By Sun and Candlelight

Happy Labor Day, 2009!

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It's dawning cool and bright here in New England. Gosh, it sure feels like fall. :)

A few plans for today ...

*Decorate the front steps with mums, asters, kale and pumpkins. Tie up cornstalks and hang autumn flag.

*Start a chicken dish in the slowcooker this morning:

Savory Slowcooker Chicken

(from the Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook)

2 1/2 lbs. chicken pieces, skinned

1 lb. fresh tomatoes chopped or 15 oz. can stewed tomatoes

2 Tbsp. white wine

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 tsp. dried thyme

1 1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups broccoli, cut into bite-sized pieces

<<Combine all ingredients except broccoli in slowcooker. Cover. Cook on low 8-10 hours. Add broccoli 30 minutes before serving.>>

(I plan to serve it with whole wheat egg noodles and an apple crisp for dessert.)

*Contemplate and reassign family chores. Re-think my own household routines.

*Run to teacher supply store for the exact kind of lesson planner I like to use. Hope they still have them in stock.

*Have Bill turn the fireplace back on and pack away the A/C.

*Fun activity for the kids: try to think of all the labor-saving devices throughout the house and what chore(s) they replaced. See if you can remember - or find out - who invented what. What would device could you simply NOT live without?

Hope you all have a fantastic holiday! 

"Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop." ~ Ovid

Happy Father's Day!

If "it's a wise child that knows his own father," (Homer) and "it's a wise father that knows his own child," (Shakespeare) ...

I'd say we've got both angles covered. :)

 

"We love you Daddy! Thank you for spending so much time with us!"

Thoughtful Friday ~ on Arbor Day

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Happy Arbor Day, my friends! Now go hug a tree! 

Do you have a favorite kind of tree? Mine is the sugar maple (because nothing beats its fall color), though I am also quite partial to oaks too (who can resist acorns?).

I'm not sure what kind of tree is in the picture above - I took it last April at a nearby park - but I think it might be a witch hazel. The leaf buds are so pretty, they would make the loveliest yarn don't you think? :)

 This weekend the boys and I will begin our Tree Journal. In this book we will chronicle the "lives" of the significant trees in our midst. We'll take bark rubbings and gather seedlings and press leaves in the fall. We'll collect poems and thoughts about trees and record our general observations. This will, of course, mean lots of time spent in the woods ~ so much the better for us. :) I'll be back later to tell you more about that project - it should be lots of fun!

Well, I hope you all have a nice Friday ~ Be back again sometime soon!

Earth Day Poem by Jane Yolen

I am the Earth and the Earth is me.

Each blade of grass, each honey tree,

Each bit of mud, and stick and stone

Is blood and muscle, skin and bone.

And just as I need every bit

of me to make my body fit,

So Earth needs grass and stone and tree

And things that grow here

Naturally.

That's why we celebrate this day.

That's why across the world we say:

As long as life, as dear, as free,

I am the Earth and the Earth is me.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Jane Yolen has written some of my favorite books (Letting Swift River Go Owl Moon, and Child of Faerie, Child of Earth to name a few) but I never knew she was the author of this beautiful poem.  For more of her nature poetry please see my righthand sidebar;  I have several of those titles on request at the library this week. :)

(Btw, I did not take that picture shown above; it's the desktop background on my Macbook.)

Take a moment to enjoy the world around you today ...

and have a Very Happy Earth Day!

Top o' the Morning to You!

May God grant you always...

A sunbeam to warm you,

A moonbeam to charm you,

A sheltering angel, so nothing can harm you.

I hope you all have a wonderful St. Patrick's Day! Sorry to have been MIA the past few days, but I've been under the weather. (Nothing like a kidney stone to slow you down!) Happily, things seem greatly improved this morning so hopefully we'll get back on track around here. (There's also nothing like a mother getting sick to turn the whole household upside down!)

Plans for the day ... an Irish craft and story with Earlybird in the morning while the older boys do their math. Then it's off to Earlybird's therapy appointments. Once we're done there, we'll head over to visit with Nana and Damee for lunch. 

For supper this evening, I am planning to serve Irish Beef Handpies with boiled potatoes and brown bread. And for dessert: homemade shamrock shakes!

I'm off for now but before I go, here's a fun little Shamrock Personality Test for you:

Your Shamrock Says You Are Wise

You are well balanced and good at taking charge. You have good judgment. Sometimes you take on too many projects at once. You get stressed out rather easily. You don't really consider yourself a lucky person. In your view, people create their own luck. You are traditional, easy going, and appreciative of the simple things in life.

The Shamrock Personality Test

Just a wee bit o' blog blarney to start your bonny day. ;)

Wishing you all a happy and healthy St. Patrick's Day! See you all again sometime soon!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. 

