In early spring the frogs gathered by the hundreds in our small pond and spent a very noisy weekend engaging in…well, you know. Think Woodstock, 1970s, lots of free love and partner swapping. Egg upon egg upon egg was floating in the water. It was so remarkable I had to photograph it. See an earlier post here. Really, it was a bit ridiculous. I swiped … Continue reading Tadpole Observation (A Cautionary Tale)
I subscribe to many [too many] blogs and I’m constantly amazed that people find the time to write — seriously, how do you gals do it?! I have a number of things working against me here. There’s the gorgeous scenery when I look out from the office window: Between staring off into space at that mountain in the distance or our little patch of spring … Continue reading How on Earth to find time for blogging?!
There’s a great article on Wired.com by GeekDad Jonathan Liu about the 5 Best Toys of All Time. While I wholeheartedly agree about the joy of sticks, boxes, twine and above all dirt — there is a glaring omission from his most excellent article: Tape. And lots of it. Case in point: Claire’s version of London Bridge. Constructed completely on her own in a quiet … Continue reading Why I should buy stock in scotch (tape that is)
Knee deep in fall bulbs and covered (COVERED!) in dirt I was patting myself on the back this afternoon for cultivating Claire’s imagination with lots of fresh air and freedom and unstructured play. She was constructing this elaborate house for Rocky, her pretend friend. Daddy was busy fixing the greenhouse and donated lots of leftover 2×4 bits and a few soft bits of wild onion … Continue reading The perfect pet for preschoolers…bring back the pet rock!
My neighbor’s beagle is an escape artist, and as I understand it, this is not an unusual trait for the breed. Funny thing is, rather than chase down squirrels or roll in roadkill, Buster makes a beeline for our backdoor. I have no clue what keeps him coming back, but I think it might have something to do with the undivided attention of a devoted … Continue reading Visiting Pets
It’s confession time – Sometimes I’m discouraged when I read other people’s blogs – especially creative blogs where every resulting project is perfect and looks like Martha Stewart helped in the final styling. I’m dying to know what happens behind the scenes. Do they ever mess up? Is their house a disaster? Mine is. But I’ve shown you those pictures before. For posterity though: Someone … Continue reading Thoughts on Failure and Honesty
This is what happens when you don’t give your three year old enough crackers for her hummus: I’m putting away laundry upstairs and Claire shouts up to me, “Mommy! Do you want to see how beautiful my hummus costume is? My hands and fingers are wearing it!”Oh dear. A day for laughs indeed. If I can convince my friend Lauren to divulge her top-secret hummus recipe … Continue reading An interesting "costume"
Chalk In My Pocket 