How Does your Garden Grow

We have been getting to the raspberries before the birds, only to bring them in and eat them immediately. We also picked the rest of the rhubarb and cherries. The strawberries left over from jam we will use to make some crumble with the rhubarb. The peppers are going great, and the celery does too. The garden isn't as big as last year...but I am thankful for what we have done.

A Caving We Will Go

After our visit to the Native Village we headed home to fuel up and cool down with a cold shower. Feeling a little less drained by the heat but still moving slowly we headed out to Rockwood, a local conservation area. This trip was part of the series we were doing at the nature centre, focusing on caving. We hiked in with the guide (who is soooo knowledgeable-she's my hero) during which time she pointed out bat poop, pot holes (about 20 feet deep and wide) created from swirling water after the ice melted thousands of years ago. Some of the holes were intact and some had been pushed apart, but they were all incredible. The scenery at this local conservation area really is spectacular year round, its a real local gem.

We moved on to the cave. The kids energy and excitement intensified as soon as we arrived. We sat in the shelter area while our guide explained the ins and outs of caving. Then everyone tried to crawl through two holes at the entrance of the cave, giving the participants (ranging in age from 3 to adult) a chance to experience the belly crawling, small space confinement with a little bit of light before heading into the darkness of the cave. Aria, with the help of a friend braved a lot of the climbing, Elias and Ben stayed in until the end. They all commented it was a little bit scary being in the dark feeling your way around but that it was more exhilarating than scary. I sat in the shelter portion of the cave watching Phoebe birds fly in and out of a nest build on the limestone entrance. It was great seeing everyone come out covered in mud and a great smile of satisfaction on their faces. Stopping at an old mill to frog catch and run around seemed to be the perfect way to finish off the day. Oh and it was pizza for dinner, I was zonked after such a busy day and I didn't even cave!

Slowly in the Heat

It was a hot day. The kind you move in slow motion without even being aware of it. We had a trip to a local historical Huron native village with Aria's preschool. Many of the families whose children attend are homeschoolers so there were kids of all ages. This is a trip we enjoy taking, and is one we make a few times during the year. With the heat we all just staggered from station to station until one person perked with a little energy and then slowly moved on. The large pestel and mortar type grain grinder and the lacrosse stick were two such interest points. After a break for some water under a tree we hiked around the lake, seeing widow dragonflies, butterflies, a snapping turtle, cedar waxwings, finches, leopard frogs and fish. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch in the shade.

The teacher has become an important part of our family's community and a special friend to Aria. It will be hard for Aria not to go over the summer months, but she has vowed to attend the preschool until she is an adult at which point her teacher can come as a student and she will take over. They both thought it was the perfect arrangement.

A Bug Hunt

We joined a program at the nature centre today which focused on insects. After a little discussion we were off for some exploring and hands on finding. The group split into two groups, one into the meadow and the other to the woods (which included us). With nets, jars, and a list to follow the hunt began. Some highlights were big centipedes, a dragon fly, a praying mantis and poly phimus moths caterpillars. We all love the opportunity to love a little bit more about our insect friends. We were also able to ask about the fish we say at the river a week ago. The interpreter gave an educated guess of a sculpin. The one we saw was thinner, longer, smaller fins on the sides and different colouring. We aren't sure, we are going to go back to the river and see if we can get a picture.

Blessings For Shai

The sun was shining, it was beautifully warm with a little breeze, we were surrounded by our family and friends, we dined on a shared meal of delicious summer foods, more children then adults, face painting, beautiful music, an outfit made with love, flowers and splendid decorations, there were trees all around and a park not to far off. It was the perfect setting. Despite his being over 5months old, we held Shai's Welcoming Ceremony today. It was so fitting for his peaceful, contented nature. With each of the children we have held similar ceremony, to welcome and celebrate our children and to honour and celebrate the community that supports and loves them. We ask everyone invited to gift Shai with a written blessing which we compile for him in a special book, something he can perhaps find inspiration and love in as he grows and changes. While it is us giving him blessings, it is really us whom have been blessed with him and all the love which he brings and surrounds him.
















Shai's family; his two god parent's and their families.
(such a great looking group, really enlarge it and look at those amazing faces!)

