Yep, it's March. Longer days, lots of sun, and MUD.
The thawing out is always interesting. Today we had little rivers of water running down the back drive.
The trip to the chicken barn is not icy anymore but does require boots.
P and I actually went to the park this afternoon, something we hadn't done since early fall.
Yay! Spring is on the way!
What do you do when energized by the spring sun and warmer temperatures?
P and I visited with neighbors yesterday. It was not snowing on our way down but on the walk home our tracks had been covered.
Walk home with us...
It was a wonderful day.
Here we are at the end of another year. They seem to go by so quickly now. Isn't that something "old" people say?
I do like that there are dates, or markers, that encourage us to pause and look back; to reflect on the time that has passed.
We tend to assess the choices we have made and make plans for the future. We can put "bad" decisions or events behind us and look to the future.
We make plans for new beginnings and new adventures.
I hope the new year brings great things to you and your family.
Magic hour of the day.
Magic hour of the year.
I love them both.
P and I cleared out all of the waxed leaves to make room for our Christmas decorations. Before tossing them in the compost I traced some to use as embroidery patterns.
We have been having a beautiful November this year. We are trying to soak up the sun and enjoy the blue skies while we can.
I hope you are enjoying your November.
When I was little I remember placing leaves between layers of waxed paper and pressing them with a warm iron to preserve the fall color a little longer. I tried this when my boys were smaller and learned that waxed paper contained far less wax than it used to. That little project did not work.
After posting many photos of fall leaves on flickr, Sarah pointed me to this website showing how to dip leaves in melted paraffin. Uh, why didn't I think of that? As soon as I clicked on the link P and I headed out for a walk to gather leaves.
We came in, dug some 30+ year old wax from the depths of the basement, and went right to work!
We had so much fun with these we had to go to town to gather different leaves!
One day later, here are two leaves gathered from the same tree at the same time. It's like MAGIC!
Thank you Sarah for giving me that link on the PERFECT day. We have since had a fierce wind and rain storm and all our fall leaves outside are gone.
Our next project is to figure out how to hang the dozens of preserved leaves in the window.
I didn't realize how much I was enjoying this fall until I was looking at my photos from the month. I have over 1000 photos saved in my October 2009 file. And yes, I have deleted hundreds that weren't that good. For example, I have twenty nine photos taken at this corner across the street from P's school. All taken the morning of the Halloween party. Twenty nine, that I KEPT, from one corner, on one morning. I am really trying to savor the season.
Like raising children, it's all over too fast.
You can't stop it from happening.
Time marches on.
You just have to try to soak it all in, and watch from all angles.
In the end it all becomes a memory.
We've been out enjoying the fall colors as much as possible. They disappear so quickly!
Japanese Maple
Viburnum berries
Forsythia
Red Oak
The right light makes them even prettier.
This Japanese Maple stopped me in my tracks on the way to the preschool Halloween party today. It is right next to the school. Isn't it beautiful?
Taking our cue from mother nature, it is time to prepare for colder weather. I am feeling the urge to get out the wool and start knitting mittens, hats, scarves, and more socks.
Goldenrod
Indian grass
Little blue stem
Milkweed
Switch grass
Be warned that this post contains several thrills.The weather on Saturday was predicted to be cold and cloudy. I was pleased to see the sun and clear skies on our way to the cross country meet. I dressed for the cold because it was in the 30s! I stopped in town to take a picture of this tree that catches my eye every time I drive by.
There were lots of pretty trees and leaves at the park where the meet was held.
This yellow tree was right next to the finish line.
Even the ground was beautiful.
Oh, and did I mention I was there for a meet?
"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers. It would be terrible if we just skipped from September to November, wouldn't it? Look at these maple branches. Don't they give you a thrill-- several thrills?"
Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery, 1908.
"If I wasn't a human girl I think I'd like to be a bee and live among the flowers."
Anne of Green Gables, L. M. Montgomery, 1908
Our late summer walks through the prairie are pretty these days.
I like the way there are different things blooming throughout the summer.
Some flowers make big patches of color while others, like this flax, are more subtle.
The big blue stem grows very tall. This grass is over eight feet.
We do feel the coming of fall in the air.
What end of summer things are you enjoying?
Some of you may have noticed that I have been having fun with my new toy. I purchased a fancy pants big girl camera just before leaving for the gulf coast!
I took tons of photos on our trip and am still learning about the camera and lens settings. I got some fantastic indoor photographs of family members while on vacation. I had not been able to do that with my old point and shoot.
These two pictures are of the same flower from the same camera location but using different camera settings to change the depth of field.
D read the entire manual while in the car and is my "go to" man when I have a technical question. Teenagers are great for that. I read the manual but I can't remember much of it!
Yesterday we had our annual prairie fire. The back field is usually a slow burn. I do enjoy watching the swirling flames.
I find it fascinating to watch the fire crawl across the field. We try to burn into the wind so it stays more in control and burns more thoroughly.
The lower field has taller and thicker grass so the fire here is usually bigger.
It is exciting to watch the fire get to the thickest parts of the dry grass.
The flames can get quite high,
and also very hot.
The fire stops when it gets to the mowed path next to the field. We do have buckets of water and wet towels ready just in case. It was a great day to be outside together.
We are careful not to burn all of our native plant areas in one year. That way we don't kill all of the butterfly eggs and other natural things living there. Now we watch the native prairie grasses and wild flowers grow.
As I uploaded the pictures this morning I was thinking about having the fires every year. D and M have been a part of this their whole lives, as has P but not so long. I think as the boys have grown they have gotten something different out of the experience each year. They have learned a lot about a wide variety of things. Not just how to help with a controlled fire and taking wind and air currents into account but also a lot about why we planted the native plants. They have learned about invasive species, butterflies and ants, pheasants, rabbits, groundhogs and other burrowing animals, hard work and how to work together, how to make work more fun, gathering our own firewood, being responsible, working together, seeds, how things grow, where "amber waves of grain" came from, and lots of other things I haven't thought about.
And to think, we just wanted to grow native grasses and wild flowers. Who knew at the time that we would nurture all that other stuff too?
April showers truly do bring May flowers.We have crab apples, apples, and red bud all blooming now. P is enjoying all the pink.
It was a warm sunny day so I played with my new camera.
I finally figured out the macro setting.
We have made jelly from our crab apples before. It is a lot of work as the fruit is very small.
The apples, however, are used every year.
May brings promises of good things to come.
We are just back from a short but much needed trip to sunny Florida. I think we will be able to make it through muddy March now. Shortly after we arrived, we rolled up our pant legs and waded in the water. Yes, we were really in Florida.
We flew with our tents and sleeping bags and camped at Fort DeSoto right in the mouth of Tampa Bay. It was wonderful. Each morning we got up early and walked on the beach. We saw a lot of wildlife - fish, sea urchin, whelk, crabs, hermit crabs, starfish, dolphin, pelicans, gulls, sand pipers, osprey, egrets, and, of course, the raccoons that live around the campground. We even found some small shark teeth.
The sun was a welcome change from our gray Michigan winter days. It was wonderful just to see such vibrant color.
We were jumping with joy.
What a wonderful few days.
Like Monet, I am noticing the difference the lighting and time of day make on my surroundings. Monet painted the haystacks near his home. I am photographing the icicles hanging from my porch roof.
Morning
Afternoon
Evening 1
Evening 2
Evening 3
Icicles from last year can be seen here.
Single digit temperatures are predicted for the rest of the week, below zero temperatures at night. D has informed us that if the wind chill is -20 degrees when the buses are scheduled to leave the garage in the morning they will cancel school.
Instagram Photos
