Wordless Wednesday

Memorial Day Weekend: Family Exploration & Nature Comes to Call

Tigger was actually off work Sunday and Monday. It was great to spend some time as a family. he finished painting and decorating his home office. He was finally able to put up his beloved racing photos and even stole a chair and ottoman from our bedroom. It's very cozy looking. Best of all he can shut the door and keep the cat out.

Monday we were supposed to go to a local water park and then Z was going to play with his friends. I felt so bad for Z, as the water park was closed! They don't start their full summer schedule until this weekend. Luckily we found that out before we drove all the way over there. So Z was bummed, but decided playing with his friends would be okay. We went next door and a few minutes later returned. They were in school! On Memorial Day. Very odd. Now we've only lived here a few years but I don't remember them being in school on Memorial Day before, maybe because it fell later in the month. Anyway, now Z had two disappointments. I felt sorry for him.

So we opted to go to the park and then the driving range. Tigger and Z have their own clubs. We had to dust them off, that's how often they get used. So I hit a bucket of balls as well. Since I had never done that before I think I did fairly well. When I hit the ball correctly it would go at least 50 yards. I even got a few to 60 or 70. The heat and humidity made it a sweaty experience, but it was fun. Now I'm on the hunt for some clubs. It was an inexpensive family event. We paid 10.00 for three buckets of balls and Z did great.

The boys grilled later in the day while the washed the car. Then we settled in to watch "Andromeda Strain" on TV. Nothing like an alien virus to keep a family together.

On a commerical Tigger went out to the garage. He opens and door and screams "snake in the garage, snake in the garage." Well, he'd been in a mood all day and we thought he was kidding. NOT!! Some little snake, maybe three feet long, was trying to take up residence among the shelving. Tigger was prodding him out with the handle of the broom. That snake was mad! he was hissing and spitting and snapping, he kept trying to wiggle back into the garage. It was quite the show. He finally got him positioned on the handle and placed him back into the woods. It was too dark to see what kind, but angry would be a good description.

It was a fun family day and we've decided the driving range would be a good family outing at least a couple of times a month.

Impromptu Character Lessons

I love it when God points out character lessons. Today he opened an opportunity for us, it was perfect for this morning. Tigger is painting his home office this weekend. He had custom mixed some paint and I was helping him strain it. As a professional he doesn't like chunks in his paint, so he pours it through a mesh filter to remove all the impurities.

While I was holding the filter Z came out to the shed to watch. The conversation went something like this...

Z: That's cool. (he said about the paint dripping through the filter into a 5 gallon bucket)

Me: Do you know why we do this?

Z: Why?

Me: That unfiltered paint doesn't look dirty does it?

Z: No.

Me: Well look at all the stuff that was in there (motioning toward the mesh filter). God sometimes filters us to remove the impurities that we don't even know are there.

Z: Cool.

The Outdoor Hour Challenge #3

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin." Troilus & Cressida (Shakespeare)

That was our theme for this week. We dissected that phrase to our liking. This is our version of the above, "A glimpse of what God created makes everyone family." In other words, when we view the wonders of nature it creates a commonality among us.

This week we did a lot of observation. The dragonflies are coming out, the lizards are pregnant, the flowers are blooming. Here is a tree stump next to our house. This tree actually fell on the house in a hurricane, we didn't live here then. Ants and mushrooms have claimed it as their own.



These flowers are growing in our side yard. They are very tall as you will see in the next photo.

Here is Z, wearing his school uniform :) He is about 52" tall. Lots dragonflies and bees were buzzing around them.
Here is a deceased dragonfly that was by our garage. Z didn't want to look at it, but I found their wings to be quite fascinating. They have a shimmering quality to them. It reminds me of fairies.
Here are some berries randomly growing in our yard.

Nature is an abundant thing in our yard. The previous owners allowed it to grow quite untamed. We have certainly discovered some treasures as we slowly work to tame it. Our yard will never be manicured and pristine, I like its somewhat rustic natural look. We are in a constant battle to keep and find additional square footage in our acerage. Along with all the beautiful thing we also have some not so beautiful. Snakes, which don't bother me. I prefer to see them every once in a while, that way I know where they are. Poison Ivy. I was badly infected last year and this year have it on my leg just from walking around the yard. So observation in what I do best.

We drew in our nature notebooks this week as well. Z drew the giant flowers and I drew the dragonfly. We are enjoying this study and look forward to the weeks to come.

Wordless Wednesday

The outdoor hour challenge #2

Our Nature Study has been quite eventful this week. I have already blogged about our run in with the formosan termites. The plague has passed through thankfully. We started our journals this week and notated what we 1. heard, 2. saw, and 3. felt.

Z's discovery this week was.

