Is it raining where you are? We’re in the midst of a torrential downpour here. It was seriously scary to drive today, which meant we were inside for most of the day.  Luckily we have wonderful friends who braved the crazy roads and came to relieve us of the ensuing boredom of being stuck inside all day. After they left and the girls were down for a nap, I got thinking about rainy days when I was a child.

I’ve always loved the rain. I love the different sounds it makes, love watching it from the warm side of a window.  I remember recesses full of “Heads Up 7-up” and board games in the cafeteria at lunch time. I remember grilled cheese sandwiches and soup for dinner while the raindrops pinged off of the tin roof of the deck.  I love being outside in the rain, feeling it on my face, seeing it bead up on my raincoat. I love the splash of a good puddle.  I remember going out hiking almost every rainy Saturday of my childhood (I’m sure it wasn’t EVERY one, but I remember it that way), spying animals running free under the assumption that all the humans were far away.  I remember the invigorating weight of being soaked to the skin, and the joy of changing into warm clothes. Those are some of my very favorite memories.

So I got to thinking- what traditions will I set up around rainy days for my girls? It’s supposed to rain all week, so I’m planning a flexible schedule of making cupcakes, painting, eating grilled cheese sandwiches, maybe watching a special movie,  and, of course,  getting out  in the middle of the downpour.  Those puddles won’t splash themselves, you know.

Do you have traditions around rainy days? Any wonderful memories? Do share!

Celebrations, Nature, Traditions

The balcony garden has returned! After the mass death of our annuals, (and a tearful discussion about the life cycle of plants), we cleared out all the plant corpses and hit the plant store.

The tomato managed to survive, as did the Kalanchoe, which is thriving. We added Nagoya Rose,  Lithodora, Panda Plant, and Purple Scallops.  The last two are also types of Kalanchoe, which hopefully bodes well for their survival rate.

Z chose all of the plants, and has the responsibility of watering and singing to them.  (It’s her own honed technique, I’m not gonna mess with it.)

My favorites are the Panda plant:

the leaves are fuzzy! And the brown spots look like panda eyes! (Z chose it because the leaves? petals? protrusions? look blue in person.)

and the Nagoya Rose:

It’s a kind of kale, and is really gorgeous.

It’s wonderful having living things in the view out the window again.  I love having a very visual reminder of small and simple daily growth and progression. The girls have already spent significantly more time playing out there, despite the cold.

Long live the balcony garden!

Nature, gardening, gratitude

3 years ago my mother-in-law (who I adore) had a potted plant delivered to me on Mother’s Day. It was a lovely gesture, and a lovely plant. I had no idea what kind of plant it was (still don’t), but it sprouted pretty pink flowers.

I figured it would be dead within weeks.

I don’t have a very good history of keeping plants alive, you see. My instinct seems to always be wrong, and I overwater or underwater or give too much sun or too little. So I figured this little guy had no chance.

I was wrong.

Despite long periods of no watering, cold weather, inconsistent sun, being knocked over, this little plant held on. Sometimes it looked pretty sad, but it held on nonetheless.

Back in May when we began our balcony garden, I started giving it more consistent care. This is what it looked like then.

Still in the pot it was delivered in, it was living, but not thriving so much.  A month or so later I thought that maybe if I transferred it to a larger pot, it might do better. Breaking just about every rule about repotting plants, I moved it to its new home.

It didn’t grow.

For months it didn’t grow, and I was afraid I’d seriously damaged it, messing with its roots as I had.

But then…..

This picture was taken tonight.

Bigger, happier! Not just living, thriving!

And if you take a closer look at the right side of the pot:

Two little shoots! I don’t know how this happened, maybe someone with more plant knowledge than I do can shed light? (I know you’re out there.)

But not just two little shoots….

MUSHROOMS??? How did a veritable fairy garden start growing in this pot? (Sorry for the blurriness of the picture, the lighting was not being friendly, and I know about as much about photography as I do about plants.)

There’s an obvious metaphor here for my life- but how do you experience regrowth?

Nature, Nurturing, gardening

“I’m just sooooo sad” has been a constant refrain in our house for the last week or so. No matter what is happening, my 3 year old feels the need to express:

“I’m just sooo sad I don’t get to watch another show.”

“I’m just sooo sad I have to eat my beans.”

“I’m just sooo sad I can’t have a pirate ship.”

“I’m just sooo sad Daddy has to go to work.”

“I’m just sooo sad my cousins can’t come today.”

I’m just sooo sad I have some ice cream.”

Yes, that last one is real. That’s the point we’ve gotten to around here, everything is a cause for being “sooo sad”, even when it’s no cause at all.

So yesterday I decided to take charge of the situation. I explained that we’re here on Earth to have joy and happiness, and that there were some ways that we could do that.

