One post, three challenges

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

1. Plant something:
Resina calendula and sugar snap peas from seed (good toward the Growing Challenge). Highbush cranberry, golden horn tree, salal, and nagoonberry (that's what was in the big box).

2. Harvest something:
Eggs, dandelion greens, violets, good king henry, sorrel, sweet cicely, and chives from our garden and yard. Garlic mustard foraged from a nearby abandoned yard (this is a new food to us).

3. Preserve something:
Made garlic-mustard pesto to freeze.

6. Build community food systems:
Some of the kids went home talking about the green smoothies--which turned out to be a new idea for some of the parents--and some kids are now gathering dandelion greens and giving them to their parents to eat. So I shared the "recipe" for our smoothies in one of my daily emails to the families in my program.

7. Eat the food:
I served the kids green smoothies three times this week, with mixed results (some love them, some don't--but I fear a bit of that is peer pressure). Lucy continues to love them. And all the kids love the idea of them, and love gathering greens for them, so it's going to become a regular snack around here (I trust that their taste for it will come with time--and with the arrival of fresh fruits!).

We also ate a yummy yogurt dip made with chives and teeny bits of other herbs from the garden (all I've got so far): plain yogurt, lemon juice, herbs, salt, pepper. It was great on green beans (1st day) and on roasted cauliflower (2nd day). And ate garlic mustard foraged from a nearby yard. Hated the recipe I used, but think I could like the greens. Will try again.

And then there were these. Oh, my goodness. Don't make these if, like me, you have trouble with--shall we say--portion size. I found the link here. Not the slightest bit local or sustainable, I'm afraid, but a good made-from-the-pantry treat.
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Outside today, I finally removed a terracotta planter which sat at the base of this tree for a few years. We'd failed to take it in over the winter, so it had cracked to pieces, and it was so root-bound, I could barely get the soil separated from the pot shards. But I tackled the task today. To watch me, Lucy was inspired to climb up on the base of the tree, a new accomplishment of which she was very proud.

Once the pot was removed, there was a treasure-trove of insect life left behind: pill bugs, centipedes, and various larval creatures. Here, Lucy watches as the older children scramble to catch the fast-moving bugs to feed them to the chickens.

Reading and digging in the mud

It's been a very full weekend! In between lots of cheering-up-the-teething-toddler,

I got to the library:

(couldn't resist that $1 Fannie Farmer cookbook from the sale shelf, though it seems an odd combination with the one below it!)

Admired the effect of the rain on the now-looking-lush gardens:


And got my new plants in the ground:

Hope you found some time for relaxing this weekend, too.
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I forgot to take pictures for the Great Outdoor Challenge again! Here's what I wish I'd photographed:

Lucy, sitting in an overtaken-by-weeds yard, picking dandelions with her 5-year-old friend, her arm around his shoulder.

Or when she pointed to a magnolia tree and later a wisteria vine, then to her nose, and said "mmm!"

Or when she sat with me on the steps, pulling leaves off the garlic mustard plants we'd foraged across the street, in preparation for dinner, again saying "mmm."

Can you picture it?

Work of various kinds

Look what came today!

I've got my work cut out for me this weekend. I can't even remember what I ordered, let alone where I thought it would all go. Fruit bushes, that much I remember!

There was no time to open the box today, however. We were too busy down at the stream.

We discovered animal tracks in the mud:

Someone suggested we try making our own:

We came home good and muddy:

We'd forgotten to bring our field bags with us today, so we sketched the tracks from a photo later:

We knew these tracks--dog and raccoon. But we've been frustrated by attempts to identify other tracks we've found using the books I have on the subject. Any recommendations for good track identification guides?

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree!

Toddle softly and carry a big stick

Get outside strategy: don't worry so much.

