How do you like to go up in a swing, up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing ever a child can do!
(from “The Swing” by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Category: family
The Voyage of a Tidy Little Ship
Reposting this from June 2011 in honor of Father’s Day.
This is the story of a tidy little ship that sailed on Father’s Day.
O it’s I that am the captain of a tidy little ship,
Of a ship that goes a-sailing on the pond;
And my ship it keeps a-turning all around and all about;
But when I’m a little older, I shall find the secret out
How to send my vessel sailing on beyond.
— from “My Ship and I” by Robert Louis Stevenson
For the Fairies of Hollow Oak
A friend of mine introduced me to fairy gardening when my oldest was still in preschool. Her neighbor, a master gardener, runs a fairy garden supply store nearby. It didn’t take much to convince this mom of two little girls that fairy gardening was an essential thing to do.
The big sister is the leading fairy expert of our family, having had two fairy-themed birthday parties. Having read many fairy poems by Cicely Mary Barker and a few books on the topic of building fairy homes adds to her expertise in this field.
Using some natural supplies imported from Oregon by a very special aunt, the big sister built this lovely fairy home at the foot of our hollow oak tree. Isn’t it darling?
My youngest daughter and I built this A-frame style fairy dwelling. I think this image was captured before she added some flowers.
Fairy gardening is so enchanting. Find a little spot and give it a whirl!
The Smell of Spring
A goldfinch rests on a branch of golden-green leaves.
A red ray petunia blooms brightly on the deck.
My frog-colored rainboots sink in the soggy bog.
It looks like spring, yes, with the bright yellows and reds and golden greens. But spring doesn’t truly smell like spring until the lilacs bloom.
For three of the past four years, my daughters and I have made an annual romp through the blooming lilac collection at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
This bud is for you, Aunt Lilac!
We adore their heavenly scent, which is why we heartily believe L is for Lilac!
Magnolias for Mother’s Day
It’s spring, nearly Mother’s Day, and my grandma — my mother’s mother — her hair is blooming all glorious white, right along with the magnolia trees.
Dear Heaven, I give thanks to thee
For things I did not know before,
For the wisdom of maturity,
For bread, and a roof, and for one thing more,
Thanks because I still can see
The bloom on the white magnolia tree!
-from a poem by Helen Deutsch
A Snowcabulary Lesson
NOTE: We are feeling a little snow-deprived here in Minnesota, which is odd for January. So, to keep things in perspective, I’m reposting this fun blog post from a few years ago when we were buried in much snow.
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Drawing on my personal snow experience that has accumulated over 15 Minnesota winters, I’ve compiled this brief snowcabulary list of seven snow-related words — complete with pictures of course!
1. dirty snow: (noun) older snow that has turned any color other than white — usually gray, brown or yellow
Dirty snow is not pleasant to behold, and it often causes Minnesotans to wish for some bright new snow, just to freshen things up again.
2. black snow: (noun) snow that has been blackened by roadway contaminants; usually found along roadsides
We love snow plows, but they do tend to create heaps of black snow along the highways, not to mention the enormous mountains of black snow they pile up in parking lots.
3. snow booger: (noun) a large clump of black snow that collects on the bottom of your vehicle as you drive
Hanging down and frozen to the underside of vehicles, snow boogers seem to defy gravity. Heartily kicking snow boogers off your vehicle helps vent any dirty, frustrated feelings you may have collected toward winter weather.
4. clean driveway: (noun) a driveway with at least 40% visible concrete
When it’s mid February, and you haven’t seen the grass since early November, and you’ve worn your snow shovel and snow blower to nubs, you lower your standards. You just accept those especially stubborn sheets of icy, snowy stuff that clutter up an otherwise “clear” driveway. You just pray they’ll melt on their own sometime in May.
5. death trap: (noun) an area where thick, relentlessly stubborn sheets of ice gang up with sharp, pointy icicles overhead and ruthlessly threaten to send innocent bystanders to the emergency room
The area in front of our third garage stall is a death trap. Areas like this are the primary reason you can still find Christmas lights up in late March. Nobody wants to climb a ladder here!
