One is a truth and one is what I think

Market ramps and homemade kimchi

My sweet, loving, lovable, adoring, affectionate, devoted little girl was snuggling me in bed the other night with cheek rubs and kisses, our arms around each other as we waited for sleep to come.  She was quiet for a while and then said,

Mama? I have two things to tell you.

One is a truth and one is what I think. 

The truth is that you are a thousand bags of gold to a person who doesn't have any money; that is how I feel, you are a thousand bags of gold. 

And what I think is that your breath smells like farts.

True love: I eat ramps and she still lets me snuggle her in bed.

ramps! ramps! ramps!

Spring Plant Walk

Trout Lily

"Spring Plant Walk" sounds so boring for what this was - a trek on the medicine plant trail at the United Plant Savers' sanctuary for native plants, in the county south of us.  It was a magical fairyland of plants.  I'd been there once before, without children, and this was the perfect time to share it with them, with all of the spring ephemerals living in their glory.  We drove through a beautiful morning, cloud books in hand ("Look! A cirrus cloud! We're going to have a lovely, sunny day!") to meet up with a whole group of friends to hike through the woods.

Trout Lily about to open - they blossom for one day only

Ani hadn't been sure she wanted to go - she was not interested in a hike where there would be a lot of stopping to look at stuff.  I finally convinced her that there would be all types of hikers along and she'd probably find a few who would adventure ahead with her while us slowpokes wandered and oohed and ahhhed and took photos.  It was true - I pretty much brought up the rear while she forged ahead, stopping to wave back at me every now and then.   By the end of the day we all agreed that we had loved loved loved being in these woods.

Blue Cohosh blossoming

Blue Cohosh

My favorite - the pawpaw flower

Mayapple huddle

I think this is a Sessile trillium

Bloodroot

Corydalis

tiny Tulip Poplar

Sensitive Fern (onoclea sensibilis)

Sensitive Fern

Wild Ginger

Lanceleaf Trillium?

Hepatica

Dutchman's Breeches

Redbud

Baby Buckeye

Monday

 Wool was needled. Mirrors were cleaned. Nature table given a seasonal boost...

Letters were written, math was discussed, the blocks came out for some place value and borrowing practice...Ani discovered that she can actually read Ramona the Brave *all by herself* and tickled doesn't quite begin to describe how she is feeling.  Seven pages during a quiet space in the afternoon.  I didn't mind having to be brought up to speed at bedtime...Those seven pages gave me time to snuggle my big girl for a while, which was delicious.

Tea and clouds rounded out our day...we're all set with our own cloud field guides...I finally feel like maybe I'll be able to remember something about clouds other than, "you know, the ones that look like whipped cream?"

(This was one of those times when I'd had a book out from the library - um, it's called Clouds - and had this little project in mind for a couple of weeks. We'd never gotten around to it 'cause every time I offered it Ani shrugged it off, preferring to dig her nose deeper into an Asterix book.  Today she saw her sister was interested, and halfway through she said, "I thought I'd hate this project, but I don't! I LOVE it!" Well, yeah - the girl loves clouds, notices them all the time, and plus, we used oil pastels - what's not to love??)

Cumulonimbus; "if you're smart, go inside"

Then out, for some hopscotch and yard snuggles, while the "boys" (read: college students) down the street played street hockey. I love that.

So good.

with my girl