1. I heard birds
2. I saw dragonflies and grasshoppers. If you look closely in the photo below you will see grasshoppers. After some googling we believe they are Eastern Lubber grasshoppers. They were all over a specific part of the yard. We have seen them before, but have never captured them on film.


3. I felt the sun, popsicle juice, and grass. Okay the popsicle juice dripping on his sandals was brought into the environment, but it is what he felt. (BOYS!)

Our greatest nature discovery of the week, however, took place just this morning. Z found a feather just off the driveway. A measurement shows it is almost twelve inches long.

We assumed it was an owl feather, as I know we have an owl that lives in our woods. I have conversed with it before, which was a real hoot (No pun intended). A couple of weeks ago I took the dog out at dark and I saw the owl briefly. It must have been sitting in a branch right above it as it swooped down and glided away in the dark. The wingspan was huge!
So, again, after more googling we determined it is a feather from a Great Horned Owl.
Click on the name for more information. It was quite the find this morning, even still has some dirt on the feather. We plan on cleaning up the feather and making it a part of our nature collection. I can't wait to see what else nature may deposit at our door. We have done minimal follow-up for our studies of last week. We did discover a crawfish hole is called a burrow and that our magnolia trees are finally blooming.

HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy Wisdom

Last night Z and I watched "HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy". We had never seen it before and we laughed starting with the opening song, "So long and thanks for all the fish."

So while viewing a you tube presentation of that lovely tune that is now stuck in my head I remind Z that the answer is "42".

He says: "That's probably why 42 is the Travel Channel."

I couldn't stop laughing. "Why would you think that, Z?"

"Because you can go anywhere with the Travel Channel."

Childhood wisdom, makes sense to me.

Nature Study: the Exodus Version

Yesterday morning Z and I did our nature walk. I'll post further on that today. But last night they came. I had been expecting them, had thought perhaps we had even missed them this year. NO! The swarming Formosan termites have returned!

Now I grew up in the mid-west we are quite familiar with termites. They sit in the ground, or your house, and just munch away. Not Formosan termites. They swarm and fly and infest your house like a plague brought down by God!

The first year we moved here we didn't understand how those winged ants were getting in the house. One free visit and mini-educational seminar given by the local exterminator we knew we would be okay. (Big sigh).

The conversation went something like this:

Exterminator guy: "How many did you see?"

Us: "There were about a hundred crawling on my son's bedroom wall." panic in our voices.

Exterminator guy: "Would you say it was more or less than five hundred?" his demeanor still calm.

Us: "You mean there can be more than five hundred?" dramatic music in the background, small child now refusing to ever sleep in his room again.

Exterminator guy: "Oh yeah, if you see less than five hundred you don't have a problem. They swarm through every spring for a couple of weeks. Just close the curtains and keep the lights low and they'll pass on through."

Fast forward two years later. I knew they were coming. Last night I was all settled in the bedroom watching LOST and Z comes into the bedroom. "Dad just found two formosan termites

in the living room."

Then in panic he points at the window behind me, "LOOK!" I turned around and there they were, marching like an army, going up the window by the hundreds. Insert Wilhelm scream.

"Close the curtains." I told Z and proceeded to wait until a commercial to run through the house and make sure it was done. Hey, it's the two part season finale of LOST. I wasn't going to miss a minute. Tigger had to run and shut the garage door. YUCK!

Later that night some had found a way through the cracks in the bedroom window. To a human they are harmless, unless you have a heart attack while one crawls on you in the middle of the night. So I smashed them with my shoe, turned off all the lights and hid under the covers. They also just die overnight after they shed their wings.

Today, in the light, they are gone. Tonight we'll be ready. Bring it on!

For more information on formosan termites click here.

Wordless Wednesday

Tag, You're It!

I have been tagged by Sheralyn from the WTM boards, a fellow LOST junkie. Here are the rules:

1.The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.

2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.

3. At the end of the post, the player tags 5 people and posts their name, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged.


Here goes:What was I doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago Z was eight months old. We were getting ready to move from a 600 sf house into a 1800 sf house, who knew babies had so much stuff. I was enjoying being a stay-at-home-mom while dh was busy being a carpenter.

Five snacks I enjoy:

Anything chocolate
Peanut Butter
Anything in a combination of the above
Popsicles
Ice Cream


In the real world I am:

a good listener
always got my nose stuck in a book
Love to research things
very emotional, have been known to cry at sappy commercials
quiet until I get to know someone, then I have a sarcastic wit. (I learned it all from Hawkeye Pierce) It doesn't transfer to the internet as well.
I'm a straightner, not a cleaner
I love contemporary christian worship and always have something playing
Love palm trees and finally live where they will survive outside
I believe in "Beach therapy". Everyone should be able to go to the beach and stick their toes in the sand as often as possible. I am going through beach withdrawl.

