Doing a little painting in the backyard last week. The wild orchids and wild geranium were tiny pictures of perfection.
A little painting
Trees by Sergeant Joyce Kilmer
I think that I shall never see,
a poem as lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
against the earth’s sweet, flowing brest.
A tree that looks at God all day,
and lifts her leafy arms to pray.
A tree that may in summer wear
a nest of robins in her hair.
Upon whose bosom snow has lain,
who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
but only God can make a tree.
Quote of the Week
“Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.” Jim Rohn
1st of 2015 – Buds and Bees
Spotted this beautiful tree in bud. And a few seconds later, along comes this little guy. Spring is coming! Spring is coming!
This little bee is already hard at work.
Book Review – The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Our family has been reading through the Laura Ingalls Wilder Little House Collection aloud every night. Currently, we are finishing up “The Long Winter”.
This book has been my favorite in the series. While each book presents the trials and triumphs of the Ingalls family, “The Long Winter” gives us a glimpse of a family and a town teetering near starvation as they struggle through extreme cold and blizzards. Throughout these events the Ingalls talk about God and His design, sing His praise, pray for friends and exhibit a steadfast love for each other. It is in these circumstances that we see the true faith, grit and determination that made them successful pioneers.
It is a book that offers up a banquet of character studies:
Charles Ingalls: A man beloved by his family, whose ability to read the signs of the coming winter and accept the sage commentary of an old indian saves their lives. His nemesis is starvation as supplies run low and the train doesn’t come. His response is steadfastness. He does all the chores without complaint. He rebukes the wind.
Mr. Foster: A man, who through his excitement and lack of self-control, scares away the only meat (antelope) the town folks will see in the winter. In our own home, we now say “Don’t be a Foster” when someone is at risk of ruining a situation for others due to their own lack of self-control. He is also a man that redeems himself by butchering his oxen as a substitute for the antelope.
Caroline Ingalls: A diligent, loving mother who teaches her children by example. An encouraging wife that brings to mind the Proverbs 31 woman: prepared, resourceful, kind whose children rise up and call her “Blessed”.
The examples go on and on. It is a book for the whole family, because it’s lessons are timeless and it’s characters are multifaceted.
1st of 2015 – Bald Eagle Sighting
My son and husband were out walking the dog and spotted a bald eagle flying around over the bay by our home on February 6, 2015. Needless to say, they were very excited! They ran in to get the rest of us, but it was too late. The eagle had soared away, too busy to wait for the us slow pokes. Hopefully, in the next few weeks, we will see him again and I can put a picture on here for you.
1st of 2015 – Woodpecker sighting
Lots of firsts going on around here as spring peeks out. Here’s a little video from today of a woodpecker I spotted in a tree. I also saw my first bee buzzing around a couple of days ago.
Community Garden Volunteering
This past week, I heard a great program on a local radio station. The host was interviewing a local council member, who started a community garden in our area. They were asking people to volunteer to assist with the maintenance of the community plots.
Now, I am not a gardener, but I have a dream to be a gardener – one day. Well, realizing that there is no time like the present, I decided to make that dream a reality. I somehow convinced my husband to get up at 7:30 on a Saturday morning, and, with me and the kids, drive to the local garden and lend a hand. What a great man I am married to!
We got the kids excited it about it the night before by taking them to our local home and garden store and buying everyone garden gloves. They loved it!
When we arrived Saturday morning, we found volunteers busy all over the garden. They were working on weeding, composting, turning dirt and more. After introducing ourselves, we were led to some beds, handed a couple of garden tools and set to work digging up weeds. What a great job for kids. Tearing things up! And playing in dirt!
We have looked for volunteer opportunities that we could include our two young children in and this was ideal. The day we volunteered was crisp and clear. The smell of the dirt was fresh.
The best part was that we were able to volunteer on the “community beds”. Now, if you already know about community gardens, tune out now. For those of you that don’t, here’s what we learned about our local garden. There are plots you can lease and you can plant whatever you want in them. Then, there are plots that are for the community. If you are leasing a plot, part of your lease is to assist with maintaining the community plots, too. If you don’t have your own leased plot, you can volunteer to help with the community plots. The food grown in these beds is harvested and given to local community organizations. How great is that!
So, if your family is busy like ours and not ready to take on the ongoing responsibility of your own plot, you can help out with the community plots. Love it!
Do you have a local, community garden? Have you gotten involved?
God Bless You on your walk!
Nature Study – February 2015
We have had some beautiful days, lately, and the kids and I have been enjoying them. Our latest Nature Walk/Adventure turned into two hours of playing on the beach by the bay. We discovered some tracks.
And, we did a little fishing. We didn’t catch anything, but some beautiful sunshine.
We discovered a hermit crab and caught a teeny, tiny ghost shrimp in our net. We checked him out and returned him to the water. It was a wonderful day!
Have you been on a nature walk/adventure lately? Did you discover anything fun?
May God Bless You on your walk!
Homeschooling with Charlotte 