In Our Backyard This Week...

We filled the sandbox...

 

This root collected water after a night of rain...

 There's a lot of boggy moss...

There was some stump hammerin' going on...

And some archery (Nice impromptu quiver, eh?...)

Hopefully some Vit. D absorption (You gotta get it while you can around here...)

Some bird watching...

Remember that idea you had when you were a kid...

You really thought that if you could just get up high enough and jump down with an umbrella, you would float peacefully to the ground?

Chicken herding...

Baby soothing...

We're looking forward to a lot more living out here.

New Spot: There Will Be Mud

Dear Boys,

After three days of rain, it finally let up and this is what we found across the street in the park...

Skunk cabbage:

Deer paths:

Boot-sucking mud:

Many fallen trees:

Bright green moss:

A shell:

Stubborn thorns:

A vine around a stick:

Also, something else I want to remember:

Yesterday as I was getting Matthew out of the car at pick-up time, I saw a huge great blue heron flying over the school.  I looked over and spotted Joe sorting something out on the playground with a group of other kids.  I watched, hoping he would see it, even though he was involved in whatever this group of kids was deciding.  He must have seen it out of the corner of his eye because I could hear him shout from the other side of the playground,  pointing up at it, "HEY!  A sandhill crane!  NO!  A GREAT BLUE HERON!  GREAT BLUE HERON!"

Spring is Coming

Well, the sweater is done...

So on to Springtime activities...

Planning the garden...

A new set of nets...

An awkward combination of winter and spring gear... 

 A new place to explore...

Swings...

And the retirement of the sled...