Resurrection Garden

Last year I had wanted to make a Resurrection Garden. This is a miniature garden with a tomb and any other items you want that represent the events of Holy week. A remembrance garden as it were. Time often gets away from me and we never got it done. This year we all worked together and made a nice garden.

Gabe fashioned the tomb for us out of clay. He put a shelf in the tomb where the body would lay and made a big rock that would seal the tomb.



Rachel, Hannah and Dan helped fill the pot with soil.  Brian made the cross from two spikes and some wire.  We gathered some brambles to make a crown of thorns.  We all took a walk down to the brook to gather rocks and managed to get in some rock skipping while we were there.  We found moss in our woods to fill in around the plants. We added a little plastic container for a pond.

I love how it came out.  

This has been a fun and meaningful project.  We will most likely change some elements throughout the week as each day passes and the we read of the events leading up to Resurrection Sunday.

Finally Some Spring

Friday finally brought us a bit of warmer weather...still a bit chilly, but nicer (Don't let the children fool you with their short-sleeved shirts...it was still cool.).

Brian dragged the grill out of the garage and we had our first grilling of the season. Nothing says spring like the smell of the bbq.

The children enjoyed all sorts of activities from riding their bikes and playing in the sandbox and with the chalkboard to exploring the woods and finding a cache of old bottles. Some looked quite old and I confiscated these for myself!

Brian, Bess and I did some garden work. We raked off the house perennial garden and cut back all the dead stalks. This of course should probably have been done in the fall, but winter seemed to come upon us quite quickly last year.

There are a few things blooming or close to blooming in the garden. Each year it is so encouraging to see how much of the garden is indeed coming back. With our severe weather, one is never quite sure what to expect.

Spring?

Spring is here, you can see and hear the signs, but the weather sure hasn't been told yet.

Despite the fact that the birds are singing their little hearts out and starting to show their summer plumage and the peepers are peeping and the sun staying around longer, the temps have been cold. It has been windy and rainy and yes we had snow most days last week.

All this lousy weather has not deterred the children in the least. With winter boots, coats, hats and gloves, they have been spending hours outside each day, breathing in the fresh air and having a grand ole' time.

This heavy duty three-wheeled trike, a gift from a friend, is a perennial favorite and despite the fact that the handle-bars fell off, the children have been logging a lot of miles on this thing.

This photo is blurry, but can you see the joy on their faces. They have so much fun going around and around the yard. And I think most likely, just enjoying being able to be outside so much.

PS-Brian repaired the handlebars tonight. The children will be good to go tomorrow.

Spring Arrivals

Our last two spring visitors have arrived. Each year we eagerly await the arrival of the Rose-breasted Grosbeak and the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds. I spotted both of them this week. I think these are the last of our summer birds.

The male grosbeak is so beautiful and has a wonderful song. I have heard it referred to as a robin who as has had singing lessons.

I snapped this picture out our kitchen window. Apologizes on the graininess, our windows are 160+ years old and quite wavy. (And probably a bit dirty also.)

I have not been able to catch the busy hummingbirds yet. I'll need to post myself for a bit to snap a shot of them.

Now I feel like spring is really here.

Another Lovely Spring Day

It was a bit cooler today, but still a lovely blue spring day.

We made a library run this morning. I love the library, so many possibilities for enjoyment and enrichment. We spent most of the rest of day outside. We are loving this long stretch of gorgeous weather. It didn't take Gabe and Dan long to find a patch of water and they were soaked. They always manage to get water from somewhere.

I love this red tulip

Isn't the inside just beautiful?
The Vinca is blossoming
And the Quince

What heavenly days we have been having...the gorgeous blue skies and so much green emerging and covering everything with this fuzzy bit of color. As were we driving home from VT yesterday it was very apparent as the color creeps up the side of the mountain. Each day brings the colors closer to the peaks. It will be a few weeks yet before it will make to the top, but it is on it's way now.

More Blooms in the Garden

The first of the Tulips opened up today. I took this later in the day, so it had closed up a bit, but it was beautiful.


Our Plum trees are loaded with blossoms this year. I hope that means a good crop of plums.

Daffodils

There are quite a few different Daffodils blooming in the garden right now. I don't know any of the names. I'm really quite terrible at keeping records. I buy, plant and enjoy! I am going to try and do a better job this year of keeping track of things in the garden.

Wonderful Spring Day

Brian had the day off today. It is always a treat when Bri is home on a week day.

