You are currently browsing articles tagged great outdoors.
We’ve been singing Laurie Berkner’s Buzz Buzz at the top of our voices. And the bees in our yard are enjoying our flowering cherry tree so much the tree is constantly buzzing with activity. I’ve counted three, maybe four different kinds of bees!
The boy and his sister have been singing their own song, flower snow in the summer, while dancing under the petal breeze. There’s nothing like spring in Maine to remind you of the intricate beauty and mind-boggling enormity of creation.
Tags: flowers, great outdoors
Some pictures from our walks in the last week or so. I missed shooting the snow we had last Friday because I was driving through it. A bit annoying at this point after nearly two months of nothing. But spring is decidedly here and we have once again lucked out of mud season. (Last year we had plenty of snow but didn’t have much of a mud season because it just stayed cold until June I think.)
Tags: architecture, great outdoors
last remnants of snow in the shade
bulb shoots poking up through the soil
our neighbor’s cat lazing in the sun
newfallen and weathered pine cones brought home to grace our table
two drakes chasing a hen on the river, not interested in our bread crumb offerings
It’s too soon to say we’ll have no more snow this year but there are certainly signs of spring all around. The birds are noisier, the squirrels are running for fun, dogs are out with their people, deer have been spotted slipping through the neighborhood. We are spending more time outside, pretending that our bare hands are not too cold to throw the ball one more time before the sun goes down.
Tags: animals, great outdoors, plants
We haven’t had any new snow for quite a while. A few light dustings. Still the wind blows and animals leave their footprints.
A tiny maple leaf, skeletonized by time and weather. Could those be rabbit footprints?
Tags: animals, great outdoors, plants
Here’s the mailman cutting it down. The mailman? Yes, we live in a friendly town. He noticed when part of the tree came down and offered to take the rest of it down safely in exchange for the wood to heat his home. Waste not, want not. Sounded like a great deal to me!
And look what survived the fall. The fungus that had survived the original break landed safely in the snow. Freeze-dried, ha! Maple seed for scale. Apparently you can clear coat dried mushrooms to preserve them. Not sure I’ll take that project on. They may just end up in the compost.
I did save what was left of a little birch that had to come out. Young birch branches are smooth, easy to cut and have such a pretty pattern to them. Not sure what I’ll do with it just yet.
Tags: great outdoors
Have you noticed? I seem to have this mild obsession with lower life forms. Mushrooms, mosses, etc.
There is a tree on the back line of our lot that has probably been dead for some time. A storm last week brought down an upper branch, dry enough to crack into hundreds of pieces, shedding bark and twigs nearly to the street. But among those pieces I found an amazing world. Perfect tiny mushrooms only 2 or 3 millimeters across. Delicate, lightest green reindeer moss. Curling gray-green lichens, lush green mosses, creeping brown moss, things I don’t even know the name of. But all living—thriving on the dead wood.
Tags: great outdoors
A mushroom (or toadstool according to our neighbor E.), blue boots splashing in a puddle, one last zinnia of summer
leaves on the wet pavement, one last green leaf, fungus growing on a stump
looking down the lane into the old cemetery, a little friend getting fat
Tags: animals, flowers, great outdoors, plants
This cut-and-color activity was originally created to accompany a lesson on the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30). I found the wonderful black and white illustrations on an educational site allowing use of the images for personal or educational use. I chose pairs of young and adult animals and plants that have fairly different looking forms.
I did this activity with several kids ages 4-7 and it was challenging enough to all of them to make and to play. If you are making these with more than one child in the same house, use different colors of cardstock for the backing so that each child will know which set is theirs. You can play at least two different games with these cards and I’m sure they will spark interesting conversations, walks outdoors and field trips! Enjoy!
Tags: animals, great outdoors, paper crafting, plants, toys
Nasturtiums planted by the boy, too red to be real.
Our own peapod clinging valiantly to a brave corn stalk.
Running for joy across the steps of the old meetinghouse.
One picket out of place.