#1 Get out in nature.

#2 Be grateful.

#3 Serve other people.

I decided that we’d tackle #1 and 2 concurrently, and we suited up and went for a walk. Z was to look for anything she was grateful for, and take a picture of it.

So here, for your edification, are the things for which 3 year old Z is grateful. (There would doubtless have been more, but the camera ran out of juice.)

Our car, “Cool Car”.

A dumpster. I have no idea why, but really, why not? (I think really this shows her gratitude for being able to take pictures.)

Her lion Mimi, who helps her to be brave.

The sun.

On the way home Z told me that finding things that she was grateful for did make her more happy. So you’ve got a 3 year old’s word for it, and why would she lie? Head out on a gratitude walk and tell us  how it goes!

(I’ll post on our service attempts another time. But just so you know, the 3 pronged attack does seem to be working.)

Nature, Nurturing, gratitude

As part of our little home preschool, we have instituted Adventure Days. On Wednesdays we’ll head out with friends and experience some sort of adventure, be it in nature, a museum, or just running around free.

Today’s adventure was to the local wildlife refuge, located along the shoreline. Our subject for preschool this week was birds, and oh goodness, did we see birds.

The kids had a great time, and I think the other moms did too. I know I came away from our time outside inspired by the gorgeous color combinations and  lovely flocks of flying birds.  And I came home feeling renewed and more at peace.  Too much time stuck indoors is just no good for anyone.

(In the third picture down, everyone is looking at a rabbit. Can you see it?)

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it:

Have an adventure day.

Spontaneous or planned- just get out and enjoy something new and different. Then tell us about it!

Nature, Refilling the Well- You time adventures, Nature

Charlotte Mason, an education reformer from the early 1900s said that all children should spend the majority of the first six years of their lives outside, “with no pressure, just taking in the fresh air and impressions of nature”.  She suggested that nature was the best early teacher, and that the fresh air and pleasures of the outdoors would incline children to be happy and good.

We try to get outside at least a little bit every day, which is sparse compared to Charlotte Mason’s suggestion of a whopping 6 hours a day.  But today…..

Z wanted to go to the “park with swings”, so we got up and ready early and set off at 8:45. The walk to the park is really lovely, down a tree lined path, over a bridge, and across a levee next to a river.  As we walked we looked at the trees by the river, and talked about how some were changing colors, how fall is coming, how pretty red leaves are. I’d brought the camera, and Z picked things for me to take pictures of, and as we took pictures we slowed down and really looked at the bee, the snail, the dandelion.

We got to the park and played for a bit, but while the day had started out coolish, it was getting hot.  I told Z it was time to go, and following no logic whatsoever I decided to walk the other way down the levee – something we’d not done before.  As we walked we gathered rocks to paint when we got home (anything to distract her from the sadness of leaving the park).

After we’d walked for a little while, I remembered that there was an inlet into a nature reserve area off of the levee. I hadn’t been there in years, but the last time I had, there had been rabbits, so I was hopeful.

Entering the area, I told Z that animals lived there, and that if we were really quiet, we might see some. It was as though I’d cast a magic spell. For 45 minutes she was nearly silent as we walked through trees and flowers, whispering questions about signs we saw.  The only sounds were the calls of birds and the crunching of leaves under our feet. It was so quiet that A fell asleep in the stroller.

The beauty was stunning. Colors complimented and contrasted, the variety of  textures  was inspiring. We walked until Z said her legs were tired, and then she got in the stroller and we walked some more. She gestured for  me to come to the front of the stroller and whispered, “Momma, I like this place.” When I told her we could come back anytime we wanted, her smile was gigantic.

On the way home she stopped and excitedly pointed at a pine cone.  In somewhat of a rush to get home, I brushed it off until she said that it looked like an animal – it had eyes!  Looking closer, I realized that it did appear to have eyes, and she deemed it a “pinecone animal” and named it Rosicella.  Of course, Rosicella came home with us.

I know Z learned a lot being outside today, taking in the beauty of the world. She learned about what bees do and that some trees change colors before others and what jackrabbits do when you get close to them.  She learned the value of silence, the virtue of observation.  She probably picked up any number of things that I didn’t notice and that she can’t put into words. For that I am incredibly grateful.

But perhaps more than that, I’m grateful for what I got out of our morning outside. Walking in the quiet, in the peace and beauty of growing things, I felt enlivened, inspired, renewed.  I came out of our walk more centered; ready to face the noise and bustle of life.

We left the house at 8:45 and got back at 1. My feet are sore, but my soul is full.

Magic moments, Nature, Refilling the Well- You time beauty, imagination, Nature, taking time

Magic moments, Nature, gardening gardening, nurture, to make grow