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee to the level of everyday's

Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight. 

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; 

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. 

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints, I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life! and, if God choose, 

I shall but love thee better after death.

*Elizabeth Barrett Browning*

Thoughtful Friday ~ Love & Light

Candle light, moon light, star light,

The brightest glow is from love light.

~Grey Livingston~

(I have no idea who Grey Livingston is, but isn't that a beautiful quote?)

I took this picture around 6 a.m. ~ the moon was still up, still glowing in the western sky this morning. Earlybird and I (the only two awake so far) have been marveling at it from our learning room windows. As we watched the clouds slowly pass over the bright orb, I pointed out the dark markings on the moon's surface and mentioned, casually, that we might be seeing the "Man in the Moon." EB turned to me with wide eyes, and then fled the room. I think I significantly freaked out my youngest son for the day, lol.

Well, yesterday was one of the busiest days we've had in a long time. Bill was home for the day and we took the boys to our homeschool group's Valentine's Day party. It was loads of fun!

Here's Earlybird working on a project at the craft table:

(I took more pictures than just this one of EB, but the light was funny inside the church hall, so the photos did not come out very well. Suffice it to say, it was a wonderful time - games, crafts, food, Valentine mailboxes ... great friends.)

Later in the day, the older boys attended a birthday party while EB participated in his weekly social skills group. Dinner was a brief and late affair last night, and then it was early to bed!

Today will be busy, too - getting ready for Bookworm's Activity Night which we're hosting this month. We'll have about 10 kids between the ages of 11 and 14 here for pizza and a movie. 

All this to say, I know posting has been brief this week, but it's been crazy around here! I have an "organization" post waiting in the wings ... hopefully I'll get around to that this weekend.

And speaking of the weekend - I hope you all have a lovely Valentines Day! I will see you all again sometime soon. 

Notes for Late Winter Learning

 

I've been working on my notes for next month and I thought I'd share them here with you all. Sorry if they seem kind of disjointed - sometimes that's just the way my brain works!

*Season: Late Winter*

*Month: February*

On the 1st of the month, we'll read Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story and I'll serve shepherd(ess) pie for supper. I found a deep blue, star-laden fabric at the craft store - I'll wrap that around Earlybird as we read. :)

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I'll refresh the nature corner to reflect the new month at hand - heart-shaped rocks, pretty amethysts, tealights and tiny pairs of lovebirds will take their place on the shelf. 

*

I'll add some red and white heart-shaped doilies to the learning room windows.

*

Early on the morning of the 2nd, we'll await Punxsutawny Phil's prediction. We'll read our favorite Groundhog Day book (yep, we have a favorite!) - How Groundhog's Garden Grew. Whether the outcome is more winter or an early spring, this book fits either mood. It really encourages an appreciation for each turn of the year.

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 The 2nd also brings Candlemas, so we will roll beeswax candles in the morning and dine by candlelight in the evening. We'll also recite the old saying ~

If Candlemas be fair and bright,

Winter will take another flight.

But if Candlemas be clouds and rain, 

Winter's gone and won't come again.

*

We'll start watching for the earliest blooms - snowdrops. Bill planted the tiny bulbs in the northwest corner of the garden last fall. They probably won't show up till March (until the snow has melted somewhat) but it will be fun to start looking.

*

Earlybird and I will read The Story of the Snow Children and learn about "Snowdrop Fairies" in Flower Fairies of Winter.

Deep sleeps the Winter,

Cold, wet and grey;

Surely all the world is dead;

Spring is far away.

Wait! the world shall waken;

It is not dead, for lo,

The Fair Maids of February

Stand in the snow!

I'm planning to make a tiny snowdrop fairy for the nature shelf - sort of following the directions in All Year Round. (I say "sort of" because I'm going to use a wooden peg base instead of making a soft stuffed doll.)

*

Over the weekend of the 7th-8th, we'll take part in the annual Mass. Audubon project, Focus on the Feeders. We've done this for the past several years now.

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On the night of the 9th, we'll look for the Full Snow Moon. The next morning we'll look up how many inches of snow our town has had so far this winter - and whether we're above or below average. (My guess is above!)

*

On a clear, mild day we'll go for a late winter nature walk. I'll have the older boys look for animal tracks in the snow, while Earlybird and I gather a basket-full of winter weeds. Back at home I'll make a "winter weed" bouquet for the nature shelf. 

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On the 12th, we'll attend an Abraham Lincoln Celebration with our homeschool group. I'll set up a book display in the learning room filled with books on our 16th president. (We're studying the Civil War this winter, so this activity is quite timely.) For dessert that night, I will serve a jelly roll - a "Lincoln Log," if you will. :)

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We'll start listening for the earliest spring birdsong on Valentines Day when, legend has it, the birds choose their mates. We'll make some Valentine "treats" to hang in the trees outside our windows.

