More creek moving
Well, they did move the creek around some more.:)
Picked John up this afternoon and brought him back here. Just as I was packing up food for Rock Creek, a big, black thundercloud moved in with some dramatic lightning and rain. The kids were really bummed, thinking we wouldn't go.
I pulled out the pasta machine and made some sheets of pasta with Jalen and Sierra for lasagne. It's been so long, that Sierra couldn't remember having homemade pasta! Our new kitchen is ideal for it, with the island counters that stick out just enough.
They helped sprinkle cheese, stir ingredients and layer pasta. The best part is rolling the blobs of dough through the Atlas machine of course. By the time it was finished, the rain had left and a cloudy haze remained. We decided to take a chance and loaded up the van.
Rock Creek was perfect today. The cloud cover made for a very comfortable (but damp) temperature. The creek moving went beautifully, with everyone building layer upon layer and restacking stones for the best dam.
In the end, they decided to make a small opening down the series of dams, forcing the water to rush very quickly through the opening. At the bottom, it spilled into a pool they dammed up with a log. It looked really cool. I'd venture to say they figured out how rapids work, but maybe not. The important thing is, it was FUN.
The rainbow trout had a small snack of old bread and after 1.5 hours of swimming, creek moving and "competitions" (like see how long you can sit in cold water) we were hungry enough to give up on grapes, and head home for lasagne. Oh, and the sun even made an appearance towards the end, shining right over the swimming hole.
Tonight's feast was declared the "best lasagne ever" by all children (other than Jalen, who does not eat lasagne). We also adapted a recipe for a strawberry tort and turned it into a blackberry thingamajig instead. Man, was it GOOD!
I wish I could say it was the blackberries growing around the perimiter of our property, but alas, they were frozen. We did pick enough for our crepes yesterday morning though.
I read something about how to attract wildlife to your yard recently. It said "plant a native species garden" and I had to LAUGH! PLANT ONE? How about leave your yard alone for long enough and you'll magically have one.:)
I have wild blackberries surrounding our yard, honeysuckle, yarrow and other wildflowers everywhere. I can't keep the wildlife OUT of my garden, who needs to plant anything? HA.
Speaking of wildlife, there was an adorable rabbit hopping around my garden and up my mown paths (through my natural wildlife habitat thank you) and we have seen three deer this week...though not in our yard. Also spotted a fox coming home from work the other day. Hopefully, whatever is tearing up my large garden bed will find somewhere else to dig, I'm tired of finding holes each day.
After dinner, we went to jump on the trampoline, right as twilight set in. The fireflies started to come out and I laid down to watch the evening unfold. I mentioned sleeping on the trampoline, which they thought was a great idea except for the bug problem. So we set up the tent instead. I sat out there with them in the dark, watching the lightning, now off on the horizon. I said "look at the show we're getting" referring to the lovely lighted clouds that flashed.
"Look at the stars givin' us a show too" Jalen says. Sure enough, it was clear enough to see stars overhead.
"And the fireflies" adds Sierra.
Yep, mother nature offers quite an array of lights, with the added benefit of a cricket chorus. Beautiful evening on many levels.
Two small people are out there waiting for me, with blankets and flashlights now. Maybe I can catch the garden thief tonight (insert evil laughter here).
Picked John up this afternoon and brought him back here. Just as I was packing up food for Rock Creek, a big, black thundercloud moved in with some dramatic lightning and rain. The kids were really bummed, thinking we wouldn't go.
I pulled out the pasta machine and made some sheets of pasta with Jalen and Sierra for lasagne. It's been so long, that Sierra couldn't remember having homemade pasta! Our new kitchen is ideal for it, with the island counters that stick out just enough.
They helped sprinkle cheese, stir ingredients and layer pasta. The best part is rolling the blobs of dough through the Atlas machine of course. By the time it was finished, the rain had left and a cloudy haze remained. We decided to take a chance and loaded up the van.
Rock Creek was perfect today. The cloud cover made for a very comfortable (but damp) temperature. The creek moving went beautifully, with everyone building layer upon layer and restacking stones for the best dam.
In the end, they decided to make a small opening down the series of dams, forcing the water to rush very quickly through the opening. At the bottom, it spilled into a pool they dammed up with a log. It looked really cool. I'd venture to say they figured out how rapids work, but maybe not. The important thing is, it was FUN.
The rainbow trout had a small snack of old bread and after 1.5 hours of swimming, creek moving and "competitions" (like see how long you can sit in cold water) we were hungry enough to give up on grapes, and head home for lasagne. Oh, and the sun even made an appearance towards the end, shining right over the swimming hole.
Tonight's feast was declared the "best lasagne ever" by all children (other than Jalen, who does not eat lasagne). We also adapted a recipe for a strawberry tort and turned it into a blackberry thingamajig instead. Man, was it GOOD!
I wish I could say it was the blackberries growing around the perimiter of our property, but alas, they were frozen. We did pick enough for our crepes yesterday morning though.
I read something about how to attract wildlife to your yard recently. It said "plant a native species garden" and I had to LAUGH! PLANT ONE? How about leave your yard alone for long enough and you'll magically have one.:)
I have wild blackberries surrounding our yard, honeysuckle, yarrow and other wildflowers everywhere. I can't keep the wildlife OUT of my garden, who needs to plant anything? HA.
Speaking of wildlife, there was an adorable rabbit hopping around my garden and up my mown paths (through my natural wildlife habitat thank you) and we have seen three deer this week...though not in our yard. Also spotted a fox coming home from work the other day. Hopefully, whatever is tearing up my large garden bed will find somewhere else to dig, I'm tired of finding holes each day.
After dinner, we went to jump on the trampoline, right as twilight set in. The fireflies started to come out and I laid down to watch the evening unfold. I mentioned sleeping on the trampoline, which they thought was a great idea except for the bug problem. So we set up the tent instead. I sat out there with them in the dark, watching the lightning, now off on the horizon. I said "look at the show we're getting" referring to the lovely lighted clouds that flashed.
"Look at the stars givin' us a show too" Jalen says. Sure enough, it was clear enough to see stars overhead.
"And the fireflies" adds Sierra.
Yep, mother nature offers quite an array of lights, with the added benefit of a cricket chorus. Beautiful evening on many levels.
Two small people are out there waiting for me, with blankets and flashlights now. Maybe I can catch the garden thief tonight (insert evil laughter here).
posted by Ren Allen | 10:44 PM
1 Comments:
Makes me so lonesome for you guys! Ahhhhh, summer!!!
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