Yep, my toddler carries sticks wherever she goes. She teethes on them. And sand, too, when a little grit is needed. She finds "choking hazards" wherever she goes, picks them up to carry around with her, and sometimes pops them in her mouth. She crawls up the slide. She climbs to the top of any ladder or staircase she can find. She chases chickens and probably steps in their poop along the way. She trips over exposed roots, lands on gravel, scrapes her knees.

She's learning to navigate her world safely, and she's amazingly adept at it. She is not afraid of nature, because we're not afraid to let her explore it. At the playground, I often see babies and toddlers held by their parents or contained in strollers or swings to "protect" them from the world. In my experience, however, sheltering them in this way means they're less protected when they're on their own two feet, because they haven't had enough experience exploring their own boundaries. Getting outside with babies and toddlers when you're anxious for their safety is really hard. Trust in their competence and resilience, and it becomes much easier.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree!

Tulips and other challenges

Not much time to post today, but here are some pictures of what we've been up to...

I finished my first tulip dishcloth. It's definitely got some issues, but I followed the pattern all on my own without any translations from my teacher, so I'm feeling pretty proud of it!

And here's some of what Lucy's been doing outside today:

Climbing. This ladder is tied to a tree in our backyard to make it safer for the kids to climb. The other ropes you see are part of our "circus" (one of the kids' projects this year). And yes, Lucy can climb all the way to the top and down again!

Helping with laundry.

Exploring the squished petals of a grape hyacinth she picked.

Digging in the woods, following the other kids' lead (they were digging "a fire pit.")

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors!

1st sweater--finished!

What's that ham modeling there? Could it be an actual sweater, crocheted by me? Yes ! I did it!

When I finished it up yesterday afternoon, Lucy watched me test out various buttons on the sweater. She joined the game, laying out buttons one after another:

Then, of course, we had to change her clothes and head out into the fading light to take photos (oh, the hard life of a blogger's baby; all those clothing changes and modeling sessions!)

(Under the dress is the diaper cover that matches the sweater.)
The sweater, all by itself:

The cute vintage buttons:

I love this sweater. It was easy enough for me to accomplish as my 4th-ever crochet project, but doesn't look too simple. In wool but with short sleeves, it should be perfect for spring, cool summer mornings at the beach, and into fall. Details are here on Ravelry.
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And the outdoor challenge? We've been out there every day, of course, though I've missed a day or two blogging it. I was super honored yesterday to find my posts on getting outdoors have inspired other bloggers (what a thrill to be reading your way through blogs and find your name in a post!), so I'm working on some more get-out-there tips for future posts.

Here we are yesterday, scrubbing some of the plastic that accumulates when well-meaning neighbors and and acquaintances realize you've got a lot of kids in your life. We'd weeded it all out of our outdoor-toys collection (more on what I'd rather have out there soon) and were readying it for its next owner, a la Freecycle.

And here's Lucy, today, rolling in the dirt. A part of my job in being with children outdoors is helping them learn to cope with the inevitable difficulties: cold, heat, bugs, boo-boos. Lucy'd fallen, and I was joking with her: "are you taking a nap in the dirt?" In the case of a minor tumble like this, it's sometimes possible to tease it into something funny (don't worry, I give plenty of love and snuggles and comfort, when really needed).


Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

A place with nothing to do

Both today and yesterday, I walked with all the kids to a park about a mile away. It's a ball field surrounded by grass, huge old sycamore trees, blooming crab apple trees, and bordered by woods along the river. Once, leaving there with all the kids in tow, I was approached by a woman who lived across the street from the park, who tried to recruit me to her campaign to get the town to put in "something for the kids to do." But she'd approached the wrong person. I love that park precisely because there is "nothing to do." When there's no play structure to suggest "this is what you should do here," there's nothing else to do but
pick flowers,

see what happens if you blow through bamboo into the current,

try to catch leaves as they drift by,

make a boat of bamboo stalks or sycamore leaves,

sail it on the current, holding it tethered by a vine,

or build a bridge to pirate island.