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Around the second week of February, according the the Audubon Society, is when skunks begin to mate. (Just in time for Valentines those clever critters.) We'll watch our favorite Valentine special, A Kiss for Little Bear, which includes the story of a wedding between two skunks.

* 

Starting early in the month we'll start preparing homemade Valentines for friends and family. (This means a trip to the craft store this weekend to purchase any necessary supplies.) 

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We'll hang a poster of presidents on Presidents' Day. And decorate frosted cupcakes with little American flags.

*

Our nature study focus this month will revolve around the Beatrix Potter story, The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin. We'll observe and learn about red squirrels and owls.

*

Our homeschool Nature Study Club will be dissecting owl pellets this month. We'll also walk into the woods to observe an owl's nest.

*

Earlybird and I will begin his very own Book of Trees. (Simply a handmade, child-friendly field guide.) We'll be reading The Happiness Tree and focusing on evergreens this month. (Next month: maple trees.)

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Later in the month we'll start tracking the daytime and nighttime temperatures. When the days get over 40 and the nights fall below freezing, it means the sap will start running. (Next month's nature study focus.)

*

One day late in the month, we'll visit the nursery to purchase seeds for our spring garden. We'll start some seeds at home in a sunny window or two.

*

On the 24th, Shrove Tuesday, we'll make masks for Mardi Gras and eat pancakes and bacon for supper. We'll decide what we're giving up for Lent this year, as the next morning brings Ash Wednesday.

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Earlybird is learning how to use the library. Meaning, he's learning how to behave when we're there, how to politely ask for help, how to treat books, etc. We will turn a plain canvas bag into a "library tote" for him, embellishing it with rubber stamps and fabric paint, etc.

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As always, I must stress ... these are my notes - my hopes, and ideas - they do not always ALL come to pass. As you can tell, though, I do enjoy finding ways to weave the natural year into our home learning lifestyle. I find a wealth of inspiration in every turn of the year; I hope maybe you can find a little inspiration during your visit here!

*

Have a wonderful evening, my friends. I'm off now to feed my troops supper. :)

On the last day of the year ...

Best Wishes and Bright Blessings to You!

It's just about noontime here and the snow is falling fast and furious! I'd guess we have a few inches so far ... But no plows yet - things are nice and quiet on our road. I wish you could all see the birds at our feeders - they are never so active as when there is a storm blowing about! At this very moment I see juncos, sparrows, woodpeckers, cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, finches (gold and purple), titmice, a Carolina wren and even a tiny red squirrel! 

Well, the boys are clamoring for lunch, and I'm in the mood for some tea, so I'd best be going, but I wanted to get a quick post up to wish you all a very Happy New Year. If you're going to be out and about this evening, have a blast and be safe! And if you're staying in (like me) I hope your night is comfy and cozy ... 

But whatever your plans tonight, keep warm, have fun and I'll see you all again in the New Year! :)

Our Halloween (A Picture Story) ...

But first and foremost: Happy November everyone!

It is a very November kind of day here in New England - dark, gray, cold and still. Calm for now, but a storm is headed our way later this week. We have the heat up and the lights on, making the house all nice and cozy. My friend Mary's son is here to spend the morning with Crackerjack and Earlybird (she took Bookworm and a whole vanful of other kids to a class this morning). The boys are playing with Legos downstairs and I'm making use of this relatively quiet time to put up this post!

Now, thanks to several annoying computer issues I couldn't get around to blogging much (at all) this weekend so this particular post is a few days late. I had hoped to update all my sidebar items for the month of November and the late autumn season ahead ... hopefully all those plans will come to fruition later this week. :)

Well, we had a lovely Halloween, and I hope you did too. As usual, I took tons of pictures, so without further ado, here they are ...

We started our day by the lake, enjoying our favorite gingerbread muffins:

We took a quiet walk through the neighboring graveyard. I took the time to talk with the boys about the cycles of life and death - so vividly illustrated by nature right now - and we also discussed the way to show proper respect in a cemetery.

This milkweed pod releasing its seeds made a neat picture, while providing a nice example of the life cycle in action:

Back at home, we started in our jack-o-lantern. Here are the initial designs made by the boys. (See several photos down to see which design made the cut.)