Tags: color, flowers, great outdoors, plants
The boy and the girl went up to the county for a sleepover at my parents’ house. While at their grandparents’ house they picked berries, roamed the field road in the ATV, made ice cream with grandmom, helped grandpop mow the lawn and developed a taste for playing croquet! DH and I were at home cleaning, rearranging, painting and having a little fun too.
Back home they played outside in the sprinkler while my friend Jan and I did tie dye which is still batching, pictures of that later. But here are some playsilks quickly scrunch dyed in Kool-Aid. The orange and the pinky-red are new and the blue and green are several years old. Both kids play with these a lot so I figured a few new colors would be welcome.
This morning the girl and I went down to Artist and Craftsman Supply to pick up some PINK procion dye since we discovered yesterday that we are all out of PINK. They are homebased here in Portland ME but have a number of stores in cities across the country, maybe one near you! I did look specifically at the acid dyes thinking I’d bring some home to dye fiber/yarn but I couldn’t decide on a color. Maybe next time after I do a little more research.I also picked up some extra Sculpey in colors we are running out of and a bargain pick of pretty nice paint brushes for the kids in fun colors with gel handles. I haven’t been there in at least a year and now I remember why. I go in there and I just want to buy some of everything!
Tags: color, fabric dyes, great outdoors, kids art, painting
What to do when you get to the beach and it looks like this?
Climb over silky smooth driftwood, splunk through the river muck, carefully examine an empty horseshoe crab shell . . .
and make sandcastles!
Add a moat.
Notice that it looks kind of like a turtle and add feet and a tail.
While you’re digging in the sand, scoop out some river clay and shape a bird with a . . . ummmm . . . pancake to sit on the turtle’s head.
Call it a day and take the kids home to play in the sprinkler. Enjoy your summer!
Tags: animals, beach, great outdoors
We finally got a free Saturday warm and sunny enough to hit the beach. Our first time this summer, I’m going to say first because I sure hope we get to go again! The boy enjoyed the waves as well as playing in the sand, the girl, not so big on the water but we had fun digging in the sand. We also attempted some kite flying—too windy, a little hiking, and some Italian ice. I can’t think of a better way to spend a summer day in Maine.
Tags: great outdoors
We went out to camp last weekend for our church retreat. Most of the pictures I took this year were of people but here are a few outside shots. Classic purple irises have been blooming at the bottom of the lodge steps for years. This lodge window struck me with that same color combination I’ve been seeing lately, red trimmed window with a faded turquoise curtain behind, surrounded by the weathered wood. Nothing trendy here, more likely an accident out of the remnant bin!
It was rather a wet weekend but the kids enjoyed themselves immensely. And I think the adults had a pretty relaxing time too. It’s so nice to spend the weekend with friends and be able to let the kids roam around and do their own thing, now that mine are old enough to be (reasonably) trusted to stay together within the camp grounds and show up to ring the dinner bell.
Tags: flowers, great outdoors
One of our favorite walking spots since we moved to Maine is Wolf’s Neck Woods State Park, only minutes from downtown Freeport, home to L.L.Bean which is a sight to see in and of itself. The park trails wind through the woods and down to the rocky shore. The girl struggled to keep up with the boy as they raced up and down the trails past the storm-worn roots of a downed tree, stopping occasionally to check on tiny wild flowers and spy squirrels, chipmunks and birds.
Reaching the shore, we looked out on a few of the many islands of Casco Bay. Hopping along the rocks, we found tiny shrimp swimming in little pools, barnacle-encrusted shells and tiny periwinkles traveling slowly across the rocks.
My favorite view:
Tags: animals, flowers, great outdoors, plants
Lady slippers are wild orchids that grow up here in New England and a few other places maybe. I believe they are a protected species. I happened on a healthy patch of pink and yellow lady slippers while out walking with the kids. I was able to photograph them in several stages from just poking up through last year’s fallen leaves to full bloom.
Tags: flowers, great outdoors
Click to feed the fish; they're hungry!