blueberries under the June full Moon

We met with our Waldorf co-op/playgroup friends for blueberry picking. It was so much fun! Most of the Daddies got to join us and we picked until the Sun went down.

plum picking & a carpentry project

The plums are beginning to ripen! Indigo climbed the ladder and picked a basket full.


Clover has been wanting to make a flower press for awhile now. Tim helped with cutting out the pieces. She sanded and drilled holes, and put the pieces of the press together. What a beautiful project!

baby wren update

Yesterday when we went to check on the baby wrens, one of them had fallen to the floor! Clover quickly picked her up and checked to make sure that she was okay. Nova was dancing around begging to hold the baby bird, too, so Clover placed her carefully in his little hands. I felt such relief when the little wren was tucked back into her nest!

birthday party fun

Ice cream cones...



Sprinklers!!



Face painting fun...

more Summer fun...

The Carolina wrens hatched!! They are so cute! I worry about them sitting right on the edge of the garden shed shelf, but I guess that all little birdies have to leave the nest at some time. The kids LOVE them!



Making rainbows when we water the garden!! And we have Hungarian hot peppers on the pepper plants!


Learning how to walk on stilts (homemade by Dad)...

quickles

This is the yummiest "quick pickle" recipe that I have ever tried:

Ingredients
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2 rounded teaspoons organic sugar
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 clove cracked garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried dill or 2 tablespoons fresh dill leaves, chopped or snipped
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 pickling cucumbers, cut into half moons
Directions
Heat small saucepan over medium high heat. Add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, and garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to simmer and sugar dissolves. Toss the dill, bay leaf, and sliced cucumbers together in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the simmering liquid over the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat. Allow to cool to room temperature or chill before serving.



These are delicious! Tim came up with the name "quickles". Isn't he clever?

work and play in Summer

We have been at home for the most part this week. The days are getting so hot that we have to think of fun things to do outside in the early morning and late afternoon, and during the middle of the day we mostly do projects in the house. Our only exception for all day outdoor play is the lake. We are swimming a bunch this year. Even little Nova can go under water and try to swim towards me.

All of our flowers are so beautiful right now. The birds planted this mystery plant in my front yard flower bed. I thought that it was a squash when I first saw it, and then it began to grow into a stalk. I almost pulled it, but I'm so glad that I decided to give it a bit longer to grow. Its beautiful!


Nova loves to help with weaving the morning glory around the wagon wheel each day. He also checks the toad houses every morning to see if we have any little visitors. So far, no toads but we do find crickets pretty often.


Lots of other things are blooming right now: a miniature sunflower, beautiful gourd flowers, cosmos and zinnias...



During the hottest part of the day, Clover loves a baking project. She has been making delicious zucchini bread. I will post the recipe soon since it is one of our favorites.


Sometimes we go on a bug hunt in the late afternoon. We get rid of the garden pests like Japanese beetles and tomato caterpillars, and admire the nice ones. We have lots of bees this year. Indigo and Nova were fascinated by cicada exoskeletons. At this time of year, they are all over the yard.



The big evening project with Daddy is the canoe. All of the kids love to help with it. Willow, Indigo, and Nova drilled holes for rope and bungee cords. Clover used her finger knitting skills to make a rope handle. We are all hoping to try it out sometime this weekend!




Summer is my favorite season!