We did a little yard cleanup, and here is the very last of our Jack-be-Littles:

By mid-afternoon we were off to trick-or-treat my parents and grandmother. Here we have CJ (left, a Clone Trooper) and BW (right, Anakin Skywalker):

Some of my readers might recall that EB requested a pirate costume this year. Well, I tried my darndest - but every bit of costume I came up with he refused to wear. (Hat? No. Beard? Nope. Eye patch? Are you kidding?) So at the last minute, I grabbed an old martial arts uniform of Bookworm's and Eb was thrilled to be a "Karate Kid" instead:

Now, though we do celebrate Halloween in our family, we keep things pretty tame. I love the old fashioned child-friendly Halloween spirit, but too much of it has become so commercial - and even more has become far too gruesome. I make it a point to avoid any party stores or "Halloween centers" at this time of year

Our decorations, then, are pretty low-key - pumpkins, cornstalks, mums, a scarecrow, some orange lights. That's about it. Well, Crackerjack (9 yo) is at that age where he wants something just a little bit scary on Halloween:

"Mum, can't we have something a little spooky? It doesn't have to be creepy. Just a little bit scary? Please?"

So when I saw this skeleton decoration at the grocery store, I decided to give in a little:

It spun in the breeze, glowed in the dark, and its eyes blinked a bright green. Crackerjack was thrilled, and I jokingly suggested we use him as part of our anatomy unit this winter. ;)

Meanwhile, inside, Bookworm took this super spooky picture of our cat:

And here is our "mad scientist" Jack-o-Lantern:

After supper, my dad and brother came over to join Bill in taking the boys out for tricks or treats. Add to the mix a family of friends from a few streets over and we had ourselves quite a group!

I stayed at home to answer the door, and ready the goodies - hot spiced cider and this pretty cake:

(I love serving a special cake on Halloween - does anyone remember that scene in Meet Me in St. Louis when the family gathers together late on Halloween night? I have always wanted to replicate that gorgeous confection. One year I will attempt such a project, but for the time being, store-bought sufficed.)

The kids traded candy for quite a while, and once the neighborhood grew quiet, everyone headed home to their beds. (Note, there's no Karate Kid in this picture - true to form, EB called it a night 'round 7 p.m. Nothing keeps that boy from his bedtime, lol. Not even the excitement of Halloween night!)

So for another year Halloween is all over. Crackerjack wanted to share this picture of the lovely sunrise the following morning, as October faded to black and November dawned dusky and pale:

And now my "quiet" time is nearing its end ~ the boys are coming in from the backyard, all pink-cheeked and slightly out of breath. It's time for a hot lunch and a maybe a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies ...

I do hope your week is off to a good start. Thanks for stopping by - I'll see you all again sometime soon!

Thoughtful Friday ~ All Hallow's Eve

*Sunset ~ October 31st, 2007

From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night ...
Good Lord, deliver us!
    ~Old Scottish Saying

Wishing you all a Happy Halloween! Be Safe and Have Fun!

~*Halloween Week Happenings*~

Monday, October 27, 2008

Housekeeping: clean bedrooms, change bedding, laundry

Dinner: turkey meatloaf, maple-roasted acorn squash, rice pilaf

Learning: math, vocabulary, spelling, history, religion

Activities: a visit with Gram after supper

***

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Housekeeping: clean upstairs bathroom, clean living room, laundry

Dinner: smorgasboard night (aka leftovers! J)

Learning: math, vocabulary, spelling, history, science

Activities: Earlybird’s therapy, Library stop

***

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Housekeeping: clean kitchen, start grocery list

Dinner: whole-wheat spaghetti and meatballs, salad, crusty bread

Learning: math, vocabulary, spelling, history, religion (tea)

***

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Housekeeping: clean dining room & family room, finalize weekend lists

Dinner: squash soup, grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches, garlic-rosemary homefries

Learning: math, vocabulary, spelling, history, science

Activities: orthodontist appointment, market stop

***

Friday, October 31, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Housekeeping: Clear and organize learning spaces, neaten for the weekend.

Dinner: homemade mac & cheese, kielbasa, roasted autumn veggies, pumpernickel bread

Learning: A day off from formal lessons!

Activities: (See below!)

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~ Other Holiday & Seasonal Notes ~

***

Bill takes a vacation day on October 31st every year, so we can spend Halloween together as a family. We always take the boys to the town farm to pick out pumpkins, and then to a favorite bakery for “gingerbread” muffins. We take the muffins and coffee with us as we walk around a lake and visit a local cemetery (there are graves from colonial times here).

Back at home we carve our jack o’lanterns (out on the deck to minimize the mess) and spend time cleaning up the yard – raking, clearing spent growth, etc. We might even have a little chiminea fire if the day is not too warm. (The forecast right now is sunny and near 70.) Back inside, we'll pop in a holiday classic, pop up some popcorn and roast some seeds. I start mulling a pot of cider in the late afternoon so the house smells wonderful by the time the sun sets. Just before supper, the boys will don their costumes (Anakin Skywalker, a Clone Trooper and a Pirate this year) and we'll take them over to Mum and Dad's so the boys can trick or treat Nana, Papa and Damee. Later on, after supper, our friends will arrive – as well as our beloved Uncle Matt – and Bill and the boys will head out for tricks or treats, while I stay home to answer the door.