A Slightly Busy Day

Between 9 am and 4pm today the family collectively;


-had two piano recitals


-attended/played one soccer game


-played in a lacrosse tournament with three games spread out over the day

-went to a team BBQ

-joined the mountain biking club for a two hour bike ride

-grocery shopped

-grabbed a 'picnic' outside

-continued to prepare for the welcoming ceremony happening tommorrow

-lots of deep breathing!

Plans Can Change

Happy Solstice! The longest day of the year. I had high expectations for today. I planned on getting up before sunrise, taking the kids out to see the sun rise. Have a breakfast picnic, go to the beach, draw a mural with chalk on the sidewalk, a bbq for dinner and a late evening stroll. What I didn't foresee was that last night would be the longest night of the year. When I wasn't sleeping sitting up with baby Shai in my arms, I was being puked on, rocking a crying baby, pacing the hall, being thankful for my sling. Maybe next year. :)

New Games

We love to play games. That said, not everyone in my family enjoys all games. For some it is difficult to loose a game, extremely difficult. This can make game playing less enjoyable. Family Pastimes Cooperative Games to the rescue!!! These are cooperatively played games during which you work together to accomplish a task. We have been gifted a few of these games which we have enjoyed, and just the other day I got a few from a local thrift store. We highly recommend them.

A friend recently lent us a birding game she scored at a thrift store and we have been amazed at how much birding information we know, and don't know. The other intersting family game we got at the thrift store was this one on Geography. We haven't played it yet but it looks interesting, with trivia questions about locations, cultures, physical geography and maps.

A Lesson in Diversity

We enjoyed a morning program at a local farm who's focus is on sustainable farming and the environment. They focus a lot on diversity within the farming and agricultural community, as well as sustainable alternatives (such as straw bale houses). We began with a game sorting through everyday products into two piles; from a chicken, not from a chicken. Some of the things were obvious; eggs, chicken noodle soup, down, and others were more challenging; noodles, cookies, bread. The game tried to demonstrate the huge infiltration of farm goods into our daily lives.

We then moved along to the highlight for my kids, the animals. We wondered over to see the chickens, donkeys, goats and sheep, each with a question in hand. The kids had to observe the animals to answer their question. Ben had to find out how chickens drink. Something I didn't know, they fill their mouth with water and then throw their head back to get it down their throat. It turns out chickens don't have tongues.

Aria was thrilled to brush the donkey, Elias loved feeding them carrots and Ben was over the moon to be collecting warm eggs. Needless to say the entire talk on the way home was how we could live on a farm.

The second half of the program focused on diversity in nature, observing how this occurs naturally and ideally we should take a lesson from when farming. The kids made sprouting necklaces. They filled a small baggie with a piece of sheep's wool which they wet, add some different types of beans and added a string so they could carry it around their neck away from the sun until it began to sprout at which time they would plant them. Afterwards we walked through the woods to collect different leaves and observe diversity in nature.

It was an interesting farm equipped with solar showers and composting toilets, it generated lots of talk at the dinner table. I did feel as though the program was a little simplistic in what it hoped to teach the children, and that they really could have handled some meatier information about ecological impact and the difference environmentally between mono crops and diverse farming.

A place fond to my heart from when we lived in New Brunswick was on my mind while visiting here.

We have Fruit!

Our special tree, this Cherry Tree actually has cherries. We chose this particular kind because we were hoping for fruit. Deep down inside, I didn't think we would actually get any fruit. The idea of it seemed more complicated then the little gardening knowledge I have. But as you can see it's fruit!

Happy Father's Day!

After having Dad home for a few days Father's Day seemed to be timed perfectly. We joined together while Daddy tried to sleep to make a super breakfast; potato, cheesy egg, fruit salad, french toast and for him only SAUSAGE! This is a big deal as we are a vegetarian house; or have been until me pregnancy with Shai. In my entire life I have never cooked meat. Today was a first. I think I did pretty good. Sausage are supposed to be black and crispy, right?

We love you.

Take Note

Despite using cloth shopping bags and reusable water bottles we still feel overwhelmed by the amount of plastic in our lives. This art and the corresponding numbers (really, check out the numbers) are great reminders of how much of an impact we have and how much needs to be done.

A Beach Birthday!

Today was my Birthday! I

awoke to my favorite; hand made cards and gifts of sunglasses (more than one pair as I am forever losing things). We headed out to a beach we have never been to before. We had a wonderful day, digging, swimming, exploring. Of course we meandered the boardwalk for ice cream, where Chris pulled out a candle and match and was serenaded at the cone shop!

