Sometimes it snows in April

After camping, we spent a few days with Dan's side of the family, near Madison.  We were greeted with...snow.  In April.

Luckily we had some welcoming cousins to spend our days with, and an aunt and gramma who made us so much good warm food; we didn't mind being inside so much.

Hogwarts Lego game, drawing, playing knights and "dance party", and did I mention eating?

Dinner at Gramma and Grampa's

After-dinner requisite photos. My camera wasn't quite cooperating, but you get the general hoo-ha.

We see these cousins once or twice a year, but all but the youngest are quick to play and hug and reminisce about the last time we played together.  It only took H a day this time to let me pal around with him. And Bob. I was in heaven.

While perusing her auntie's blog, Eliza had put in a request for biscuits with cream and berries during our visit (I can't find the post with the yummy pictures, but I'll keep looking!). Lucky girl, her aunt happily complied.

Those content faces sum up the happiness of those couple of days...they are too few and far between, but the kids go non-stop to make up for time lost.

camping in the mayapples

We started our trip with a rendezvous in Indiana, where we camped with two of my cousins a year ago.  Our first night of camping looked a lot like a night in a hotel, heating up camp chili in a microwave and swimming in an over-chlorinated pool...after a day of driving in pouring rain and high winds no one was in shape to set up camp in the cold rain.

When the morning came we saw sunshine and so headed to the campground for our second night. Setting up our tent next to a sea of mayapples felt very auspicious...

 I had worried that we would be leaving spring completely behind in Ohio, but was delighted to find things in bloom - trillium, cutleaf toothwort, hepatica, anemone, and these beautiful jack-in-the-pulpits.

My cousin sisters

The Littles

Wild Ginger in bloom

 We hiked in the Pine Hills National Preserve, where we had hiked last year. The creek held our attention (no little gnats this year!) for a long while - so much poking around, creating a bridge, building, discussing, negotiating, slipping and getting wet...

Brother bridge

 On our way back we came across a snake in the path...

 There were several mushroom hunters out in the woods while we were hiking.  I assumed they were hunting the elusive morel. Look what I found at the edge of our campsite...(yeah, I was pretty excited. I think I took 20 or so pictures...but no, I didn't eat it.)

 The grownups were a little reluctant to go through with this camping night; we were disheartened by the weather we'd driven through, and the mechanics of camping are tiring.  Ultimately we put it to the kids - camp or drive to Wisconsin?  I'm so glad they unanimously chose camping; it was perfect.

 Campfire, pie-iron pizzas, s'mores, owls calling, clear skies...

 Stories by the fire...

 ...it was a perfect first camping trip of the year! Thank you cousins!!!

Good Earth Farm: Mandalas and Cob

We're still on the road this week, but I wanted to post photos from last Friday's farm school.  We arrive early every week to set up before the rest of the children arrive.  Ani likes to organize the childrens' bins on the porch of the old farm house.

After a morning of walking through the garden, collecting eggs, and jumping on hay bales (the universal favorite), we made food mandalas for lunch. The clouds lifted as we began, which was fitting as the mandalas reflected the full shining sun.

Our afternoon was spent mixing cob and working on the shelter that we started last week.

Clay, soil, sand, straw...Eliza adding water...

Adding in the straw, mixing it with their feet...

Adding "cobs" to the wall...

The kids decided to add a roof, made of boards and shale. There was a lot of discussion and problem-solving as they tried to make it leak-proof.  Then they got to test their work.

Ani had to crawl in to check it out...this is a doghouse for the beloved old farm dog, Peggy.

It has a little water bowl (made of cob!) inside, and windows in the sides.  We hope Peggy likes it.

Helping clean off each others' feet at the end of the day.

Mud. Water. Kids. Such a lovely day...