I'm a big fan of "nothing to do." I hope that park stays just as boring as it is. We'll keep coming, and try to find some way to while away the time.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

Independence Days challenge: everything's coming up!

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge. It's been an exciting week in the garden: suddenly everything is coming up.

(one of the raspberry canes that somehow survived the winter frozen in a pot and is now thriving in the ground)

1. Plant something:

(the lettuce I planted two weeks ago)

2. Harvest something:
Eggs. Chives. Sorrel. Good King Henry. Dandelion greens.

(last year's kale, which still looked green when I cleared out the bed this spring, so I left it; sure enough, it's re-leafing)

4. Waste not:
An obvious thing for better cooks than we are, but something I was proud of: faced with the rock-hard leftovers of a loaf of bread, I made a bread pudding of sorts for the kids' breakfast, using eggs, dried blueberries, and dried mulberries. It was a hit. Normally, that bread would have gone to the chickens, or, at best, be used as bread crumbs.

And I cut way down on disposable paper this week by putting a bag of hankies within easy reach in the kitchen: a fresh one handy whenever needed. Now I'm using those for family and the tissues only for the kids in my early childhood program.

7. Eat the food:
I made a yummy end-of-storage-beginning-of-greens meal this week: mashed potatoes (colored and lightly flavored with turmeric) topped with sauteed greens (chives, sorrel, good king henry, dandelion), garlic, and toasted pine nuts, with a peach crisp for dessert. Lucy approved!

Also tried a new recipe--good for spring with lots of eggs and stored tomatoes--which was a big hit with the kids (it was one of their lunches, with toast and green beans on the side). And I made a not-as-yummy casserole (would have been so much better with dairy!) of potatoes and eggs and ramps. Disappointing, but I was pleased that most of the meal came from our yard.
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And outdoor play? One of today's projects was trying to move this great big log a friend salvaged for us. It's headed back to our digging area in the woods, where I hope to eventually have many more logs for use as tables, chairs, jumping-off places, and whatever else the kids might need.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

Crochet progress and outdoor chores

Whoa! The last soaker took me a whole month to make; this one only took me a week! And it is so much better.

I was talking with my friend Julie last night about preferred methods of learning. I do not want to "practice." I never have. I want to do, make, create. Forget showing me a stitch and having me do row after row of it to learn how to get it right. I'm more likely to be motivated by a project I want to do: the pattern says double crochet? Ok, what's that? And then I need to do something on the front post? What does that mean? That's why my first attempt was such a wreck: I was trying to keep too many new things in my head at one time. But it's also why I was so satisfied at the end: I had a product I could really use. And then I was happy to make another one, trying now to get it right. Julie, on the other hand, would much rather learn one stitch perfectly before trying to use it in a project (and her projects look infinitely better than mine, no surprise!). How do you like to learn?

So now I've got a few other projects in the works. I've joined the rest of the class in making this:

There are only 2 more classes left; I'm really hoping I'll be able to finish it in that time. And I've already started a third soaker. And I'm working on some of these for Christmas presents (aren't you proud of me? I started earlier, as I'd hoped!) I started the first one today, and am trying to figure out the pattern on my own (so far, my teacher's been translating the patterns into regular English for me). I'm finding if I read it really slowly, I can do it! Yay!
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And outdoors...

We spent a few hours this afternoon at the park with friends, but naturally, I forgot the camera! I did remember to take it out when we hung one of the many loads of laundry I did today. Lucy likes helping with laundry: she takes each item out of the bag and hands it to me to hang. Later, she takes each item out of the bag again and hands it to me for folding.

(This made me think of one of my best tips for ensuring you get out every day: make sure you have some outdoor chores. I go outside several times a day, by necessity: I hang at least one load of laundry, take care of chickens at least twice a day, and get the stinky diapers and full-up compost out of the house daily. When you head out the door so many times a day, rain or shine, hot or cold, it stops seeming like a big ordeal. That got me thinking about a few other get-out-the-door-easily tips I've accumulated over 17 years of teaching and a year of mamahood. I'll share more as the month goes on.)