A New Tune

Chris has taken a few days off work so that we could enjoy a few down days. Each of the kids have enjoyed some time on their own with him. The schedule of the day hasn't altered too much. We have stuck to piano, art class, french preschool, etc, as is normal for those days of the week. I have however, noticed one change. Chris listens to music all the time. He enjoys such a wide variety in styles and musicians, I never cease to be surprised. In one day we could listen to Edie Brickel, Miles Davis, Grateful Dead, ACDC, Arctic Monkeys and Ben Harper. We find ourselves be-bopping in the kitchen as a family, doing our crazy dances before we realize there is music on. While I do love music, and dancing could possibly be one of my all time favorite activities I find making the time to turn the radio on or pop in a music cd almost never materializes. It has been nice, so I promising myself make it happen.

A New Addition

While dirt biking at a nearby field Ben found a caterpillar. On first look he was sure he had found a monarch caterpillar, but after looking it up we discovered it was a black Swallowtail Caterpillar. It is beautiful, the colors so vibrant and its segments so distinct. We looked up what type of plants it ate; parsley, carrot and fennel. We have parsley in the garden and picked up some carrot leaves just in case it was picky. Our guess is that it was probably on a false carrot plant when Ben found it. It is a very active creature, we are hoping to get the opportunity to watch it molt a few times (well at least once), make it's chrysalis and of course emerge as a beautiful butterfly.

Drats!

This afternoon we joined some friends and visited the river near her house. Its a spot we almost always visit only with friends and always enjoy. It took almost no time for all five of them to be in the water exploring the river life. They pulled out crayfish, minnows, frogs, snails, and a really interesting fish. It was a little shorter than my hand, it was green and yellow stripes, and it had two fins that looked like lizard arms. This particular fish liked to hang out in the rapids moving side to side instead of back and forth. In the water it looked like a piece of moss. We plan on doing some investigating as I don't think we have ever seen a fish like this.
At one point the net got taken away by the current which lead to an intense search and rescue. Sticks were used in all sorts of ways, including a barricade to catch them in they drifted away. They threw rocks in hopes that the ripple effect would loosen the net from the caught area. They joined hands with one person as the anchor, but alas it was still stuck. Finally it was shear determination that led Ben to go under and get it!
The current was a source of great fun. A tree branch was perfectly outstretched over the spot the current was the strongest. The positioning was perfect for the kids to hold onto and "ride" the waves!
It was a great way to spend three hours! All that fun, those great creatures....and I didn't have my camera!

Beach Season Opener

After a really busy few days we decided to opt out of the organized events we were going to go to and instead go to the beach. It was the first family visit of the year and we arrived early to enjoy the sun but get there before the intense heat. It was wonderfully relaxing, building sandcastles and paddling. Shai enjoyed dipping his toes in and thankfully we are not at the sand eating stage yet. We brought snacks although we stayed way past lunch. Everyone cooled off with a cool shower at home and Chris, Shai and I enjoyed an hour nap just after we ate! Now that is a good day!

An Ankle-Biker

There has been a count down for today happening since April. Elias had his mountain biking camp today and (thankfully)it was even better than he had built it up to be. I dropped him and Chris off this morning for 8:15 with bikes, helmets, sunscreen, bug spray and water bottles. They had a full day of activities beginning with helmet fitting and bike tune ups. They practiced and learned skills which involved obstacle courses, stairs, teeter-totters, logs, ramps, and pylons. They were given lunch, snacks and drinks throughout the day. I picked Chris up at lunch while Elias stayed to participate in more skill training and some trail rides. He was tired when we came at the end of the day, but still smiling, thrilled with how it went and his fancy new shirt he got. I can see biking being a long term interest and being a member of this group a yearly commitment.

Water Study

This morning we had our program at the local Nature Centre. This week it focused on water study in a river we often visit. The older kids began by measuring how fast the water travelled; something completely new to me. While the younger kids focused on catching things with the nets. The older kids soon zoned out and joined in with the net searching. I think its a place they feel so comfortable they just wanted to do 'what they always do'. There were some interesting finds; snail eggs, caterpillars, water striders, beetles, whirligigs, leeches, blue admiral butterflies, and much more. This program has been thoroughly enjoyed.