Here's a peek into our garden right now. We are in the weeds literally and figuratively, but we make some progress every day. Squash bugs are our biggest insect enemy and crab grass our meanest weed. It has been a typical beginning to August, mostly hot and humid with a few good storms and a few cooler, breezy beautiful days. Abigail and I planted this "back gate garden" late in the season, so it is just beginning to bloom. It is really sweet.
The gourds and baby pumpkins that came from Dodie and Paw are climbing their way to the top of the Chikin' Coop. The squash bugs are causing some trouble, but there are a few nice gourds at the moment.
100's of tomatoes...plum and Virginia Select. First batch of sauce is in the freezer.
The mint flowered and is beautiful. It is covered with pollinators. I hope that they are doing their job.
The fig tree is producing like mad and I have to make preserves tomorrow! They are so sweet, soft and warm straight from the tree. I love figs. The kids loved climbing the ladder to pick the ones at the tippy top.
Our first ground cherries...Pineapple Cossack. Very interesting flavor- creamy and sweet. Reminds me of something that I ate in Brazil, but I don't know what. I am not sure what to do with them, so I just eat them.
Seymour the Pumpkin Vine is no longer just a vine! We have found two pumpkins so far. This one is about 10 inches in diameter. Happy Halloween!
A few more days and Owen will get to taste his first homegrown cantaloupe. There are several hidden in the small garden. Can't wait to taste them with him.

6 Years of Birthday Parties

The Birthday Girl!

Today, Abigail turns six. Yes, it feels like she was just a 6 pound 8 ounce lump in my arms. Her blanky is still in one piece and so is her sparkly spirit. I didn't realize that I would love celebrating my children's birthdays as much as I do. I love dreaming up party plans with their help. My favorite part is baking and decorating the cakes. The first year we didn't really have a party, but my mom and I made a pretty cake which Abigail squished through her fingers and rubbed in her hair. Every year since Abigail has come up with a "theme" for her party, usually a few minutes after her current party ends. Age 2- beach party. Age 3- Sea Turtles. Age 4- Mermaid Party. Age 5- Hula Girl Party. Age 6- Dolphin party. Usually the theme helps me plan the cake, but it doesn't always go much past that point. Luckily that is fine with the birthday girl. Some years we have pulled off a thematic event, but usually Abigail's parties involve the pool, a slip and slide, sprinklers, hoses, kids of all ages in bathing suits, lemonade, chicken legs on the grill, beer, and sweaty, happy parents.

This year's party has come and gone, but it was a fun one. Owen skinned up his forehead as everyone arrived, but a few (long) minutes in the pool cured him! There was lots of swimming, jumping off the board, painting of the the Chickin Coop, slip and slidin', dinner, cake, Happy Birthday, and present openning under the dogwood tree. We finished off the party with "Magic Birthday Pot". A game that I have fond childhood memories of in my friend, Emlyn's, living room. It's a simple game of hot and cold, a blindfolded child with a wooden spoon and a surprise hidden under the magic birthday pot! I always remember Tyson and Stewart (the older brothers) always got ice cubes when they played the game. We have moved the game outdoors and it is a great way to wrap up a fun party.

So, tonight we celebrate Abigail with a special birthday dinner.  Steak, corn, swiss chard, cucumber salad and blackberry shortcake (her menu).  I think that the little mermaid is growing up a little too fast.

Mimi and Woodpop were the only guests at Abigail's first birthday

The mermaid at the mermaid party (4)

Magic Birthday Pot!

Jackson gets in on the birthday action again this year.

The Turtle Cake...loved the peppermint patty shell.

Mermaid Cake at Abigail's 4th birthday was a good one! 