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

On her own two feet

Lucy and I went for a hike today. This was her first hike on her own two feet, and she walked nearly 1/2 a mile! Sometimes, it looked like this:

And sometimes, it looked like this:

And usually, there was a great big grin, like this:

It took us a very long time to walk that 1/2 mile. Lucy was very interested in all the sticks she found along the path, and stopped every few minutes to exchange the ones in her hands for new ones. Did you know...
there are smooth sticks and bumpy sticks?
sticks are good for teething?
you can re-adjust the stick in your hand so you can hold mama with the same hand?
sticks break with a satisfying snap?
when you break a stick in two, even if you line up the two ends perfectly and hold them together just so, they won't re-connect?
and strangest of all, some sticks just won't break:


Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

More strategies for rainy days

Rainy day strategy #2: Wear good gear.
Ok, this should be obvious. But I'm surprised at how often it's not. I see kids trying to play but getting miserable and cold in their soggy, not-warm-enough, leaky clothing. I only recently discovered the existence of rain pants. What a brilliant thing! With those, a good hat (or hood), and rain boots, a kid can be covered head to toe and splash to their hearts' content. I'm also a big fan of snow suits, which in spring become "mud suits." That's Lucy wearing her lightest-weight snowsuit above; perfect for a cool rainy spring day (and I'm still loving those Stonz boots for her!). Much worse than kids not dressed for the weather ('cause many of them don't really mind being wet), is parents who simply don't want to be out in the rain themselves and so keep their kids from enjoying outdoor play. Why? They're not dressed for it themselves. This is how I look when I take the kids out to play in the rain:

What? You say I'm not fashionable? That my men's rain suit is a few sizes too large? It's true. But I'm also the mom who can play outside in the rain for hours, sit on the wet ground when I get tired, and pick up a muddy child who needs some comforting without a moment's thought to my clothes. Mamas, if you don't have rain gear and a snowsuit, get thee to a thrift store and buy some! I swear, it will completely transform your attitude toward the weather.

Rainy day strategy #3: Bring out art supplies.

Sometimes, a child is feeling grumpy about playing outside in the chill and rain. That's when I like to pull out something interesting to distract them from their (often temporary) discomfort. Art supplies are one of my favorite rainy-day tricks. Chalk, paint, and clay are all easily used on a rainy day and are transformed by the rain into a new experience. Look how brilliant the chalk colors are on a wet driveway!

Chalk. Rain pants. They seem like such simple little things. But if it's the thing that gets you outside on a rainy day, it opens up a whole world of possibility for discoveries about the joy of nature in all weather.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! The list of players is growing every day; check it out here.

Aiming for a junkier garden

I used to think I hated garden ornamentation. Gnomes and shiny silver balls and most especially, junk as "art," cluttering up the yard. But then I moved to Massachusetts, where the garden is dead and barren for most of the year, and you're eager for a spot of beauty. And I began to see examples of garden objects, even junk, done well. And I started to appreciate it. Even to want some in my own yard.

But I'm not very good at it. When I put things in my garden, they look lonely, out of place, odd. So I've been studying gardens as I meet them, trying to figure out why they work. And for the past year or so, one of my main tag-sale and thrift-store missions has been to find good garden "junk."

On Easter, we went to a party in the yard of a friend who's a master at artfully arranging objects. Her home is a work of art, and I'm so in awe of the beautiful vignettes she sets up all throughout her life. I took some photos of her garden for inspiration (unfortunately, my photos do not do it justice. Trust me when I say it's much more beautiful in person.)

After wandering around her garden, I returned to my garden this week with new eyes. I've been rearranging the furniture, so to speak, moving the bits of things I've had in my garden for years and giving them new homes and new friends. It needs work yet, but I'm liking it so far. I'll share photos soon.
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Outdoors today:

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players -lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy