Great blue herons to the rescue

We conquered the sleep-deprived grumpies today by getting out into nature.  (Is it just us, or do full moons drastically affect sleep in your house, too?)

A friend recently told us about a hike we had to take, to a great-blue-heron rookery, from a downtown neighborhood, of all places!

The last time we went (a few weeks ago), we saw the herons building their nests.  Today, Lucy and I returned and found them all sitting on the nests.

It's so bizarre to see these big huge birds perched high in the trees like that!

Right next door to the herons is a bald eagle, also nesting.

It's a truly amazing sight.

Closer to earth, we saw a garter snake,

 a tuft of unidentified fur (a mystery to ponder), lots of animal holes, big fat bumblebees, some butterflies, red-winged blackbirds, wood ducks, and heard many, many different bird calls.

 It was amazing to see that the brown woods we'd visited so recently was now lush and green. (And completely full of poison ivy!  We kept our bodies small and centered on the path.)

Later, we went out to dinner with friends, followed by dessert and dandelion-blowing in a little park in the center of our town.

And when bedtime came and went by an hour, with no sign of sleep, I got Lucy back out of bed and into the car and we went in search of the "supermoon."  We caught glimpses of it through the trees in all its huge orange glory, and continued looking for a good viewing spot as it rose, lightened, and got hidden by clouds.

It was well worth the extra-late bedtime.

My best cure for a difficult day--take it outside and breathe in the wonders of nature.

On the last day of Christmas...

It's the last day of Christmas, so I think I can still get away with some Christmas photos, can't I? We had a very drawn-out celebration, opening gifts over many days due to sickness and family and friends' travel schedules. We had three little open-gifts-with-friends moments, a quiet Christmas day with just our little family of three, and a big belated Christmas with my extended family of ten. Each one was special, and it was actually really nice to draw it out over time.

Checking out her new tree house with Tim.

Checking to see if Eric liked her present. She'd thought of it herself--"we should get him some yarn, so he can make himself a hat"--and chose the yarn from our stash.

Opening "her" stocking on Christmas morning. (I haven't actually made her one yet. This is one of a set of three my mother made for me and my sisters when we were little. I loved getting to share it with her, and she loved it, too.)

Playing with the amazing mouse family made for her by our 7-year-old friend, Jenna.

Stockings (again, from my childhood) awaiting my family on our belated Christmas morning.

Everyone gathered here, like I like it.

Playing with a game from "Great Jane," in the Christmas dress from Granny.

Silliness with Bob and Alexa. (Our family Christmases seem to always require a silly-costumes shot.)

Three cousins look at Lucy's annual grandparent-gift photo album.

Enough partying.

10th activity of Advent: cutting the tree

One of our favorite traditions at Christmas time is cutting our own tree. We've been doing it for years, usually with good friends.

This year, Lucy led the way.

We tried a new farm this year.

It's an old farm, in operation since 1955. Some of the trees are the original ones, planted all those years ago. They use a method new to us: "stump culture." Rather than cutting the tree at the ground, you leave a stump with some branches, which will bend up and become future "trees." Fascinating and sustainable.

It was a new perspective, looking up and trying to judge height, size, and shape from the ground. (Here, Tim uses Lucy to measure a tree.)

Dave had never cut a Christmas tree, so he got the honors.



Goodbye, trees. We'll be back next year.

Gifts, revealed: homemade books

In the wee hours of the night on Christmas Eve, I finally got to a present I'd been meaning to make Lucy for months now:

Remember her love for carousels? It has carried on for months, as she asks for the story of the carousel rides over and over, and often retells the story herself in her journal (more on that later).

So I finally used one of my favorite blank books to put together a simple book about her three first carousel rides. (No affiliation, just a fan.)

Handwritten and quickly assembled, it's not particularly beautiful. But it's definitely one of the most-requested books around here lately.

It's not the only handmade book she received this Christmas. We got a package of gifts from our dear friends in Boston, and one of them was an amazing little book from the 9-year-old in the family:

It's personalized in such a thoughtful way. From the bird characters, reflecting their shared passion, to the little white bonnet worn by the Lucy bird, to the names of the characters (Lucy's cats, her cousins...),

to the hammock Lucy bird sleeps in,

and the stuffed seagull toy--every detail is special to Lucy.

We were in awe of Sarah's creation, and took it to our extended family Christmas celebration to share with everyone.

(Gotta love the back cover! Sarah's written many books, and has her own imprint.)

Sharing the bird love

This week, Lucy and I had an unexpected, much-needed, gift of a free day. We took a road trip to visit my great friend, Julie.

Her unschooled, bird-loving daughters, knowing Lucy's passion for birds, set up this provocation* for her on their coffee table:

My favorite bits:
the pink bird, attached by a hair tie to a paintbrush so she could make it fly,
the small bird attached by wire to the eagle, so it appeared to be flying,
the green parrot, whose curves are aligned with the mussel shell it's set beside.

Later, they donned bird beaks as they made music together.

It was so cool to me that a 1-year-old, a 6-year-old, and an 8-year-old could bond over a shared interest in such lovely ways. Thank goodness for great friends and shared philosphies. It was just what we needed.

* Provocation is a word used in Reggio-inspired teaching, meaning something set up to provoke children's thinking.

In. Pig.

"In."

"Pig!"

"More. In."

Lucy's beloved Tim and Eric just returned from a trip to Canada, and brought her back a piggy bank. She's going to be rich in no time, because it is irresistible to watch her drop the coins in there. When she asks for "more," you get her more as quickly as possible! She spent a good 20 minutes last night dropping coins "in. in. in."

Crochet on display

Remember my crochet class? It's over now (pooh!). And lo and behold, I actually made something! Several things, in fact. (I've got a new one in the works to show you soon.)

Last night was the annual exhibition at the Hill Institute, where I took my class. It was super hot and sticky, as well as crowded, so we didn't spend as much time looking at everything as I would have liked.

(Eric came with us, and Lucy insisted on holding both his hand and mine. See how hot she was?)
But wow. It was really impressive, all that talent gathered into one place.

One of our favorite exhibits was the handmade canoes. Gorgeous. Someday, Andi and I would love to take that class!

Lucy thought they were pretty cool, too.

The botanical drawings and paintings were another favorite of mine. Observational drawing is something I ask children to do all the time, but it's not something I feel confident doing myself. These were amazing!

Beautiful baskets of all kinds. (Why did "basket-weaving" become a joke of a class somewhere along the line? I'd love to try it.)

Many quilts of all sorts.

Two of my favorites.

The pushed-aside materials in the classrooms were just as beautiful as the displays.

Someday, I'd like to try a hand at one of these looms.

And oh, how I'd love to try hooked rugs (but they wouldn't last a second in this cats-rule house.)

Finally, we came to the crochet display. Sadly, it was the one area that hadn't been arranged beautifully to show off everyone's work. And I have to say, it was clear that mine was the work of an amateur. But still, I was proud to see my things on display. (That's my hat, sweater, and soaker on the left side of the table.)

There were many more exhibits I didn't capture well: furniture making, weaving, painting, knitting (oh, the knitting was incredible!), sewing... I can't wait to take my next class there! What should it be? (Unfortunately, I have to wait until next year. It's Andi's turn to take one next.) Meanwhile, I'm still hooking away whenever I get the chance...