Range Pond State Park

After all the rainy weather we have had the last few weeks, today's amazing weather was a welcome relief and a perfect opportunity to enjoy the outdoors.  My younger son and I went to Range Pond State Park in Poland this afternoon for a hike.  We were not the only ones with the idea of going to Range Pond today however.  There were dozens of teens and other crazy Mainers soaking up the sun and playing in the water.  I kinda wished that I had thought to bring our swim suits and sand toys, but our hike was amazing just the same.  Check out the photos I took at Range to see the beautiful blue sky and puffy clouds against the water.  What an amazing Spring day!  

A Walk In the Woods

I really needed some time to myself today. So this afternoon I decided to take advantage of the warm weather and took a walk in the woods behind my home. I had fun snapping pictures of all the Spring greenery and other interesting things I found along the way. I purposely wore my rubber boots on my walk so that I could squish about in the mud and puddles. I felt like a little kid exploring the wild woods. Here is a slideshow of the things I snapped along the way...

My walk was so good for my soul. What have you done lately that lifted your spirits?

Owl Spotting

Walking up the driveway with Ehric I happened to look up into a tree and spotted a Barred Owl. The tree is located right near our chicken coop so I think the owl was on the lookout for dinner. When I spotted it I immediately pointed it out to Ehric, and then ran in the house and grabbed my camera. I was able to snap this picture of the owl looking at us. I have seen owls close up at the local wild life park but never in my own backyard before. I am so excited!! Next time I see it I will be sure to call out "Who Cooks for you? Who Cooks for you all?" Maybe it will hoot back.

Honey, Raspberries & Baby Birds

Hubby recently befriended a fellow beekeeper that lives up the road. All week they have been chasing swarms together, and as a thank you he gave us 5 jars of honey and 2 packages of honeycomb from his bees. We tried the honeycomb after lunch and had fun sucking the honey out. It was so floral tasting and sweet. Can't wait to try the honey out soon!

After lunch the boys went to play outside and discovered raspberries in their play yard. They were so excited and spent most of the afternoon picking berries. Hubby weeded out some butterfly bush from the raspberry patch and discovered a bird's nest that had two baby birds inside. He showed it to the boys. They were so excited to tell me about it, and Ehric said it had two little red colored birds in the nest. I will have to go inspect it tomorrow. Not a bad Thursday!

Fun in Our Yard

After rearranging furniture all morning the boys really wanted to go outside. So we have spent most of the afternoon enjoying our yard. It has been a little overcast but a relatively seasonable day. The birds have been chirping away and we have been having fun. I love spring!

Earlier in the day Ehric wanted me to read some of our library books to him while they played in the sandbox. So I lugged out all the books and started reading. I was a little leary of bringing the library's books out because of it being overcast. I guess I was right to worry because at one point the clouds got really dark and the wind picked up. Sure enough it started to down pour. I ran with all the books in my arms and safely got them inside. But before that we were having a good time; and even one of our roosters seemed captivated by a book I was reading. I made sure to show him the pages before I turned them. It was funny!

After spotting two little red birds (I believe) earlier in our apple tree I got out our binoculars. The boys and I went birding around our yard. It was a lot of fun except that the birds all seemed to be hiding on us. Also Aiden decided that he wanted to use the more expensive, nicer pair and I got stuck with the kiddie one. But it was fun to watch him walking around like a naturalist.


This past weekend Daddy and the boys came home with a trailer load of logs. After reading Toymaking with Children by Freya Jafke I got inspired to make a ring of logs for the boys to walk on. It has been a hit with the boys. One flaw is that Aiden needs my help to go around it (or so he says). The other day I must have gone around in circles atleast 50 times. Amazingly I was not dizzy but I was tired!

Our daffodils are really blooming right now. They look so pretty walking down the driveway.

Tucked into the daffodils I found one pretty red tulip. I had to talk Ehric out of picking it for me even though he really wanted to. Last year Daddy got mad when Ehric and Aiden picked one too many of the daffodils and tulips. But if he wants to pick some dandelions for me I would be fine with that.

The boys love to play in their sandbox. Since Ehric was a little one he has always been so relaxed playing in the sand. I was able to capture him playing happily and relaxing at the same time.

Aiden was in an imaginative state right here. He was making up stories and brooming his dump truck along. I love when they can both be so close yet do not bother one another. It makes for peaceful play.

Well we are all getting hungry...so time to make dinner! So glad that we had a great spring day!

A Walk In the Yard

Today was a chilly and wet day but Ehric wanted us to go spend some time outside. So we bundled up and headed outdoors. We had fun walking around the soggy yard looking for signs of spring and collecting chicken feathers for our nature table.

The boys had fun riding their trikes.

We discovered some crocus shoots and the start of rhubarb. They posed for me in front of our new bee hives (we will getting the bees between April and May.) We took a picture of our house from the neighbor's driveway--right before Aiden fell in a huge, cold puddle!) After I got Aiden into a hot tub we took stock of our feather collection!

March Nature Table

I got inspired to change our nature table setup after seeing Melissa's nature table at In the Sparrow's Nest. In the cubbies I added rocks and feathers we collected last year; a guide on rocks and minerals; and magnifying glasses. On top of the shelf, I added our nature guides; a poetry book; and a vase with some tree branches. You will notice that I added shamrocks on the tree branches to give it a St. Patty's Day feel. Besides the shelf there is a basket with nature craft books.

The boys are liking the new setup and have been using the rocks in their play. Aiden likes to stack them on top of the cardboard bricks we have. Ehric likes walking around with the magnifying glass and looking at things up close. I figure once Spring gets here we will add new nature items to our collection. I also hope that by having all the guides handy we will start using them more.

March

The sun is nervous

As a kite

That can't quite keep

Its own string tight.

Some days are fair.

And some are raw.

The timid earth

Decides to thaw.

Shy budlets peep

From twigs on trees,

And robins join

The chickadees.

Pale crocuses

Poke through the ground

Likes noses come

To sniff around.

The mud smells happy

On our shoes.

We still wear mittens,

Which we lose.

- John Updike, from A Child's Calendar

Full Snow Moon

Last night if you had a chance to step outside you would have seen the Full Snow Moon. Here is what the Farmer's Almanac has to say about February's full moon,

'Full Snow Moon - Since the heaviest snow usually falls during this month, native tribes of the north and east most often called February's full Moon the Full Snow Moon. Some tribes also referred to this Moon as the Full Hunger Moon, since harsh weather conditions in their areas made hunting very difficult.'

I got a chance to see the Full Snow Moon in the middle of the night (had trouble falling asleep). The moon was somewhat hidden by clouds, but other wise still very visible. It was actually so bright that I was able to look out my window and see things outside my window quite clearly. The whole sky was very lit up. It was beautiful!

It is my plan in the future to have the boys help me keep a Moon Journal. I want us to record where we see the moon in the sky, to draw what it looks like, and record any other pertinent info that would help us track the moon throughout the year. I also would like us to celebrate the full moon by baking a round cake or dessert. I think that would be a fun tradition to add.

January Nature Table

I decided to change my nature table over from Christmas to a snowman theme for January. A friend of ours gave us a very pretty fir center piece for Christmas. It is still very green. Although you can't see them in the pictures there are also a few pine cones in the wooden box. The candles have little snow men on them. Aiden has been hiding the candles on me the past few days. They turn up in very funny places.

The poem displayed is from "A Child's Calendar"- Poems by John Updike

January

The Days are short,
The sun a spark
Hung thin between
The dark and dark.

Fat snowy footsteps
Track the floor,
And parkas pile up
Near the door.

The river is
A frozen place
Held still beneath
The trees' black lace.

The sky is low.
The wind is gray.
The radiator
Purrs all day.