When the gang returns we’ll sip our hot spiced cider, nibble cookies and trade candy till the eyelids start to droop and the doorbell stops ringing. Then it will be time to snuff the candles and say our goodnights, and Halloween will be over till next year.

***

At our weekly tea (of which we’ve been neglectful lately) I plan to serve pumpkin muffins and Halloween Cocoa ~ basically a Mexican hot chocolate (dark and spicy) with special Halloween marshmallows the boys picked out. Over tea, we'll choose saints to study this year.

***

Make soul cakes (follow recipe in Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions).

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Decorate mantel with tealights, marigolds and photographs of loved ones who have passed away.

***

Fall Back one hour (Daylight Savings Time ends).

***

Attend a Saints Day parade at church.

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Make up book basket for November.

***

Serve Mexican for Sunday's supper.

***

Clear off and re-do bulletin board for November; set up Grateful Tree.

***

Well, that should keep us busy for a while ... good thing there are seven days in a week! I'll check back in again soon, but in the meantime, I hope you all enjoy a lovely last week of October. :)

Our Holiday Weekend in Pictures ~

Wow, that weekend sure went by fast! Before the new week gets rolling, I thought I'd share some pictures with you all. Brace yourselves - there's a lot of them. ;)

On Thursday night we attended a festive cookout with friends. The original plan had been to walk over to watch the local fireworks, but the threat of storms kept us at home. Fortunately, we could still view the show over the treetops. This was a stunt plane warming up the crowd.

And here was the first of those threatening storms moving in. This picture doesn't do it justice - it was really kind of scary. The wind picked up so strongly, it knocked the canopy over and blew us all indoors. It looked like a scene from that Will Smith movie, Independence Day - I fully expected to see the Mother Ship descending at any moment, lol.

By the time the fireworks began, however, the skies had cleared. These photos are terribly blurry (nighttime photography still stymies me), but they were the best I took ...

On Friday we headed north to my cousin Mike's house for an annual family cookout. My cousin's wife, Krista, keeps lovely gardens. These asters caught my eye:

The kids enjoyed swinging, bouncing in the moonhouse ...

... and, despite Crackerjack's seeming reluctance (note the arms crossed) ...

Face painting! CJ consented to a Potteresque lightning bolt on his cheek. :)

Back at home on Saturday morning we were pleasantly surprised to find a garter snake sunning himself in our front yard ...

And we were overjoyed by the return of not one, but two red squirrels!

Yesterday, Sunday, we headed south, to spend a day at the beach with Bill's family. As you can see in this first photo, it was very foggy in the morning!

Earlybird in his artist's corner:

We enjoyed observing all the seashore life, including the periwinkles and barnacles that clung to the rocks.

This, we think, was a sea snail - or something like it. There were lots of these brown muddy shells, moving all along the beach. If you looked closely, you could see the one foot sticking out:

EB and Daddy, checking out the water's edge:

Even far from home, we manage to befriend the local wildlife. This little chipmunk suddenly appeared as we sat down for a picnic lunch. What could we do but share a bit of it with him?

And finally, here is a grasshopper the boys found while playing ball in the front yard:

And so now, the Fourth is past, and we're knee deep in summer ... I do plan to get those July Themes & Plans up soon - just as soon as I can manage - at the very least before the month gets too far along!

Have a great one, my friends. :)

Here's to a Happy 4th of July!

"On the Fourth of July, we tug at the bell rope in the barn and put up the flag to wave in the hot breeze, remembering that after John Adams signed the Declaration of Independence on the first American Fourth of July, he wrote his wife Abigail that he hoped Americans would always make this day one of rejoicing and merrymaking. We follow his wishes willingly." (From The New England Butt'ry Shelf Almanac by Mary Mason Campbell)

A Very Happy Mother's Day ~ to You!

  Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
  Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
  Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
  But only one mother the wide world over.
              ~George Cooper

I'm wishing you all a weekend of peace and joy! And to all my mama friends out there ~ make sure you do something nice for yourself ... you deserve it! :)

A Happy Arbor Day to You!

Do you have any special plans for Arbor Day this year? There are all kinds of ideas to be found at the Arbor Day Foundation webpage, but here are a few possible activities for your family today ...

~ You could plant a tree, of course! Since that takes some forethought, you could look for a good site on your property, discuss what kind of tree you'd all like (take a vote?) over supper, and maybe plan a trip to the nursery this weekend.

~ You could choose a tree to befriend ~ one in your yard or one along your street. Tie a colored ribbon around the trunk or a branch to remind you which one you picked. Follow it through the seasons with your children ~ take bark rubbings, press fallen leaves, observe any changes or animal life (insects, birds or mammals).

