Friday's Nature Table....

We love our garden bugs around here.  Most of them, anyway.  This season we have been very fortunate to have a plethora of little friends to observe, and care for.

The honey bee is Queen, of course.  We give her space, and she provides us with a garden to be proud of.  We are ever grateful for her hard work.

With all do respect to the bees, its the babies in the garden that have gotten the most love these days.  Baby Ladybug Larva!

These larva have been watched over since the day we first discovered them.  Sometimes moved from one plant to another to provide our yard with maximum protection from aphids (of which we have many).  Both Ava and Cyrus love to carry them.  Maybe love it too much.  We had to put a stop to the larva rides... too many "opps!" were heard.

Soon the larva were replaced with pupa.  Not as much fun for my children, they don't transport very easily.

 The pupa is on the left in red, and the larva is on the right wearing stripes.

After a few weeks our babies are starting to grow up.  A lovely selection of ladybugs now live in our gardens.

The gray one is my favorite.  Ava prefers the black with red spots, and Cyrus loves them all.  That's his way.

I would be remiss if I failed to update you on my little friend the grasshopper.  Do you remember I mentioned him a few weeks ago?  My how he's grown.   He's doubled in length, and changed his colors with a few moltings.  He also decided to move across the path from the lemon tree to the artichoke plant.  I think he feels more protected there by all the bees, or just the sheer size of the artichoke, its a beast.  I am truly fond of this little guy.  He's like an old friend, or a bug that... I see a lot.

The newest thrill in our gardens are these hard to find, biiig eaters....  Caterpillars.  We'll be keeping an eye on these babies.  Hoping for more, but not too much more.  I'll let you know how that works out for us! 

So there you have it.  Sixteen pictures of bugs.  I swear I do still take pictures of my children...

Here's to getting out in the garden and enjoying the little guys who make it all possible.

A special thanks to The Magic Onions for bringing us all together to enjoy nature every Friday.

Easter Morning...

My last post about eggs...

We woke up early to find our baskets of treasures.  This years baskets were actual baskets. (I tend to rebel against Easter baskets, choosing instead to use dump trucks, camping chairs, whatever)  Wicker bike baskets filled with new (used) spring books, bike bells, paint, chalk, fabric and sewing supplies for her, a real soccer ball for him.  We watched Molly and her owlets while I picked up and Matt napped, then they worked out with Matt while I napped.  Good stuff!  We had a lovely breakfast with big fluffy waffles, fresh whipped cream, red ripe strawberries, and warm maple syrup.  Mmmmmm.

This years traditional egg hunt was in our back yard for the very first time.  Every year previously we've used our front yard for lack of hiding places, not this year!    

(Love the tongue sticking out)

This was just the first of many egg hunts, and many variations on the theme.  The last photo is actually of Cyrus looking for the hidden 'spools of ribbon'...  We will probably play this game out through the rest of spring, and why not?  I say why not dye eggs all year, hide them too if you feel like it.  Easter is still special.  The traditions are still made on that day.  

Here's to all of us enjoying our holidays, and making them last through the seasons!

Wooden Eggs...

Before Easter we made eggs that would last.  I am too pregnant to stomach 'egg blowing', so wooden eggs fit the bill perfectly.  (and they are much less fragile)  We sat outside in the early evening with our bowl of eggs.  I lightly sanded them, thanks to tips from Mama Roots.   After we painted them with water colors we lightly polished them with beeswax.  The warm sun and the smell of beeswax.  mmmmm.

I know I say this about almost every season... But I love spring!

Easter Eggs from the kitchen....

We love to dye eggs.  I don't wait for a certain time of year, I don't wait for much.  If I am going to boil eggs, I dye 'em.  Usually I just reach for the food coloring that I inherited from my mother in law when she retired.  (apparently she used it in her class rooms)  This year, for the first time, we made our own dyes!  So fun.  Why haven't I done this?  Maybe because the process took up a better part of the day?  Ya, that's probably it.

We made three dye baths.  One from beets for pink, one from turmeric for golden yellow, and one from London Rocket (weeds) for yellow green!

I started first with the weeds...  I should have boiled the dye for much longer than I did, but it turns out I couldn't stand the smell.  With all the windows open, the vents on, it was still over powering.  I was just much to pregnant for the odor.  I should have just used spinach, but I thought I was being resourceful (possibly just selfish).

The beets made a lovely aroma.  I love beets!  I used too much water for the amount of beets that I was willing to part with.  Next year I'll keep in mind that I want something more concentrated.  Either way, it was very pretty to work with.

Our third dye bath was turmeric.  Yummy to both my nose, and my eyes!  Its pretty much the rock star of natural dyes, or so I'm lead to believe after some quick googling.

I tried to keep us occupied today so we could keep the eggs in the dye for as long as possible.  Some lasted longer than others.

The end result of our home made dyes left us with subtle, pretty shades.  Next year I'll change a few things, maybe even follow some directions... maybe.

Or maybe I'll just keep doing things my own way... 

Here's to all of us finding the line between 'their' way, and our own!

Gratitude Monday

What I love today....

~27 weeks, 13ish to go!!!

~Second trimester coming to a close...

~Artichoke plant surprises!  We thought we had another year before this beast would bear fruit, now we have Five!

~Spring and Easter crafting with children... more on that later... (maybe a whole week of Easter posts?  Maybe...)

~Strawberries and Fresh Whipped Cream...

~Fruit Salad...

~The Fabric Remnants Bin

~My boy who doesn't want me to "take the black hair away" when he gets out of the shower.  (translation: dry his brown hair)

~My girl who leaves very thoughtful gifts and cards for an Easter Bunny with out being prompted...
Who was also very surprised by her Easter basket and proclaimed that next year she needs to make the Bunny a much better gift.

~A partner who is patiently waiting before we "turn on the air conditioner" so I can have just one more night with the windows open...

~Holidays.  I love them.  All of them!

Valentine wreath...

I have been seeing a lot of wreaths on blogs lately. Here, here, here, and years ago here.  (technically that's two recent blogs and one very not recent, but you get the idea)  Its not something I would normally think of doing for myself, its sometimes too 'country charm' for me... and yet... I found myself drawn to the idea.  Thinking about what materials I would use,  and how I could make one my way (read super simple, and free-ish).   Keeping the wreath in the back of my mind I was inspired after all of our projects these last few days left me with a big heaping pile of scraps.  I hesitate to throw things out, hoping always to find a way to repurpose... Add in one fine day with my little ones full of energy ready to fight with one another, or create something together...  And there you go.  Birth of my free Valentine's Day Wreath.

~I used an old grapevine wreath (sitting in a closet waiting for something to do)
~Scraps in a variety of colors, mostly red, and white
~and scissors

We simply cut my fabric into strips and tied them onto the wreath.  So uncomplicated. 

Within minutes we were done.  For now it hangs by my February table.  We left the ties visible, I may decide to clean the look up some and cut them back.  For today we like it messy.

My project was free, my babies helped in every step, we ended up repurposing an old wreath, and finding new life for scraps destined for the trash.  That's my kind of project!

And... one last note... I also think this was a good lesson for my babies in finding ways to upcycle and protect mother earth, all while making our home pretty!  (Also a good lesson for me in stepping in and changing the situation before the big fights begin. The power of proactive parenting, but that's one for another day...)

Thank you to The Magic Onions for bringing us together week after week to share in each others journeys.