bears

Remember those wooley bear caterpillars from yesterday. Little did I know that they (or should I say their little hairs) would bring us to the ER yesterday. My little one ended up inhaling some of their little hairs, which were on the bottom of the jar. After vomiting a few too many times and a call to her doctors, who referred us to poison control, who directed us to the ER. The examination and the cleansing of her nasal passage went well. No more hairs stuck in her nasal passage. No difficulty breathing and no reaction, which was the initial concern from poison control. So, watch out for those wooley bears.

in pairs

:: our last few discoveries have been found in pairs. today is my little one's first day of school. i really wanted to homeschool. my husband wants our daughter to go to school. these little discoveries shed some light on this day. it is a reminder to me that work still needs to be done within our pair.

summer sun

:: sea shells, beach rocks, pieces of drift wood, and sea weeds collected down at the shore. in the cold winter months, they will remind us of the days we played in the warm summer sun, strolled barefoot along the beach and swam in the ocean. i can only imagine that the sea shells will be sorted and organized, examined, matched in pairs and possibly identified as they have in the past. i also had a chance to searched through some field guides and have one for sea shells on the way.

the wonder of mystic

:: mystic aquarium. getting as close as we could to the amazingly beautiful sea life, our picture books and encyclopedias come to life. our love and respect for nature is supported with each connection to the natural world. keeping this wonder alive is my little ones is very important to me. as well as preserving their childhood. that is what i most want to accomplish in homeschooling. with only days to go before the first day of school, it saddens me to say that my oldest child is going off to school.






:: soaking up the last rays of the sun with a brown bag dinner on the beach. searching for shells with holes, collecting different types of seaweeds, climbing on rocks, building with pieces of drift wood, finding a hermit crab who was too bashful to come out and enjoying our time together.

kirplink

:: blueberry picking. all the blueberries we picked are almost gone. we have been eating them by the handfuls. i was also up late last night making some blueberry scones and we'll be having blueberry pancakes in the morning. i definitely want to make another trip back up to the berry farm, i was told that the fall raspberries will be ready soon. we'll have to see about the jam though, i need a few things and i'm feeling a bit unsure seeing that i have never canned before. it sure would be great to enjoy the jams when we no longer can get our hands on some sweet, PLUMP berries.

canning for winter

:: i left a few jars out in the kitchen the other day. upon my return, my little one had been canning some vegetables for winter. celebrating the seasons and incorporating seasonal activities has become an important part of our lives. with each passing year, we discover more experiences that facilitate our sense of wonder and bring us closer into nature. while i have never canned, i know my little one and my family is in need of building these stronger connections. knowing this, we are on our journey towards a slower pace, simplifying our lives and live our lives with more meaning, more intention.


:: aside from a few mouthwatering 'Sungold' cherry tomatoes, this is our first tomato of the season. A 'Orange Strawberry Oxheart'. Not really knowing the faith of our tomato plants this year, we savored every bite.

:: found on one of our recent nature walks.

:: dried mud from the other day.

:: wishbone plant to attract hummingbirds.

hide & seek treasures

:: this is a fun little game we play from time to time. We grab a basket and hit my jewelry drawer. My little one picks out a few items and we take turns hiding and seeking them. The cobalt blue bottle was discovered in our yard, one day when my little one was digging. We believe it to be a vick's sample bottle, which one source dated back to the 1940s. Pretty cool find.

corn husk doll

:: These wonderful corn husk dolls are great to make this time of year and they are so easy. We followed the instructions in Earthways by Carol Petrash. We gathered 12 husks and tied them together close to the top, creating some wispy hair. We had twine, so that is what we used, but something thinner would be better. Then a wee bit further down, we tied again to finish the head. We gathered 3 husks for each arm, tying them at the end. Tied the waist. And divided the remaining husks for the legs and finished with a tie.

beach

:: most of her time was spent swimming in the ocean, gathering shells and searching for crabs.

dragon races

:: enjoying the Asian festival as much as possible during this heat wave. singers and dancers were dressed in beautiful bright colors. we were cheering on grandma during the dragon races. the drummers' beat can be exhilarating, especially when the race is close.

jumping in the mud

:: fun in the mud today.