Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Spring. Show all posts
6/01/2009
May Crowning
A couple of weeks ago, the kids got out of school early and we took a mini-road trip for a hike at a beautiful park where there is a trail up to a tiny, 150-year-old Marian chapel. It's a perfect May crowning spot, and an easy-but-not-too-easy hike, with a great view from the top. What a picture-perfect day, and we had fun exploring the trails and breaking out WWD's awesome new glider plane. JPD was beside himself with excitement about that one--it was great!
Goodbye Spring!
As most months seem to be doing these days, April and May flew by. I must say that I'm not too sad to see May go this year--total chaos and upheaval around here, in so many ways. But in the midst of it all, I got a few nice pictures of some of my favorite spring blooms. This time of year truly makes our long winters worth it--okay, well, almost!
Feathery light green baby leaves, just coming out
Bluebells in our back yard--my favorite!
Pink flowering fruit trees
I love our beautiful Wisconsin dairy farms in the rolling hills.
My "bleeding heart" plant
Pink peeking through the green
Lilacs--can't you just smell them?
Love those redbuds!
White flowering fruit tree
Tulips--my other favorite!
Another perfect white tree
All of these are finished blooming now that June is here, and the trees are full and all the way green. Some of my other very favorites--forsythia and daffodils--bloom even earlier in April, and they're long gone for this year already.
Hello Summer!
Feathery light green baby leaves, just coming out
Bluebells in our back yard--my favorite!
Pink flowering fruit trees
I love our beautiful Wisconsin dairy farms in the rolling hills.
My "bleeding heart" plant
Pink peeking through the green
Lilacs--can't you just smell them?
Love those redbuds!
White flowering fruit tree
Tulips--my other favorite!
Another perfect white tree
All of these are finished blooming now that June is here, and the trees are full and all the way green. Some of my other very favorites--forsythia and daffodils--bloom even earlier in April, and they're long gone for this year already.
Hello Summer!
5/15/2009
Did I Mention that I Love Spring?
Today the two brown-eyed boys and I went on a field trip to the Apple Farm, where we saw what the apple trees look like in the springtime. Of course, there were no apples to eat, which was a bit confusing for some of us at first. But it was great! We were having spring showers today, so we hiked in the misty orchard, saw the strawberry plants just beginning to bloom, learned about how the bees help the apples grow, and planted some bean seeds and tomato plants to take home.
It feels so funny to go to our field trips without the three oldest kids. Of course it's nice to be able to focus on the little guys--but I do miss the older ones too. I guess that sentiment goes for homeschooling overall, now that I think about it!
Still, I'm thinking that we'll be doing "real" school again in the fall. We are all really happy with it, and school has been good for each of them in a different and specific way. I miss homeschooling--especially how much reading we had time to do, together and separately--but honestly don't miss everyone's very strong-willed personalities all in the house together all day! And when I really examine the pros and cons, and consider it in light of not what I want or feel, but what is actually the best set-up for our whole family (including the bread-winning, clean-house-craving one), this seems to be God's will for us for now. Even JPD's gonna go a couple of days a week in the fall, and he is very excited to be going to school with the big kids. So, it's all good--and no more excuses for avoiding housework for me! :)
(P.S. Stay tuned--I'm sure I'll come up with something.)
It feels so funny to go to our field trips without the three oldest kids. Of course it's nice to be able to focus on the little guys--but I do miss the older ones too. I guess that sentiment goes for homeschooling overall, now that I think about it!
Still, I'm thinking that we'll be doing "real" school again in the fall. We are all really happy with it, and school has been good for each of them in a different and specific way. I miss homeschooling--especially how much reading we had time to do, together and separately--but honestly don't miss everyone's very strong-willed personalities all in the house together all day! And when I really examine the pros and cons, and consider it in light of not what I want or feel, but what is actually the best set-up for our whole family (including the bread-winning, clean-house-craving one), this seems to be God's will for us for now. Even JPD's gonna go a couple of days a week in the fall, and he is very excited to be going to school with the big kids. So, it's all good--and no more excuses for avoiding housework for me! :)
(P.S. Stay tuned--I'm sure I'll come up with something.)
5/07/2009
More Spring Greens
This week we got ramps (wild leeks), a "claremont" romaine, spinach, salad mix, radishes, tatsoi (a cool-looking asian green, pictured with MRD), more watercress (yum!), sorrel (we all love this delicious lemony green and can't wait to make this soup), and some deep purple scallions. Stir-fry, anyone?
5/02/2009
Farm Fresh Frenzy
You may remember that last summer, after reading Barbara Kingsolver's book "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" I discovered the local food concept and got quite excited about eating from our wonderful local farms. Well, despite the long Wisconsin winter, I didn't quite forget this new project. We've joined a CSA farm, and this week we got our first Spring Vegetable Share. I'm SO excited! As you can see, my two henchmen share my excitement....JPG)
Here's what we got in our first box: Salad mix of three lettuce varieties, the most gorgeous radishes I've ever seen, arugula (which I LOVE), saute mix of greens, a pretty red oakleaf lettuce head--quite delicious, some great spinach, a head of bok choy (I have literally never seen bok choy except on a plate at a restaurant before--it is so cool! JPD is holding it in the pictures, and they are tasting the different lettuces), watercress, chives, and a bunch of dandelion greens. I think this week we will be eating more green stuff than ever before! Of course I've been scrambling around a bit to find recipes for all these spring delicacies; next week I'll be a bit more prepared, now that I have a better idea of what to expect. Last night we had an awesome stir fry (the kids even liked it), and we had the most incredibly delicious dinner tonight, including something for everyone: a fantastic salad, some watercress soup (watercress...who knew?), and this yummy spinach-ricotta pie. YUM!
.JPG)
Here's what we got in our first box: Salad mix of three lettuce varieties, the most gorgeous radishes I've ever seen, arugula (which I LOVE), saute mix of greens, a pretty red oakleaf lettuce head--quite delicious, some great spinach, a head of bok choy (I have literally never seen bok choy except on a plate at a restaurant before--it is so cool! JPD is holding it in the pictures, and they are tasting the different lettuces), watercress, chives, and a bunch of dandelion greens. I think this week we will be eating more green stuff than ever before! Of course I've been scrambling around a bit to find recipes for all these spring delicacies; next week I'll be a bit more prepared, now that I have a better idea of what to expect. Last night we had an awesome stir fry (the kids even liked it), and we had the most incredibly delicious dinner tonight, including something for everyone: a fantastic salad, some watercress soup (watercress...who knew?), and this yummy spinach-ricotta pie. YUM!
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