Hula Girl cake at party #5!  Notice mint leaf tree...Abigail's touch

This year's cake was decorated by Maria and me again...mermaid riding a dolphin

The Chickin Koop

"The Chikin Koop"
Homemade playhouse

When we moved to Snuggle Acres there was an old garden shed located in the backyard. We thought about converting it into a playhouse for the kids. BUT, once we looked closer, we realized that it would be a dangerous place for the kids to play. We also realized it wasn't very sound when we pushed it down. The next problem was to find supplies for the Koop. The Longest once again came in to save the day. Ricky had a stockpile of plywood stashed and I had a stockpile of old 2x4's. I went by the local hardware store and asked for any 2x4 culls. (This is a great hint for project people; hardware stores sell 2x4's and all other lumber that people do not pick. If you are working on a garden project or another project where the board does not have to be perfect, there is cheap lumber out there for the taking). I traded some cans of stain for a couple packs of shingles with a friend, and collected some cedar planks from a friend who didn't finish working on a sailboat. After paint, screws, and corner posts the total cost of the playhouse was less than $200 and was built with a ton of reusable supplies.

Pumpkin from Dorie growing up the side!!!

This summer, I had to do some upgrading to the floor and I sprayed the inside with a new coat of paint. I finally built some shutters and two doors to keep more rain from coming in and rotting the floor. Once the paint was dry inside it was time to release the kids inside with their paints to start decorating and making it their own. At Abigail's birthday party we let the kids paint inside the playhouse, instantly there were handprints and footprints all over the inside.

Sorry Becky, its not for REAL Chickens, but they are coming!!
LINK TO MORE PHOTOS BELOW
Click here for more photos of the Koop

Camp Smiley continued...

Field trip to Williamsburg

It has been a busy few weeks in our backyard. Garden and yard projects came to a screeching halt, and they were quickly replaced by Critter Camp, art projects, cupcake baking, trips to the pool, and swims in the river. All the beds, the floors, and the sofa have have been doing double duty with our niece and nephew visiting last week and this week we have the Goods in town from Cleveland, Ohio. It has been hot and humid, but that has not stopped us from having a great time with special people. The kids are whipped and that is a good thing. There are a few quieter weeks to come.

Creating the art gallery in the "Chikin Coop"

It's been fun to be "homefront" camp director. Snacks have been crucial for the past two weeks, as have treats from the garden. I finally made pickled purple beans, in the hours between, Ellie and William leaving and the Goods arriving. The zucchini has started to taking over our kitchen counter and our dreams. The cucumbers are growing several inches a day. I picked our first pattypan squash yesterday. Unfortunately, we haven't figured out a way to prepare the squash or zucchini that the kids love, but we (the grown ups) are loving them grilled, breaded in panko, fried, roasted and sauteed! Really you can't go wrong to our grown up pallets. Raw may be the way to go with the kids. William tried a fried zucchini last week and gagged. Oh well, at least he tried! Cucumbers on the other hand are a hit! Abigail ate almost the entire platter of cucumbers, seasoned with a little sesame oil, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Owen loves the crunch as well. I think that "SNACK TIME" could be the theme of the last two weeks. Ellie loved pretzels, goldfish and Cheetos more than any kid I know. In between adventures, the kids would rest and ask for a little "pretzel camp". It made everyone happy and ready for the next adventure.

Snack time, garden time, zucchini and cucumber time

One more day of "camp" with the Goods. Our next event is Abigail's birthday party on Saturday afternoon. Hope for good pool weather so that the kids can swim like dolphins and we can cut the dolphin cake under the dogwood tree in the backyard. July is flying by and so are the years with Abigail. More about Abigail and her birthdays soon.

Dragon Run paddle with the Goods

Cousin Camp in Urbanna

We were very fortunate to have our cousins William and Ellie with us for the week before July 4th. We had a great time. William went with me to Chesapeake Critter Camp and Ellie enjoyed Smiley camp with Mollie, Abigail, and Owen. William is officially waterman William; set pots, sorted oysters, swam in the river, stung by a jellyfish, captained a canoe and experienced a lot of new things! It's great to have family members out on the river enjoying our world!

Wiliam your crab pot is upside down, we'll fix that later 

The big gun show after sorting oysters

William kissing the fish before baiting his crab pot

A fossil oyster shell, with new oysters growing on it

Which way Captain?

Moments before getting stung by a jellyfsh, but he was brave!

