Nature Mobiles

Walkin along... singin a song... Seriously, one of my kids at the day care has a song stuck in his head at two years old that he sings out loud.  "All by myself" I wish I could record him singing it and attach it here.  We took a little walk last week, went down a woodsy path, collected nature items and came back to the day care and made some "tute" hanging mobiles out of our finds.  This, in my opinion, is the easiest way to display woodsy treasures.  I totally plan on making my own when we go four wheeling because I am always picking stuff up.  Plus we will have one kid with us and by golly I'm taking some yarn for us just incase.  And probably some glitter.  You can't tell I am excited to go out of town can you?  I just turned this post completely around to our trip again.  Yay me!

 

 

 

Yes.. it is seriously that easy.  So grab a kid and take a hike!  Not.. grab a kid.. like any random kid.  Your own kid or maybe just yourself... kid.  Pick up things that are just laying around and make something.  I really dig mobiles right now.  Sticks and stones, leaves and pine cones... that's what mobiles are made of.  wink wink

 



image inspiration

 

 

 

 

I found this post that included not only an Autumn woods walk with kids but stringing found acorns.  I immediately thought of two places to go to that usually have an abundance of acorns in a couple of different sizes.  If the deer haven't eaten them or the red squirrels haven't snatched them already.  We can totally walk there in a good fifteen minutes and gather up what we need.  The drilling holes part would be more up to me and the older kids.  I will have to hit up Shaun for his tiniest drill bit because I know for sure I broke mine.  They're so delicate.  I love these!!!  Oh and the one picture in her home that shows antlers, feathers and books OH MY!  I love to see her son with the hatchet.  Makes me want to turn the boys here loose with one but scares me too.  They would love it.

 

Found on www.soulemama.com or click the pic for a direct link to the post.

 

 

Totally sold with the glitter... who doesn't know that about me?

 

A tip from her blog post....

(*A note about acorn crafting. I prefer to bake the acorns for an hour at 180 in the oven, to kill the grubs inside, rather than having them fall out as the acorns age. And we use a small drill bit to make holes in them, easy for stringing.)

 

 

 

Why oh why have I never done this or even thought of it??? When on walks or in the playground the kids and I spot mushrooms.  I seldom know what they are.  I generally advise the kids not to touch them and just leave them alone.  I'm funny about what they do with nature... even when they catch things that are alive I am adamant about them not harming them.  This post is from the same blog www.soulemama.com .  I have already looked up her books and have them coming from the library.  But this shows her with her children and a mushroom guide book which I know my library possesses.  The kids and I are for sure doing this.  We will go for a walk and learn by collecting mushrooms and trying to identify them using a guide.  How much fun!!! I mean seriously... look at that purple one they found! 

 

 

 

And I want to... have to... do this at the day care next year.  A pumpkin/gourd tunnel.  Even a small one... no a walk through one, where the fruits of your labor idly hang down in the center underneath for easy picking.  Bonus! You can mow underneath it... I think.  I would love one.

 

Yep... same blog www.soulemama.com I love finding a new to me blog and staying on it the entire naptime at the day care.  One that is filled with inspiration that fills my head with ideas of all sorts.

 

 

 

I must stop the madness of sharing this wonderful blog with you and all of the Image Inspiration.  Go see for yourself.  Her photography is wonderful and her life seems precious and nurturing. 



let's play a game

The Robertson County Fair is next week and this will be the fifth consecutive year that I have had entries.  I mainly enter in the amateur photography and canning sections but have been known to venture into others.  I have to take my entries this coming Sunday and have just about waited until the last minute.  Which, is why I need your help and am calling it a game!  I need help choosing which picture to enter in the Nature-Color division.  If you could just choose your favorite from the following pictures and let me know.  I am going to temporarily open up my comments for this so please feel free to use that or you can email me your vote.  I would completely appreciate the help!  Thanks a bunch!

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babies everywhere

As I was unloading my beautiful seedlings/plants at the house after work yesterday, I couldn't help but notice that I was being watched.  From the basement I could see an Eastern Bluebird flying from the back side of the house to the trees, an Eastern Phoebe nearby in a tree watching me who has a nest underneath our porch and a pair of Carolina Wrens, one very verbally talking to his mate and the other with a mouthful of food or maybe building supplies.  We have several places purposely put out for our feathered friends around the outside of our home and this spring the birds are making good use of them.  I had to make supper and didn't have time to pull up a chair and wait around for pictures of the busy parents but I did want to share their homes.  And I did spy some sweet little Phoebe fuzzy heads in the nest.  Mrs Phoebe built in a better spot this year where she will be able to use her nest again.  Last year her first attempt fell and the second served it's purpose but wound up falling too.  

The bluebird house.

The wren household.

Mrs Phoebe's nest and fuzzy heads.

The sparrow family home.  They flew from the nest last Sunday.

And this is the Mourning Dove that is nest in the tree outside my bathroom window.  She has quite the camo going on.

She is actually to the left of the split in the crook of a fallen dead branch.  You can't see her in this picture.  I was making her nervous so I let her be.

We also have Starling babies in the shop which we aren't pleased with.  It's harder to get rid of them with little cheeps coming from the nests.  

I am positive I wouldn't have to go far to spy more nests of different kinds of birds.  It's amazing how close by the birds with nest to each other creating a wonderful kind of natural harmony.  Maybe a bird watch is in order for the weekend.

weekend shots

on a tuesday.  yesterday was a day of no computer for me.  purposely done... i just wasn't interested in turning it on one bit.  not positive i am totally in to it this morning but i wanted to share my weekend shots.  just like me walking in the woods to see what is blooming, if i miss a weekend or skip my walk i will for sure miss something that is in bloom, as will you, i feel, if i don't share my shots.  it all happens so fast this time of year.  a few weeks ago the trees were bare and now you can't see through the woods for all the green.  i am enjoying every minute of spring this year and feel it is going way too rapidly.  i did get some thyme and mint planted after work yesterday, some rabbit cooked for friends sunday night, and my seventh yoga class on saturday.  

 the only morel i saw this year :(

katie bug... cleaning up the creek.

did you know?

that this "spit" that you see on plants is actually housing a bug?  it's called a spiddlebug.  females plant an egg into a plant stem and as the bug forms it blows little bubbles out of it's toosh that form it's protective spit until it's ready to fly off.  i always wondered what exactly this spit was.  i figured it was some kind of egg sack.  we learned this at the day care from this fantastic book.

weekend shots

My sister and I visited a barn sale in Madison on Friday.  These are a few of my favorite pictures.

Easter centerpiece decor maybe?

A tulip in my yard.

I wrote this last weekend on Sunday morning when it was raining.

One of my favorite finds.

Found a few violets blooming already.  Not enough for violet jelly.

My very favorite find!  Funny when asking for be directed to any morels if they are there I didn't expect to come away with an arrowhead, that in my opinion, is shaped like a small morel.  When I looked down and saw it in my path I smiled and said "my what a sense of humor you have."

The trout lilies are blooming by Sunday

Fire Pinks soon to bloom.

Frog eggs soon to hatch.

Katie Bug swimming.

I love this picture of her barking.  Which she is very loud when swimming.

Hiking buddy and niece Kris.

Another hiking buddy, sister Tracy.