Tuesday: rooftops, games, and the first flower

 The newest special space for the eldest.  As far as I can tell, there was some daydreaming, some timid "I'm on the roof!" dance steps, and some mad scribbling in a book. Poetry.

 Mornings. Reading. Mmmmmmmmmm.  (More Amelia Bedelia, Oliver & Amanda...at some point I'll stop keeping track, right? Overheard her breeze through the word "listened". Wow.)

New games this morning, thanks to Peggy Kaye (her books are wonderful).  Grasshopper (or grasshopper, cricket and little frog, if you're us) - jump from number to number, like so: jump the even numbers! jump the odds! jump 2+4! etc...

 Really good for Ani, who typically wakes up with more energy than I can find in an entire pot of coffee. 

 Eliza had to get in on it too, of course. And they let me play.

 Number rainbows were next (she has a snazzy name for them, but it escapes me). Like Shut the Box, which Ani and I like to play, but with colors. And tally marks, which are always fun.

It was chilly today, but it's supposed to snow tomorrow (ha.), so we went to the woods in search of skunk cabbage. Well, I was searching, but the only place I could think of that might have skunk cabbage (which I haven't seen since we lived out west) was vetoed, and when I explained that I was in search of the earliest wildflower, since I was guessing they might be arriving soon, with all our non-winter-ness, Eliza reminded me that Fox Lake is where we always see the most beautiful wildflowers ever. She is right. I was swayed (plus any time they are this excited about going on a particular hike, I try to go with it).

 Ah! Hepatica leaves! Everywhere! Sweet...

 This is a hike we're familiar with, and it was clear that several old trees had come down at some point since we last visited, and were lying across the path.

spent puffball mushrooms

 This log is an old friend and a destination.

 And just beyond the log, something small caught my eye by the side of the path.

 Hello, Hepatica, our first wildflower of the year...

In the interest of providing a bit of reality behind the photos, which I customarily choose for beauty or inspiration rather than bald accuracy, I think it would only be fair to tell you that this was for some reason - in spite of all the loveliness that occurred and the beauty of where we were - one of those days, which, if you have children or were once a child yourself, in particular a child with siblings, you would probably recognize.  The littlest was hell-bent on torturing the older with pokes and prods and mock spitting and such and the oldest was feeling a bit more sensitive this day than usual and so responded - quite delightfully in the younger's view - with great vehemence and drama, with wailing and stomping until at one point she said, "Gee. I guess I wouldn't want to be someone who lived nearby right now - it's awfully echoey around this lake." Mmmhmmm.   I also expressed a wish to actually see the woodpeckers we were hearing, and to catch a glimpse perhaps of the resident heron but obviously that was not going to happen with the screaming banshees as my hiking companions...it lasted until we got home and everyone found their own peaceful spot to unwind. These days are not as frequent as they used to be, but they drain me. I managed to drag myself off the couch and to bando class tonight, which was, as always, just what I needed. Punching pads, and yoga. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh. Home to a quick cup of soup and a snuggle with Ani and The Rats of Nimh, while Dan and Eliza delved further into Island of the Blue Dolphins. Peace at last.