Sunday Hikes

We've been living here in this beautiful area for almost two years now. There's always something to do around the house and certainly on the farm, but we're also surrounded by wonderful outdoor opportunities beyond our little hilltop that we want to take advantage of more often.

I have been inspired by Renee at FIMBY (Fun In My Backyard) (and also at AdventureinProgress) and her family's plan to set aside one day a week to spend as a family, observing a sort of sabbath and exploring the outdoors beyond their own backyard. Check out this post for both inspiration and practical tips to make it happen.

So three weeks ago we set out on our first Sunday afternoon outdoor adventure. And two weeks ago we did another. And yesterday, yet another! I think we're catching on. Right now, what is working for us is to set aside Sunday afternoons for this. The hardest part for me is to not think about all the things that need to be done here at home- a house to be cleaned, clothes to be washed, things to be planted, weeded, etc., but I'm getting the hang of that part, too.

I waited to see if this new plan really had a chance of "sticking" before I blogged about it, so now I have three to to report on. Here are some photos from our first outing- at Douthat State Park. Soon to follow are the other two- and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to make a habit of keeping up with our weekly outings (boating is high on the kids' list once it warms up a bit more!) and a weekly post about it...

 



 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Just so you know it isn't just my mind that gets lost around here...

Time for Tea

Spring is uber-busy here on the farm, but never too busy for tea! And it helps when the friends who come for tea (or coffee!) happen to love planting trees and weeding the garden... especially when they bring rhubarb pie...

 

Ssssspring Visitor

It's that time of year! And we're now adding variety to our snake sightings. Meet our friendly neighborhood Eastern Garter snake.

 

 

Play ball!

Among other things going on here this spring:

 

Piling Up

Lots has been going on around here and I have have all sorts of photos to show and stories to tell, I just haven't been willing to give up sleep to pull it all together in a coherent form.

Soon to come- seed starting, trash & treasures, crazy chickens and lots of outdoor fun... yay for the coming of spring!

Sorry, Houseplants

Please note that the title is not "Sorry Houseplants" but "Sorry, Houseplants"-- I don't need them to get any more of a complex. You see, they're getting booted from the lovely, sunny front window. It's time for seed starting, folks. So here, a quick visual ode to the houseplants, before they get moved to random corners of the house to make room for their food-producing cousins.

 

I think I'll make room for the oxalis to stay. Its pot is small and it is a family heirloom of sorts, handed down through many hands before a sample was mine. And it does have that shamrock-y shape that demands it stays at least through March.

 

But there is this dilemma- a brave little volunteer melon of some sort has sprouted in one of the peace lilies, no doubt a result of my children's seed spitting contests last summer when this pot was next to the front stoop.

 

I'll see what I can do for the little fella. Frankly, I think his chances are pretty slim, but because I tend to pull for underdogs, and he really has battled the odds, maybe I could transplant him to a pot that can fit in the windowsill. It seems at least a little effort on my part is in order so he can get a spot in the sunlight...

 

Happy March, Y'all!

Flashback Friday: March 2006

I thought this video was appropriate given the sibling rivalry theme of yesterday. This is in our kitchen when we lived in Memphis.




In case you can't make out the audio, Emma is shouting, "No Evans" and, surprise, Evan is shouting, "No Emmas".

Ironically, the inspiration was a peace march we had attended a couple days before.

Lest You Idealize

We may be surrounded by the peace of nature up here on our hilltop, but sibling rivalry (sibling reality?) often shakes things up.

Those of you who keep up with us on Facebook will have to forgive my redundancy. There, the caption for this photo read, "I suppose if I were a different kind of mother I would be intervening instead of taking pictures..."

 I could blame it on being distracted by my new pocket-size camera that I can whip out at a moment's notice, but I have had this problem for longer than that. We were looking through some of the 35,000+ pictures (no, I am not exaggerating) on the external hard drive and I have quite a selection of photos of children whining, crying, arguing and fighting. These certainly don't represent the bulk of what I have- most are your usually sweet, smiling, adorable children standards. Truth be told, I find it difficult to get the camera near Eli without him putting on a huge, showy grin- a la Gilderoy Lockhart.

I do have a parenting philosophy that finds me stepping back to let the kids figure things out for themselves sometimes (and, no, when they've resorted to fisticuffs isn't usually one of those times), but I also enjoy looking back through photos and remembering the not-so-perfect moments. It is easy for me to get nostalgic about how much happier/better-behaved/easy everyone was when I look through the recorded moments of the highlights. Having a few of the not-so-shining moments- both of childhood and parenthood!- helps me keep things in perspective.

So, how about you? Have some "reality photos" to share? I'm planning to dig through the archives for some of mine- there are videos, too!

Wordless Wednesday