6. light-cicles: (noun) Christmas lights that have been vandalized by monstrous icicles
Light-cicles are the secondary reason you can still find Christmas lights up in late March. The intertwining mess begs for a meltdown.
7. snow-verwhelming: (adjective) laden with snow; characteristic of something that has been drastically transformed by accumulated snow
This snow-verwhelming bush is an excellent tool for elevating young climbers. Never mind what I said about Christmas lights in March; I think my 8-year-old can probably reach to pull them off the house.
And while she’s out there, I think I’ll have her dust the tree tops — just for good measure.
Enjoy your snow-verwhelming weather down south, and don’t drive anywhere!
Through the Deep Snow
Come along, walk a few steps in my favorite boots.
The snow is deep.
And the lilacs sleep.
The evergreen, burdened with white, whispers “All is calm; all is bright.”
Yet this happy bundle in pink, she stirs.
And she stirs…
And when the snow won’t snowball, she just throws snow.
Whoosh!
Never trust anyone in a ski mask, especially if it’s pink.
Chop, Chop… TIMBER!
A Plug for the Arb
Note: This is a special guest post by my dear sweet 7-year-old.
I think fishing is a lot of fun (especially when you are fishing for leaves).
Leaves are very easy to catch.
It’s also especially fun when your mom is a photographer.
In these pictures I am at the Arboretum. The Arboretum has lots of places that are fun to go to and lots of things to see.
- Waterfalls
- Ponds
- Flowers
- Trees and plants
- Bridges
- Forts
- Little houses
- Hiking trails
- Secret paths
- Snakes!
- Gift shop
- Maze
- Pumpkin gazebo (only in the fall)
So go do some fun stuff at the Arboretum today!
Glory in the Interruptions
This week our homeschool had an unplanned, last-minute field trip that turned out to be a very memorable one. We had planned to do our usual school work at home, but then mid-morning a realtor scheduled a showing, and so we needed to leave the premises for at least an hour. I was grumpy about the interruption, but I quickly threw a picnic lunch together and headed to a nearby nature center for an attitude adjustment.
As we meandered into the woods, the sunshine glowing through the brilliantly colored leaves created a magical canopy overhead that helped dissolve my frustrations.
We ate our lunch — during which my youngest lost tooth #6. Oddly, she has lost three of her six lost teeth away from home. After our picnic, the girls and I played for about an hour in the nature exploration area, building a house out of sticks and logs.
The girls would have stayed there the rest of the afternoon, but I was hoping to get in a nice hike through the woods, so we set off on the trail. I lagged behind just a bit so I could capture a picture of them hiking down the path.
I paused to put away my camera, and I looked up when I heard sudden screams. The girls came running madly back toward me in a complete panic. When they ran right past me and nearly all the way back to the visitor center, I knew they must have seen something more frightening than a bee. Through the tears and sobs they finally explained that a garter snake in the path had spooked them. My oldest daughter was first to see it and, thinking it was a colorful stick, had bent down to pick it up just as it slithered off the path.
So much for my hike. Nothing — and I mean nothing — would convince them to head down that trail again anytime soon. I never even saw the snake, but I must admit I felt a little creeped-out, too. We headed toward the nearby dock to re-group for a few minutes at the lake, where snakes weren’t likely to find us. En route back to the visitor center, we came across a “wooly bear” caterpillar, which was much more warmly received than the garter snake.
Shortly after that, we loaded up into the truck and started for home. But just outside of the parking area we noticed a pair of Trumpeter swans on the pond.
Oh joy! And they were close enough to photograph. I turned around, parked the truck, hopped out and captured a few shots of the swans. The girls weren’t eager to hike much closer to the pond, but I didn’t mind. This distance was close enough to photograph the beautiful pair.
If you’ve been reading this blog long, you know I am slightly obsessed with Trumpeter swans, as I have mentioned in this post about a spring swan sighting and this post about how God orchestrates our homeschool plans.
It’s amazing how God truly reveals His glory in the interruptions some days.
Starlight Writer 