Owen and Abigail jumping off the diving board

My little mermaid

Wild man jumping to Daddy

Owen, Avery, and Jackson preparing for swim team

Swim team was exiting this week! The kick board team stormed the pool! Here are the three boys at the staging area before they hit the pool

At the end

Cannon Powershot D10

This camera is awesome!!
Cannon Powershot d10
If you are a family who loves the water as much as we do. I highly suggest this waterproof camera. It is small and tough as nails. I use it all the time on and off the water. Here are a few videos of the kids in the pool.

Ability to Recognize Small Natural Cycles

Hiding from 100 degrees

Mollie and I took the kids to the river to swim after we picked up Abigail from school. It was a scorcher, so no projects were going to happen. The only place to hide was in the river. When we got to the beach, Abigail said,"Yeagh, it's high tide! A good time to swim!" I was floored, thrilled, and speechless! This is a great sign that we are getting our kids in tune with their ecological identity. She not only knew that it was high tide by making an observation at the beach, but she also knew that high tide is a good time to swim! Most kids know the changing of the seasons, but hopefully we can teach our kids about smaller natural cycles, including phases and changes in the moon.

Going on a Fern Hunt

Going on a Fern Hunt!

This weekend we went out to Old Spring Farm in Lynchburg (Daddy and Dorie's house, Dodie and Paw) Saturday morning we went out on the tractor to go on a fern hunt. Riding around the farm with Daddy and Dorie is great for the kids and their step toward understanding the natural world around them. The purpose of the trip is simple... to find plants that we can take back to Snuggle Acres and put in various places in the yard. However, the pay back is much greater than items for landscaping. The kids get a chance to identify the differences between similar looking plants. They helped dig the ferns up and recognized which ferns they thought would look good in their own yard. The kids will notice the plants in the yard and will know where they came from. In the future, Abigail and Owen will have a greater respect for these plants in their yard and in the woods, when they see then again.

Throughout the weekend, the kids got chances to use their observation skills around the farm. Sunday morning they sat with Dodie and Paw on the side porch and observed the different birds that landed on the bird feeders. This is a simple activity but allows the kids to begin to notice the critters that live in their own backyard.

We have our shovels ready!!

Paw knows where the best ones are!!

Cruizin' back in the woods

We found good ones, we will take care of you back at Snuggle Acres

Riding with Dodie

Time to get ready for the ride back to Urbanna

Abigail gets a chance to drive

PJ's and the Toad

Catching a Toad in Your PJ's

After Mollie was out watering this morning she came in and told the kids that she had seen a big toad among some plants we had not yet planted. Owen "hopped" up and said, "where?" and was on the hunt. The best part of the toad hunt, was Owen deciding to put on his flip flops and keep his PJ's on. So the great toad hunter headed out into the wild. He finally caught the toad and put it in a bushel basket, but wanted to put it in his new critter catcher he got for his birthday. The toad is good indicator that we are making changes to our yard to support local critters. 

We love catching critters with our kids and make them aware of all the cool things that live right here in their back yard. Don't get me wrong..... a poison dart frog of the rainforest is cool, but not many kids are going to get the chance to see one, and probably shouldn't catch one. Little kids should be able to identify the animals that live around them. This will lead to future stewardship, they will want to take action to protect the toads in their backyard. 

Slip and Slide Surprise

I love setting up backyard activities for the kids. They cannot get enough of the water. I think they would have done the slip and slide in March. I love keeping the kids surprised and laughing by doing silly things with them.

Heading out for a Canoe

Owen had his fourth birthday in April. We took him and his friends out for a canoe on Urbanna creek. We ate snacks on the beach and caught critters with seine nets. We held our first soft crab of the season. Most of all it was the first swim session of the summer. Here is Jackson and Owen heading out.

Getting off of the Bus

Abigail is happy summer is approaching and there will only be a few more times that she will have to get off of the bus. I love picking her up at the bus stop. She always has the biggest grin when the door opens and she sees me. I try to do something funny, like hide in the bushes, the other kids on the bus laugh and Abigail tries not to giggle. Then she gives me a huge hug.