Must. Be. Out.

The weather is entirely responsible for the state of things around here. It beckons us from the minute we wake up and just when we think we've had our fill, it entices us with the evening's light and we are powerless to say no.  Who feels like washing dishes (or cooking a meal, for that matter?) when such beauty demands to be noticed? Clearly not I.

The Day, Part I:  The Garden

The girls are much more involved with the garden this year than they were last year.  They've planned their own sections, worked the soil, planted the seeds, and today they helped water and weed a bit. 

 Planting carrots - the girls marveled over how tiny the seeds were.

The gardens are right along the bike path and the route of the marathon taking place this morning, so we were in a good spot for cheering folks along their last mile.  We also of course had the time to make dandelion crowns, and sit for a spell with some friends.

The peas are doing well, we can juuuuust see some beet greens poking up, a few leaves of lettuce and the onions....so far, so good. Planted more lettuce and onions today, and carrots. 

The Day, Part II:  The Hike

After playing at home for a long while, having lunch and some quiet space in the afternoon, the girls and I headed back to the spot we hiked yesterday because we just weren't done with Out There, and they were eager to go back and I wasn't looking forward to making dinner, so...we went. It was glorious.

Can you see them, waaaay up ahead?

This is quickly becoming a favorite spot. I think you can see why.

This plant was a lovely surprise...

Look what was under those leaves...

I hope you can see it (maybe click on it if you don't?) - it's a Wild Ginger flower.  It has no stem, lying on the ground so its pollinators the ants and beetles can get right on in. I thought it was stunning.

Stopping to inspect a rotting tree.  Wondering if it is dying because of bugs? The bark is sloughing off and the wood feels like sawdust, but it is all still standing.

Eliza is pointing out Jewelweed sprouts - the first leaves look a little like lilypads and the second more like the jewelweed leaves we recognize.  Once they stopped to take a close look at these, the girls spotted them everywhere, which made us all happy, as it is one of our favorite plants to find!

The girls rarely stop making noise. !!! This is true - there is almost always a mumbling under the breath of a storyline or dialogue, or Eliza is whistling or Ani is doing what she is doing in this photo and throwing her arms wide with an operatic wobble soaring out of her little throat.  But just minutes before this photo, E stopped us with a finger to her lips and mouthed, try walking like me and proceeded to step silently along the path, with us in tow.  Almost immediately there was a loud ruckus, like the flapping of a large bed sheet, and a wild turkey careened out of the top of one of the nearby trees, smashing its way through the treetops to another perch across the creek.  I was very amused.

The Day, The Third and Final Part

Washed, fed, sitting with Trixie at the kitchen table, working out some last thoughts of the day:

Morse code, for Eliza (this takes me back!! My Gramma Jane and I used to write letters back and forth in Morse code.  I told Eliza they were never very long...).

Bones for Anika.  They saw me working on drawing out bones to cut out and add to their body maps, and she was feeling inspired.  Let's just say that when she was done there was a little Morse code on this skeleton's vertebrae - this girl knows how to synthesize information.

And there you have it.  The makings of a very fine day.

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