~ Take a Tree Walk today. The woods would be a perfect spot for this, but so too would a city park. Bring along your field guides and sketch books. Keep a list of how many different kinds of trees you can identify. (And sketch or photograph those you can't for further research.)

~ Go on a Tree Scavenger Hunt ~ at the supermarket! Have your kids look around to see how many different things in the store came from trees.

~ If you don't have a tree identification guide, now is the perfect time purchase one. (Barnes & Noble Educator Week begins tomorrow!)

~ Or, begin a field guide of your own! Look up the trees most common in your area, and plan a page for each one (and then some). As you find a tree species, enter your drawings or photographs and any observations you make. (You can supplement your findings with information readily available online.)

~ For tea-time, bake up some leaf-shaped cookies. Acorns, maple leaves, evegreen tree shapes would all work. Depending on your weather, serve them with cinnamon tea or a glass of cold apple cider.

~ Make plans for a tree fort! (Get Dad in on this one.) Let your children draw up plans and formulate their ideas ... then see how you can make it (or a version of it) happen. There's nothing like a tree fort for imaginative play!

~ Make up a tree poem page for your nature journals. A quick google search will lead you to plenty from which to choose. Or maybe you already have a favorite? Let your children copy it out and then add stickers or sketches (depending upon age and interest).

~ Read some favorite tree stories, like ~

• The Big Tree
• Sky Tree
• The Giving Tree
• How the Forest Grew
• A Forest of Stories
• Woody, Hazel and Little Pip
• The Great Kapok Tree
• Planting the Trees of Kenya

~ My boys are always looking for faces in the trees, imagining there might be treefolk living inside - maybe even an ent like in The Lord of the Rings! This would be a fun and magical walk to take today. And if you find one - of course you must sketch it - maybe even name it!

~ Brainstorm ways we can all help protect the forests. Can we use less paper - or find ways to re-use the paper we have? Look for recycled paper products at the grocer's or office supply store. (And if you don't see them, ask why not at the service desk.) Devise a plan for purchasing your household supplies with less packaging.

~ Call your local nature sanctuary and see if they have any tours or classes specifically about trees. Gather some of your friends for a ranger-led walk through the woods and learn all you can about trees!

But however you spend it, I hope your Arbor day is great!

"Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world." ~ John Muir

Happy Earth Day!

Your Life is 68% Green

You live a very green life, and you're aware of how your actions help the earth. Of course, it's hard to be totally green. But when you make a tradeoff, you know why you're making it.

How Green Is Your Life?

Still nursing my coffee this morning, so how about a few thoughts from last year? I'll be back with a "fresh" post before long ... :)

A few ideas for celebrating our lovely, life-giving earth today:

• If weather permits, open your windows wide and exchange the stale winter air for the freshness of spring.
• Make up a new spring nest for each of your loved ones (soft cottons sheets, light woven blankets, quilts folded at the foot of the bed).
• Set up a small nature shelf for the children. Let them add little treasures they find like nests, stones, and blossoms.
• Make up a basket for your field guides, and keep it handy!
• Rise early and sit by an open window with a warm cup of tea. Listen to the new sounds and feel the new air - write down your thoughts in a journal.
• Sit down as a family and discuss how you might be better stewards of the earth.
  • Great list here: 101 Ways to Get Started
• Carry canvas bags to the market instead of bringing home plastic. You can buy plain ones at the craft store and decorate them yourselves.
• Find out where there will be farm stands this summer; try to buy local as much as possible.
• Begin a compost pile.
• Go on a neighborhood walk - bring a trash bin or bag, wear gloves and clean up trash as you go.
• Plan to grow some food of your own this year.
• Visit a natural foods store and look for environmentally friendly cleaners. (Even better, make your own.)
• Look up your town's recycling guidelines; they might have changed! We just found out ours did - and there is much more we can recycle.
• Read biographies of naturalists with your children.
• Sit down with your grocery list (I use my store receipt) and consider each item you purchase regularly. How might you make a better choice (less packaging, better nutrition)?
• Do an energy audit of your household. Where can you decrease your energy consumption?

Have a BEAUTIFUL Earth Day, my friends!

Themes & Plans for April

April brings the primrose sweet, scatters daisies at our feet ...

And April also brings us (at long, long last), the first true days of spring: mild, soft and alive with sound and color. Nature is finally shrugging off its winter shawl, and showering us with its warm and friendly welcome.

It feels so good to open the windows again, and to leave the house with just a sweater - or none at all! There are many, many joys to expore with our children this month, and what follows is but a sampling, just my own thoughts for the season. As always, I'd love to hear yours! But for now, please join me as I consider ...