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

Be a philanthropist. Besides the obvious of get out of debt, help our families have some security.
We would travel, doing world geography via seeing the world.

I would have Tigger build me a new house, he would have to do the finish work, that is his great talent. It would have a two story library filled with everything and then some from my wish lists.

We'd buy an RV park and have a special set up for families that travel full time. Tigger could have a golf cart to drive around and chat with everyone. It would, of course, have a library and rooms where families could do their homeschooling.

I'd start a homeschool bookstore with a generous buying policy. I'd hire that one out.

I give back to the homeschooling community in some way. Perhaps a mentorship program pairing up seasoned moms/dads with new homeschooling families. It could all be done online and they would be matched based upon similiar educational goals.

A scholarship or grant program for homeschool families that are going through financial struggles.

I'd take voice and guitar lessons.

I'd take a sabbatical to write.

We'd take martial arts as a family

I'd make an appointment with the dentist

Buy an island and get LOST for a while, then have a giant party

Five jobs that I have had:

cashier/stocker at toy store
animal care assistant at pet store
veterinary assistant at animal hospital: toughest job you never forget
underwriting assistant for large insurance company
co-owned home cleaning business with Tigger: We did all the cleaning. I "retired" from that job to be a SAHM

(I have had assistant tied to many of my jobs. I'm more of a followerer than a leader:)

Three of my habits:

1. I have to eat right when I get up in the morning. I am not a morning person, so I must have my coffee, but I have to eat otherwise my stomach gets upset.

2. I will re-arrange my office several times a year. I used to think it was because I didn't like the arrangment, however I think it goes deeper than that. My office/classroom is now the dining room. We've used it for less than a year and I've re-arranged it three times already. I've finally gotten the major furniture pieces where I like them. School will be done with in three weeks and I'm already thinking of how I can redo the shelves, it all for next year's stuff right?

3. I drink a lot of water, I always have. Getting my 8 glasses a day is never a problem. I should be a fish.

What do you want others to get from your blog?

We don't live close to any family, so it is a good way for them to see what we are doing in school. It's our virtual scrapbook, it's fun to connect with others from all over the country and world. Z is still getting used to having his picture out in the cyber world.

.So now I tag:

CoffeeHeidi
Tisha
Jenn in MO
Karen
Trishy

The Outdoor Hour Challenge #1

Z and I have started taking part in the Green Hour Challenges being offered by Barb at Handbook of Nature Study Blog. For more information please click on the link on the sidebar.

Our challenge this week was to find two items on our nature walk for further study. We are blessed that we truly do not need to leave our yard to pursue nature. One of the first things we encountered was a giant ant mound. These are commonplace in our yard. Here is one that was formed around a stump.



Since we have observed ants multiple times over the time we have lived here, we opted to not study them further at this time.

We did decide to further research crawfish holes. We have them pop up throughout the yard, yet we have yet to see a real crawfish. Our plan is to research them online early this week.






Keeping with the strictly southern theme we also opted to pursue the study of magnolia trees. We have several scattered throughout the yard as well. Z drew a wondeful picture of a magnolia leaf (I'll post a picture of that later).






While we are out in the yard everyday we enjoyed starting our school day with a short nature walk. It was refreshing. We have several more weeks ahead of challenges ahead. We look forward to making this one of our summer activities.

When you look at me, who do you see?

The other day for art I was sketching a profile portrait of Z. I tried to scan the drawing but it was done too lightly. As I was sketching I knew I didn't have the facial features quite right. Stopping to look at it, I realized it looked more grown up than Z. I was having a hard time capturing his childish features that are so adorable. Showing him the portrait he said, "You drew your face and my hair!" I had to laugh, he was right. While he has more of his father overall genetics, he does have my profile and complexion.

It was an eerie moment as a parent to have glimpsed the future in your own drawing.

Wordless Wednesday: in honor of Mother's Day

My mother and Z.

The Original Praise You in the Storm

Like many people I love the song from Casting Crowns, "Praise you in the storm". The lyrics speak to me whenever I hear them.

I'll praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No Matter where I am

Last night I awoke to the sound of thunderstorms. They were the noisy kind. The kind with lots of heavy rain pounding down upon the roof. I finally gave up trying to sleep and got up instead. It was still dark and pouring outside when I sat with my first cup of coffee.

I love the early morning quiet. This morning all I could hear was the sound of my mouse clicking, the rain and one more thing. It was bird singing in the rain and in the dark. I immediately thought of the Casting Crowns song. We have a lot of birds in our yard, it's not unusual to hear a chorus early in the morning. But this morning in the rain there was one lone bird singing. I pictured him perched upon a branch, feathers ruffled to ward off the raindrops, and head lifted high to sing. It was what he was made to do. It didn't matter about the rain or the dark, he just sang anyway.