edible trees- outdoor challenge day 4

Today was a wet, cold, dreary Dickens kind of day.......READ MORE.

a gentleman’s sleeve pine sachet

By the time we were ready to take the Yule tree outside, we had little fir needles all over the place. They still had a delicious aroma and I knew tossing them outside just wouldn’t do. A special fir needle and lavender sachet, using a sleeve from my husband’s old dress shirt, was in the making.......CLICK HERE FOR DIRECTIONS.

odd leaf out (card game using pressed leaves)

We have been collecting and pressing Autumn leaves all season, we just can’t resist those pretty colors! Part of our nature study is learning the names of the trees, especially the ones in our yard (I quiz my little ladies, husband and sisters all the time, poor things). I came up with a card deck to help the little ladies learn and identify the leaves in a fun way. READ MORE to learn how.

preserving leaves and a leaf lantern

Today we made lasagna (with homemade tomato sauce), roasted pumpkin seeds and preserved some of the gorgeous Autumn leaves that came down with the wind this week. READ MORE.

polka dot trees

Back in early August we put stickers on our trees’ green leaves to see if they would by effected by the lack of sunlight. We kept checking to see if a change was taking place......READ MORE.

leaf mask

A fun Autumn tradition for us is making masks of pressed leaves.....READ MORE.

scarlet maple

Our scarlet maple is at its peak of color this week! READ MORE........

Nature's Style of Playground Equipment

We had a horrible wind storm back in September which caused a few trees and branches to come tumbling down in our yard. We haven't exactly cleaned these trees and branches up yet because they make GREAT natural play equipment for the Little Ladies! One of our beloved apple trees came down; however, it still has an important purpose, the ladies climb all over it!





We also get a good look of the root system this way. And, believe it or not, it is still growing apples!



A huge limb from one of our white pines came down as well. It makes another cool place to climb and hide. It's hard to see in the photos, but the ladies can get far back into the branches. It's like a little pine cave; it makes a great (and soft) place to hide or play.

Now, I know my grandaddy is probably horrified with this post. His yard is IMMACULATE! I also know that he knows how much the girls love to climb and can see the reasoning we have for keeping a few limbs (and a whole tree) on the ground. :)

This Kind of Germ Sure isn't the Swine Flu!

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness. -Pearl S. Buck

Red Oak

Sugar Maple

Scarlet Maple

Red Pine

Blue Spruce

Ash- enlarge to see the cute bee peeking around at the camera

Buckeye

Ginkgo

We caught the germ of happiness today while on a new growth scavenger hunt. I don't think we will be recuperating anytime soon! :)

Swap-Choo and the Best Partner Ever!

My super sweet Swap-CHOO partner, Bonniebell at A Working Title, made my girls and me each a rolled-hem hanky! I can't believe she took the time to make each of us one. She also got my girls' personalities perfectly with the fabrics she picked out! The floral hanky is Fauna's, the funky colorful circle hanky is Araina's and mine is the pretty calming blue hanky. In the swap we were to include a handwritten poem with the hanky. Bonnie handwrote "The Stolen Child" by William Butler Yeats for the girls and "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost for me.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveller, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--

I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference...

By Robert Frost

Here is the hanky I sent to Bonnie, I also sent her the purple blowing in the wind tree (which I put on a key ring) and a little acorn pendant for her little boy. I sent her the poem "The Oak and The Rose" by my favorite childhood poet Shel Silverstein.

The Oak and The Rose

An oak tree and a rosebush grew,

Young and green together,

Talking the talk of growing things-

Wind and water and weather.

And while the rosebush sweetly bloomed

The oak tree grew so high

That now it spoke of newer things-

Eagles, mountain peaks and sky.

"I guess you think you're pretty great,"

The rose was heard to cry,

Screaming as loud as it possibly could

To the treetop in the sky.

"And now you have no time for flower talk,

Now that you've grown so tall."

"It's not so much that I've grown," said the tree,

"It's just that you've stayed so small."

By Shel Silverstein

Thank you so much Bonnie! You really should check out her site A Working Title. She has a great site and a lot of good book reviews on children's literature!

Cherry Blossom Snow

Petals, petals falling like snow,

Grant me a wish,

When the winds blow,

Carry, carry the petals away,

Joyful children in your blossoms today!

Poem written by Lisa, Fauna and Araina

100 Species Challenge (#1) Yoshino Cherry Tree

This beautiful symbol of spring lives in our front yard. The Yoshino Cherry tree is a native of Japan that was introduced to America in 1902.


Fauna refers to it as the "Humming Tree" because every year at this time it is covered with honeybees.

Obviously it is an important source of food for the honeybees, but it is also a source of food for many small birds and mammals including robins, cardinals and waxwings.

According to legend, the goddess of spring, Konohana-sakuyahime, hovers low in the sky, wakening the sleeping cherry trees to life with her delicate breath. Consequently, people have gathered under blossoming cherry trees throughout the ages, to offer prayers to Konohana-sakuyahime for a bountiful harvest. Here is my little spring goddess wakening our cherry tree.

cherry blossom shade-

a fox spirit

has enchanted me!

By Japanese Haiku Poet Issa

My Magnolia Tree

In my backyard I have a Magnolia tree

It is like an old, reliable, trusted friend

Elevating my disposition by many degrees

On its presence… I increasingly depend

As gray winter snow melts and goes away

Its upward stretching branches reassure

Soon sweet-smelling blooms will be on their way

The air fills with a fragrance that is a miracle cure

The blue sky is full of sunbeams and clarity

My heart is gladdened as I walk much taller

In your company, I am blessed with prosperity

The joy you bring outshines a million dollars

Your abundance of blushing flowers amazes me

You have generously outdone yourself this year

Unselfishly you give your beauty…it’s absolutely free

Today feels like a celebration as I applaud and cheer

4/21/08 Theresa Moore

Moon Gazer

Is the moon tired?

She looks so pale,

Within her misty veil:

She scales the sky from east to west,

And takes no rest.

Before the coming of the night

The moon shows papery white;

Before the dawning of the day

She fades away.

From Sing-Song by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894)