Nature School :: The (No) Ice Rocks

No, really. NO ICE AT THE ICE ROCKS. In February!

What a strange thing it was!  I thought, surely, this Winter was colder than the last, though we have had less snow.  I guess that warm spell last week really was too warm.  We visited a whole three weeks later last year and saw ice.  Oh, well.

The children soon set to being amateur geologists, speculating about the stone walls that line the road.  There's lots of mica and quartz present, with some iron in both.  I'm no Roadside Geologist yet, but there's still time.

Now, it was still chilly at the Ice Rocks.  Coats and cold fingers were the norm for us.  As we walked from the sunny end to the shady one, there was frost still on the mountainside.  And we did see a little ice on a few rocks, but it was clear and very thin.  I guess we were just about two weeks too late.

We had planned to visit some time back, and I had made contact with an area ranger over the Winter, trying to find a time when the road was open.  Closures and construction put off our visit, along with the unexpected changes in our family.  The ranger told us this morning that he'd call me when the rocks were iced again next Winter.  He wants to make sure we have a special visit, even if the roads are closed!

Our visit this time was still full of wonder, of its own unexpected kind.  We enjoyed the rock walls, the intrepid plants growing on them, and the fun of speculating about secret passageways.  We found a couple locks on the rock, which I guess must be for ice climbing.  I don't know.  It made me think of the special entrance to the Lonely Mountain in The Hobbit.  Willow said we had to return on Durin's Day.

There was plenty of water, which was nice to see, and the children enjoyed little showers.  All the rain has helped ease the warmth we've seen.  Roan is our rainbow finder, and he often runs outside to locate one when the conditions are right. 

And with that, life calls.  There's a chance of snow Friday and it sure would be nice!

Lighting Candles

Better late than never, we rolled the remaining wax sheets from last Candlemas.  It's not time for Easter or the Equinox, so we'll keep the Valentine mood for a bit longer.  The children are all big enough to roll their own candles, which is so new to me.  There has always been someone who was too little for the job, but that time has passed.  Everyone enjoyed seeing their creations lit up.

In other news, the days are full of birdsong and burgeoning bulbs and work.  We have done school work and errands and my own new work, which I am able to do mostly at home.  I work for my mother now, for the accounting business that my grandmother started about forty years ago.  I've worked off and on over the years, but this is now a lasting responsibility.  My long-term plan is to restructure our school year to allow our "Summer" break to fall from February to mid-April.

I am still taking extra time for connection, as my children experience an attachment void and learn to forge new relationships.  It is funny that the crumbling of one family has also meant the rebuilding of another.  We are enjoying more time with my family, more chances to get together and cozy up over family meals.  It feels like we were not often able to be together, and now all of that has changed.  The schedule, with all its variables, is enjoying more predictability.

A lot is new these days, which can feel difficult to remember.  It feels so much longer, like a slow train crash.  The changes we have experienced are so profound, and yet not.  I have been largely alone at my tasks for three and a half years, and yet everything has more weight now.  I know that things will be busier, what with my year-round work being a jack of all trades, master of some.  I also know that this time is particularly full of appointments and errands, and things will even out.

Spring

The weather is spring-y as warm as it is, as bright as it is, after a long, dark spell.  There is no other way to describe it.  My own records tell me it was six degrees this day three years ago.  It was in the sixties today.  We rejoiced, all the same, because we needed some Spring.

In the spirit of hospitality and all the fancy minor meals Nancy Drew and her friends have, I made a little snack for the children to share in the playhouse.  The played out there so contentedly for close to three hours, something they have never done.  I think they are feeling more settled than they have in some time.  Maybe they are knowing that the four of us are solidly here for the long haul?

I cannot help but change the decor to Spring things.  The root children really are stirring these days, with tulips, daffodils, and crocuses showing their heads (and a few blooms!)  The nearby snow drops are just about to break into bloom.  I know Winter can come rushing back at any time, but it is good to see life moving along.

I bought this little postcard some time ago.  It made me think of Willow and Laurel.  Laurel loves swinging so very much, in any form.  It seems to heal whatever troubles her.  In that spirit, I got out the hammock chair for her.  She could swing in it for an hour and still claim a sibling isn't sharing, if someone else should try to get in!

And with that, it's time to wind down for the day.  The fresh air and sun sure were a help, and I felt more productive than I have in a long time.  See the messy porch?  All clean now.  Ahhh, that feels so good!

Nature School :: After the Rain

We had a few hours without rain yesterday.  The sun came out!  I told the children we were going to stand outside somewhere.  Getting out into the fresh air, everyone came alive.  All we needed was a little wide spot in the road to find ourselves again.  Of course, I chose a pretty special wide spot--Nebo Mountain fairly near the top.

Water was flowing everywhere and the air was so warm!  The leaves from the Autumn made little dams in the ditches, and the water was even flowing across the road.  I was not quite as adventurous as the children.  Roan and Laurel had rubber boots and made full use of them. 

Willow was the rock climber and took in the sights from on high.  I guess it is helpful to have a wide angle lens when you are too timid to get off the ground!