~ Themes and Plans for April ~

Nature

• Crocus are now in full bloom.
• Skunk cabbage grows in marshy areas.
• Bears are waking in the (deep) woods.
• Daffodils are in their full glory.
• The skies are gray one minute, blue the next ...
• ... and so rainbows are quite possible.
• Forsythia is bursting all over.
• At night we hear the spring peepers.
• Mourning cloaks are the first butterflies we'll see.
• Returning ~ thrush, phoebe, mockingbird and catbird.
• The smell of wild onions is in the air.
• There could be a light flurry or two.
• We'll have rainy days; the rivers will swell.
• Warm days are more frequent now.
• Juncos leave; chipmunks re-appear.
• Humpbacks are migrating back north.
• Time to check for ticks again.
• Dandelions are plentiful underfoot.
• The Full Pink Moon rises on April 20th.
• There are buds on the cherry tree ...
• ... which the sparrows love to nibble.
• Bluebells appear along the wood's edge.
• The grass is greening.
• The goldfinches are brightening.

Folklore

• Gem: diamond
• Flower: sweet pea
• Saying: April showers bring May flowers.

Food

• chives
• new potatoes
• asparagus
• fiddlehead ferns
• dandelions
• radishes
• spring lamb
• pasta primavera
• snap peas
• artichokes
• spinach
• sorrel
• goat cheese tart
• rhubarb crisp

Faith

• April Devotion ~ The Blessed Sacrament
• Liturgical Season: Easter (Paschaltide)
• Anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II (2)
• Pope Benedict's U.S. Visit (15-20)
• Pope Benedict's Birthday (16)
• St. George, Patron of England (23)
• St. Mark (25)
• Rogation Days (28-30)
• St. Catherine of Siena (29)

Household (& Garden)

• Take outdoor furniture out of storage.
• Rent de-thatcher; aerate lawn.
• Harden tender seedlings.
• Plant trees and/or shrubs.
• Clean out potting shed.
• Establish new garden beds.
• Prepare containers; purchase new ones.
• Choose and plant summer blooming bulbs.
• Cut dead canes out of raspberriy patch.
• Organize garden tools.
• Prune flowering bushes after blooming.
• Visit the nursery for spring plants, garden structures.
• Rake and compost leaf litter/debris.
• Spread fresh mulch.
• Spring cleaning (if not done before Easter).
• Have lawnmower serviced if necessary.
• Family meeting re ~ summer plans.
• Turn off fireplace.
• Turn on outside faucet.
• File taxes by 4/15.
• Organize financial files.
• Clean dryer vents and hoses.
• Spiff up the bikes.

Life

• National Autism Awareness Month
• National Poetry Month
• National Keep America Beautiful Month
• National Aquarium Month
• Soccer Season!
• April Fools Day (1)
• Hans Christian Anderson (2)
• National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day (2)
• Washington Irving (3)
• Find a Rainbow Day (3)
• No Housework Day (7)
• Red Sox Home Opener (8)
• 100th Day of the Year (9)
• Thomas Jefferson (13)
• Tax Day (15)
• National Animal Crackers Day (18)
• Swan Boats Resume (19)
• Patriot's Day (21)
• Boston Marathon (21)
• Earth Day (22)
• William Shakespeare (23)
• Arbor Day (25)

Book Basket

• The Secret Garden
• The Wind in the Willows
• Old Turtle
• Days with Frog and Toad
• St. George and the Dragon
• Make Way for Ducklings
• The Story of the Root Children
• Our Big Home: An Earth Poem
• The Whole Green World
• Compost!
• The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
• The Tale of Jemimah Puddle Duck
• The Magic School Bus Makes a Rainbow
• Down Comes the Rain
• From Tadpole to Frog
• Spring Story
• The Brook Book
• Humpback Goes North
• On Noah's Ark
• The Flower Fairies of the Wayside
• Sky Tree: Seeing Science through Art
• Franklin Plants a Tree
• My Favorite Tree: Terrific Trees of North America
• Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat
• From Caterpillar to Butterfly
• Sam the Minuteman

Field Trips & Outings

• A Spring Woods Hike
• A Vernal Pool Visit
• Butterfly Place
• Minuteman Park
• Make Way for Ducklings

Crafts & Activities

• Make wilding sticks and nature bracelets.
• Clean up litter in a local park.
• Prepare field bags for spring.
• Begin new nature journals.
• Hang a hummingbird feeder.
• Paint a butterfly house.
• Catch tadpoles at the pond.
• Conduct a rainbow experiment.
• Go on a rainbow walk.
• Paint rocks for garden markers.
• Dig in the dirt.
• Set up a nature table at home.
• Make tissue paper butterflies.
• Color a butterfly guide.
• Befriend a tree; start a notebook.
• Re-enact St. George & The Dragon.
• Build a bluebird house.
• Look for nests before leaves come in.
• Update our Bird List.
• Prepare May baskets.