Brian and Bess headed into town to get Bess some new runner shoes. Brian discovered this great running store that does a great job helping you pick the right shoe for your foot and your running style.

While they were gone, the younger group and I did some schoolwork. Gabe has been working hard on earning tickets for doing his schoolwork well and without complaint. Thanks, De'Etta for the reminder about the tickets. It is working very well.

Bessie promptly took a run when she got home and declared her new shoes a big improvement over her old ones. It really does make a difference to get the right equipment.

We had a high temperature of 77 degrees F today. It was heavenly. We spent the whole afternoon outside. The kids played and Bri and I did chores around the yard.

We have a large pile of "stuff" in the back of our yard. It consists of demolition debris and bits and pieces of various construction projects. Brian started burning it today. He build a secure burning pit and got a good start on cleaning it up. It will take several more sessions, but it was nice to see the pile dwindling.

I've been planning various new gardens and features to existing gardens. We are hoping to put another water feature in the fenced garden we started last year. I want to map out and graph my whole "room" this year, which consists of several gardens. It is hard for me to keep track of what plants are where as tags and plant markers never seem to stay put. This will be a big job, but a fun one.

Later in the afternoon we hooked up a sprinkler for the kids to play in. What fun a little bit of water can be.

Gabe and Gracie relaxing in the shade

The kids had a fun time on the tire swing.

We ordered out for subs and wings for dinner. Gabe was determined to break his record of seven wings. He is not a very big eater, so this seemed a huge feat for him. He was quite pleased with this gastronomic accomplishment. (Check out the huge pile of napkins!)

Another Lovely Spring Day

This week is spring break in our neck of the woods. We rarely follow the school year calendar, but we decided to take a day off today. It was another lovely day outside and it has been so wonderful to enjoy the sun and fresh air.

We made a library run to two of our local libraries. Our librarians are so wonderful and they seem genuinely pleased to see the kids. One of the ladies said we were their best customers. I do think we help keep their book census up. I know we would not be able do our schooling as frugally without such a great local library system.

Two shots from the woods behind our house

Our chickens have become so tame. They follow Bessie around the yard waiting for a handout of stale bread or corn.

Yowzer the cat enjoying the sun
Our neighbor plowed the field across the road today. I love watching the tractor move up and down the field tilling up the rich brown earth. Our Guinea fowl roamed the field for hours after he was done, pecking at all the worms and bugs the tractor stirred up. Some years he plants corn and other years he plants a silage mix. We will have to wait until planting day to see which will go in this year.

Brian finished up the raking around the house after he got home. We have three separate areas of our yard. In the landscaping world, they call these separate areas "rooms". The room between the house, garage and pool, is sort of my part of the yard. This is where all my flower gardens are and this is also where we have cookouts and relax when we have company over. I am pretty firm about not letting the kids ride their bikes here as it makes paths on the lawn. (Aren't I terrible!?) The side to the east of the garage is the kids room. This is a larger area and is great for riding bikes, playing ball, using the tramp and swingset. Behind the pool is where we have the vegetable garden. The chicken coop, shed and other misc. stuff (aka woodpile, brush pile and assorted bits of junk) is also back there. I am always glad when "my room" gets raked off and cleaned up. I can start working on my gardens in earnest now. Brian and I have lots of ideas for new features and added gardens this year.

Enjoying the Sunshine

What a balm the last few days have been to our winter weary minds and bodies. The temp has been in the 60s and the sun has been shining bright. After our long, dreary winter, we are basking in the warmth and glow of the sun.

Brian was home this morning until noon. He raked off the gardens around the front of the house and along the west side yard.

I tried to keep the kids in and get some work done, but that didn't last long. A beautiful day and dad home...this is one of the many reasons we love homeschooling, the flexibility of changing our plans at a moments notice.

Two boys and a dog

We had our last regular co-op meeting today. This is a great group of families. I'm not sure how it will work next year as we seem to have two groups within the group, those that like a looser format and those that want more structure. I would hate to see the group split, but that may end up happening.

The kids enjoy their lunch al Fresco

Hmmm...a sled, hat and bug net, what is he thinking?

We have been doing Meet The Masters at co-op. This is a wonderful curriculum. We do it in two week sessions. The first week we go over the DVD and study the artists life and artwork. The second week the kids try their hand at doing their own artwork using the method, technique or medium that was used by the artist. This week we finished up studying Paul Gauguin.

Later after we got home, this is what I found on our outdoor slateboard. I guess the kids really enjoyed this weeks art lesson as they all took turns drawing a Gauguin style tree. I love homeschooling!