We explored a little and the children say they found a fairy cave under a rock along one of the many streams.  I guess you could say some were wet-weather springs.  We followed them, via car, from their origins up high to the river that flows through our town. 

I got so distracted by all the water.  Did I mention the waterfall we stopped to hear on the way home?  The cold air coming off of it was impressive.  Anyway--lichen.  I really came to see the many beautiful specimens that grow on the rocks in this wide spot in the road.

See?  Lovely, wonderful, wet lichen.  Now there is something that loves the wet weather.

I hear more rain this morning.  It's a big day here.  Say a prayer for us, if you think of it. 

A Time to Keep

A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor, such a sweet book.  My dear friend Elizabeth sent me this book during a hard time over three years ago and it was such a comfort to me.  I still turn to it, as a reminder that time does march on, and that it is important to have family celebrations all the year round.  They are such a comfort.

I had been looking forward to Valentine's Day this year, even with all the upheaval, and we celebrated with enthusiasm.  My parents gave me flowers and chocolates, the first dozen roses I've ever received.  I must admit that I have really been longing for flowers this Winter.  I feel like Mrs. Walton in The Homecoming movie when she says, "I wish it was Spring of the year. . ."

Willow and I planned a day of meals from The Nancy Drew Cookbook and they were a success! I think we have found some new recipes for our daily meals.  I have been reading some of the books in the mornings, fast reader that I am, and they are certainly a fun departure from my usual material. Willow kindly places a new one on my bedside table each day.  I must be entering the Fiction Phase of my life. 



There was cake, of course, because it was a celebration.  Willow, always one to go heavy on the sprinkles, decorated with pigs and hearts.  We all had two pieces.  Laurel was pleased, and we even managed to hide the cake from her until it was time to serve it.

In keeping with the elegance of Nancy Drew's meals, Willow made place cards for us all.  I took extra care to set the table nicely, complete with some of the heart decorations we have made over the years.  I am working with a 55-200 lens these days, so photos are a little hard for me.  I often have to stand on a chair or in another room to get a picture!

I updated the nature table for what it feels like these days.  I think we have moved to the English countryside, where rain is the order of every day.  That is good for the drought that seems to creep in each Autumn.  The Spring bulbs are starting to peak out of the ground, though snow is still a possibility for the next two months.  All the same, it is nice to feel the mood shift toward renewal.  The robins have returned!

School Days

Bright and challenging are words I would use to describe things lately.  The days have been full, very full, and I can see that I will need to be even more disciplined in this new season of life.  In between illness and a broken arm, we have done our best to move forward with our studies.   They are my studies, too, after all.  Roan spent a couple weeks working with numbers, reviewing some qualities, and doing some simple things with his increasing collection of stones, marbles, and crystals.

Willow had a second block with Old Testament stories.  We spent the first block, through the sons of Cain, with Jakob Streit's book And There Was Light.  This time around, we used the Christopherus Old Testament stories, as we simply have so much ground to cover.  There will be a third block before the year is out.  Please don't feel bad if blocks take longer than the recommendations--they are simply recommendations, after all!

In our work with numbers, we heard stories about one-to-one matching, greater than and less than, and even and odd.  We played games for each, which wasn't something I did a lot of with Willow.  She had some more age and development on her, so it wasn't as necessary.  For Roan, it is just plain fun.  Here, they were playing Contest for the Crown, where two similar princes vie for the crown, one being false and less than the other.  Willow contributed some of her costume jewelry for the contest.

Roan is cast-free now, and learning to use his arm again.  He's working with vowels this week, while Willow and I study The People of the Rice, as Christopherus calls them.  I find myself missing the complete materials of Enki for grade three, but I am gaining proficiency in finding what we need from used books and our local library.  Always one to love Natalia Belting and her wonderful stories, we'll be using two Ojibwa stories from The Earth Is On a Fish's Back this week.  We also had a nice windfall of some Native American books donated to the local library.  These are often sold for a small donation, so they are now a part of our library.

For vowels, we'll have a return to painting with water colors, and spend this week intensively painting the sounds of each.  If it helps anyone, I think it's quite possible to get three cups of paint out of the smaller bottle size, instead of the pint I used mix up.  These are the more vivid Stockmar colors--carmine red, golden yellow, and prussian blue.  I'm not sure the others would do so well.

And with that, there is much to do and I must get to work in these last few minutes.  Thank you all for your kind words and prayers.  They have been a tremendous help to me in this experience.  I never dreamed I would be here, but it is here that I am.  I wish you all a happy Tuesday!

Home-Making

I wish I had a window over the bay
And a dreamy eyed cow to fill my milking pail
I wish I had a cockerel to raise me at dawn
And a little bed to sleep in when the curtains are drawn

~Vashti Bunyan

Our home has transformed in the last while, in unspeakable ways and in ways that are very visible.  Willow has, at long last, her own room.  I have mine, too, which seems so new and bright and strange.  I don't think I have to say much more, or that I should, but we are here and moving forward.  We are finding simple pleasures in our new spaces, and we are taking extra time to connect and keep to routines, as we all should.  Prayers have covered us, just as the fresh snow blankets things today, and we are doing well.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to talk about it in this space (how does that all work?), but changes come and we keep on going.  Here I am, going.