Well, I think I'd better stop there, as my lists are getting rather lengthy! I do hope this post gives you some ideas for the month ahead, though. I plan to file this outline in my planner, (alongside the others) and hope that I remember to notice, savor or do some of these things - I never expect to get to them all!

April is here at last - and it will be gone before we know it - so let's make the most of it, my friends! Happy Spring!

"The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
When the sun is out and the wind is still,
You're one month on in the middle of May.
But if you so much as dare to speak,
a cloud come over the sunlit arch,
And wind comes off a frozen peak,
And you're two months back in the middle of March."
-  Robert Frost

So what would it be?

Did you know that tomorrow is National Make Up Your Own Holiday Day? Really!

What a great creative writing exercise this could be for the kids; get the conversation started as they sit down to breakfast tomorrow morning. Or, you could help them conduct an informal poll of family and friends, graphing everyone's answers to the question ~ What holiday is your favorite of all?

Or, you could just take a quiz, like I did, and call it a day. ;)

You Are Thanksgiving

You are a bit of a homebody who enjoys being in the company of people you love. It doesn't take a lot to make you happy. You're enjoying life as it is. You have many blessings in your life, and you are grateful for each one. You believe that life is about what you *do* have. You feel like you have enough of the good stuff. What makes you celebrate: Family, friends, and the changing of the seasons. At holiday get togethers, you do best as: The host of the party On a holiday, you're the one most likely to: Spend so much energy preparing that it's a full time job

What Holiday Are You?

And it's my favorite holiday, too! So tell me, what are you?

How our Easter was (and wasn't) ...

But first, how was your Easter? I hope it was lovely. Ours was nice, if not quite what I'd planned ...

A quick bit of back story. Several years ago - it might have been the first year we lived here - we had what we now recall (not so fondly) as The Sick Christmas. That year, within days of December 25th, we all fell prey to a horrendous stomach bug. And so, at the very last minute, we had to cancel all of our holiday plans - including a big family gathering here on Christmas Day itself - in order to stay in and nurse ourselves back to health.

Well, this year, I'm sorry to report, we had The Sick Easter.

Just an hour after posting my Happy Easter greeting on Holy Thursday morning, I was on the phone with my doctor's office. The cold that I'd been nursing all week had worsened into a deep and painful cough, and my eyes were sore and red. A few hours later, home from the doctor, I had my Dx ~ flu, conjunctivitis in both eyes, and a budding ear infection to boot.

Eek.

Bill came down with it on Good Friday, and my mum too. Earlybird was just getting over it (the cough part, thank goodness, not the conjunctivitis); the older boys sneezed a lot and complained about "itchy" eyes, but so far they've just been less active than usual. (Which, all in all, was a good thing.)

Needless to say our Holy Week and Easter plans had to be seriously altered - many things had to be put on hold. Still, we managed to create some family fun and, save for the incessant coughing, it was a quiet and restful Easter. The good news is, our family dinner (the one I outlined so meticulously here) will take place next Sunday - same time, same place, and same menu - more or less. ;)

Of course, I took pictures all along - I can't not take pictures, lol! - so I'd like to share them with you this evening. :)

We began with decorating eggs on Holy Saturday. That afternoon I summoned the troops (and the energy) to boil up a dozen or so eggs:

Good old Paas. I had visions of trying natural dyes this year, but those tiny tablets came to the rescue ...

I hung the forsythia garlands, but I wasn't able to get the eggs ready, as I posted about here.

Sunday morning, our prayer corner was aglow, the great boulder rolled away from the front of the tomb ...

(This is our dragon cave, btw. It comes in handy for all kinds of things.)

The Easter Bunny visited before the sun even rose, leaving behind baskets of goodies, and hiding the boys' bright eggs in quiet corners of the yard ...

While the boys looked for the eggs (bundled up tight against the cold March air), I prepared a very simple morning treat ...

A strawberry punch and an Easter egg cake I picked up at Whole Foods. My mum brought over cinnamon biscuits and we put on a pot of fresh coffee.

And finally, our Lenten cross made its Easter transformation. Remember how it looked last month? Well, here's how it looked today ...

And in the midst of all the flowers and butterflies: the missing Alleluia!

And now, Easter night, it's back to the couch for me ~ to the couch, with a warm banket and a hot cup of tea. The boys have been fed and sent to bed; I think they had a nice Easter in the end. I know it felt strange to just be home for days on end, and not go to church and not have a big party as usual. But we were together and we took it easy, and that's what we all needed - but thank goodness Easter is 50 days long!

Have a good night, everyone. John Adams is starting up in a few minutes (what a good show!); we'll see if we can stay up to watch it. (And if not, thank goodness for Tivo!)

See you all sometime tomorrow. :)