All of Summer in a Week

Given that we're at the "any time now" stage, we're packing in as much summer now as we can. It's such an add perspective, to be both childishly eager to meet the baby and grateful for these free, warm days of unscheduled time.

Our most constructive projects were these lovely little pillows. The girls gathered flowers and leaves around the yard and arranged them on one half of a spare piece of muslin fabric. We folded the fabric over and went crazy with a couple of hammers. The fabric ended up beautifully decorated with a unique floral pattern. Each girl helped sew up her pillow, stuff it, and proudly display it. It was the perfect backyard project.

 Then there was the end of year party, thrown by one of Maya's classmates. It doubled as a reunion with their teacher, and you would never have guessed they had only been apart for a week!

  Today we did some belly art. Then a walk in the park. And finally a visit to the local pool, just to round out the day. Much-needed naps are in the future.

Somehow we're cramming as much summer into every day as we can, because all too soon the clock will stop again as we celebrate the arrival of a new little one.

Kites, Ducks, & Dirt

Clearly, we are making the most of these spring days!

Suddenly Summer

Oh, my aching feet! We have devoured this pseudo summer day, not wasting a moment in the house. Elle and I were two kindred spirits in the forest this morning. We discovered two new trails in our favorite park. We watched a doe and her fawn dash across a pond and a rather large toad hop lazily across the bike trail.

 Elle will be an excellent camper! For more than two hours she was an eager adventurer, entertained by tossing sticks into ponds and tracking what wildlife is available in our urban park. We couldn't have had more fun together, even as Pip jumped and stretched and insisted that he needs more room!

Reunited with Maya and some friends, we had a lovely garden party lunch. The girls even ran in the sprinklers!

So now, at the end of the day, my feet are declaring that I am, in fact, 8 months pregnant, reminding me to pace myself as the weather gets warmer and over-doing it gets all too easy.

I'll leave you with one last quote. The girls were swinging on Mother's Day, as they do nearly every day now. Elle only just learned to pump her legs last week, and she could happily swing all day long. Of the many drawings, kisses, and re-gifted dress-up jewelry they gave me last weekend, their best Mother's Day gift was the following exchange:

Maya, ever the encouraging big sister: "Elliot, you are doing such a good job pumping."
Elliot, in love with her big sister as only little sisters can be: "Thanks, Maya. It's because you taught me how."

Meet the New Chickens!

What's spring without a few new additions? The coop has stood empty for far too long, so Maya and Joe headed East in search of new inhabitants.

They returned with the most entertaining assembly, four full-sized, shockingly athletic hens and four itty bitty bantams. They were utterly terrified when they arrived, but after just a few days, the found their niche. Some are snugglers (strange but true), some are scaredy chickens, and some are wiley birds ready to make their own entertainment.

Here is Zebra, a full-sized, remarkably tame (or possibly just slow) full-sized Barred Rock hen. 

This is the aptly named Hercules, a full-sized Favarolle mix hen. She's the muscle of the coop, able to fly 5 feet straight up with out a running head start (Joe's outside securing the top of the run as I type). She's too fast and too smart to catch, but she's hilarious to watch stalking the yard and herding the other chickens.

Clementine the Second, a full-sized black star hen is not as lovely as our original Clementine with her green patches of feathers, but she does have an identical personality. She will not be caught, under any circumstances. But she does like to follow Hercules on her antics atop the coop.

Hunca Munca is our most striking bird. She's a full-sized Delaware Blue Hen, and she'll shriek bloody murder if you corner her.

Louise the chicken, a White Rock Bantam, is true to her name. She's the smartest bird in the flock, and if she thinks you're out to get her, she'll run like her tail feathers are on fire. If she thinks you have corn, however, she's at your side in a second.

We have one Barred Rock Bantam named Speckles. Or Freckles. Or Silver. I'm sure the girls will settle on a name soon enough. She as tame as s kittens and makes the most adorable little chirpy noises. She is the smallest, the favorite, and rather in danger of being over-loved so we keep an eye on her.

 Then there is the Wyandotte Bantam, Snowflake. Wait... maybe she's the favorite. Either Snowflake or Silver Speckles are tucked under one of the girls arms at all times.

 Finally, there's Flame. She's a pretty little Buff Wyandotte Bantam. She's so cute, but she's also terrified of everything: us, the other chickens, corn or scraps tossed into the run. She spends most of her time perched in the roost peering fearfully outside. When she is outside, she sticks close to her sister hens, especially Louise and Snowflake.

To top it all off, we stumbled upon a bunny  nest while raking today. Trust me, after sharing the best of this springs lilly bulbs with their mother, I wasn't exactly in the mood to love a rabbit (I was thinking more along the lines of Mr. McGreggor and his pies). But whose heart isn't touched by these startled little guys. Two weeks old at best.

We didn't plan to touch them (and disrupt their mama's plan to raise them), but when one nearly ran up my shorts (I was weeding, Joe was raking), I could barely help but grab her. The girls were mesmerized.

What a perfect spring day!

Farewell to Anakin

Poor Anakin. After 12 years with Joe and I, well 11 years with us and one with Nana because we foolishly acquired a cat before we had a place of our own, we now say our goodbyes.

It's been a tough year for our fellow creatures. What began as a herd of three cats and a flock of chickens is now an empty coop and no more feline companions. At least the kittens are now master mousers back at the farm. At least the chickens retired to a petting zoo. Poor, poor Anakin. The calmest, most tolerant cat. The sweet, fluffy, well-fed companion that guarded you when you were sick, kept you company when you rocked the baby, and stayed out of the way when you got busy.

The girls are coping remarkably well, partly because we all knew it was coming. After a few tears and an emotional reading of the Next Place, Maya raced off to construct a memorial. She staged a funeral (though the burial awaits spring, ah the logistics of pet ownership).

Now this pet free house seems unreasonably quiet. We'll have to wish the new baby a speedy and strong next few months, so that s/he won't get overshadowed by the whispers already circulating.... dog... puppy... kitten....
 

Left to their Own Devices

For all of this beautiful month I have been hearing, "I don't want to go in the backyard." Partly because Maya is now terrified of any flying bug. Partly because the neighbor kids are more likely to race out to play if they spot my girls in the front yard.

But I like to think that part of the problem was clutter. This week, I put the garden to bed, stashed all of the toys in the shed for winter, and sent the chickens off to their retirement petting zoo. The girls were left with nothing to do, so of course that was the only place they wanted to be.

For more than two hours yesterday, they pretended they were baby birds. They built nests. They roosted.

They hatched eggs. Then of course they had to find worms for their babies. For a while I served as the birdie pediatrician.

If the secret is to clear out the clutter and all of the plastic, I've got my work cut out for me in the house!

In Conclusion

I believe we ate our last zucchini-based meal last night. All of this cool weather is closing out my garden. Except for the herbs and kale and the chard, all of which I had better figure out what to do with before they're gone.

Did I mention how we managed to get the girls in the canoe on the last weekend of summer? The two girls wiggling in the middle did add an excitement to the paddling experience that I'm just not used to, but on the whole, they were very good. We watched the local bird life catch fish, sample animal crackers, and play chicken with the canoe. We were particularly fond of a blue heron that kept moving just a little be away from us. Almost like it was curious. Maybe it was.

A school rhythm is beginning to set in, giving me time to reflect on the end of this summer. It was a season that overflowed with projects and family, road trips and staycation extravaganzas, even a few naps in the hammock and backyard fires. The summer of 2010 was a season well spent.

Fruit-opia

Five years into this whole edible backyard  hobby, I finally have a fruit harvest. Both girls graze on our newly productive strawberry patch, so few make their way inside. But by next year we should have enough for shortcake and jam and homemade strawberry ice cream.

The same goes for the kiwi-gold raspberry bush now claiming a huge corner of the front flower bed. I envision them in a salad at some point, with blue cheese and a good vinnegrette. For now, fresh and warmed in the sun is enough of a delight.

Then there is the watermelon. Just a few of these personal-sized beauties are getting big enough to eat. Twice this month, Elle has been swept away by her own enthusiasm, harvesting a baby melon before its time. Finally, today, we pulled the big daddy of tiny watermelons.

It was rosy and sweet and delicious, and the girls are pretty sure they invented seed spitting!

Mosquitoes Devour the Best Laid Plans

Have you ever seen mosquitoes swarm on a three-year-old? It isn't pretty, even when it isn't your own kid!

We brought friends along to Tamarack Nature Center last week, with high hopes to make Richard Louv proud. After months of listening to me brag up the infinite merits of the Wild Place, essentially a city-bound fort-builder's dream, our friends were fully prepared for woodsy enrichment: sneakers, bugspray, snacks....

 Determined to instill heightened powers of observation in our kids, I even packed a nature scavenger hunt. There were some clues simple enough for the Littles, some tricky enough for the Bigs, and prizes (harvested from the playroom) for one and all.

On a gorgeous August day, 85 degrees hot but with a cool breeze promising autumn's return, we started tramping through the woods. Mushrooms were discovered, log bridges were teetered across, and at least one lion's lair was assembled.

Then the bingo cards came out, and the Bigs lead us deeper into the woods. Where the mosquitoes were ready to pounce.

My girls seemed mildly annoyed. Everyone did. Annoyed, but not quite over run. Everyone except Elliot's buddy, whose glasses somehow attracted the entire swarm. Mosquitoes lined his eyebrows. Welts began to appear immediately in multiple places at once.

And the poor guy was terrified, understandably.

Suddenly we were all racing down the path, resting in the sunlit patches that warded off the beastly bugs, and dashing through the ominous, buzzing shade.

A few of us straggled onward, committed to finishing the scavenger hunt and catching ourselves some wildlife.

We shared tales of our nearly caught frog and run-away inchworm when we met the rest of our crew back at the nature center. Meanwhile, tthey had uncovered a wealth of indoor toys available for the overly-edible hiker.

A memorable outing, certainly, but an unfortunate boon for the folks that make calamine lotion!

Poor, Poor Garden

Well, negligence does not do a garden good.


While the beans and squash, our most determined harvest, are doing just fine, the tomatoes are all but dead.


The peas are nearly done for too, in spite of my best efforts at successive planting.

I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I'd better find out before next summer.


Still, August is the best month in the backyard. Between palatial sandbox constructions and green bean grazing and art projects combining flowers and glitter glue, the lazy days are flying by.


Now I just need to find more time in this lull to write that pesky novel.

Finally, Time to Exhale

Phew. We've finally stumbled into a patch of lazy summer days. Not just a free morning here or there. Not simply an afternoon of ignored obligations. No, from now to the end of summer (which is fast approaching, I realize), we are legitimately unscheduled.


Well, sure there are still a few things on the calendar, but they are all either ditch-worthy or still categorized as lazy, summery things to do.


So here we go, wandering through the local park, stumbling upon the new, secret path to the practically-private public beach.


Ducks were fed. Bikes were broken in. Sand castles were constructed with care and concern for the princess (a wayward feather) and the prince (a piece of drift wood).


With no schedule, few rules, and no distractions, peace is a beautiful summer morning at Silverwood.