{pretty happy funny real}

...capturing the context of contentment in everyday life with Like Mother, Like Daughter...

{pretty}

I added this {pretty} window box to the chicken coop this year.  The simplest additions to the yard are always my favorite.

This begonia was a Mother's Day gift from the kids.  It's been blooming profusely and is quite {pretty} if I do say so myself.  A few years ago I took notice of the beautiful, huge flower baskets welcoming customers at the feed store.  I asked what fertilizer they used and she pointed me to Tiger Bloom.  I tossed out my Miracle-Gro (which was way too hot and always burning off my plants) and started using Tiger Bloom.  It's awesome.  I fertilize every Thursday with a mix of 2 capfuls/gallon of water.

{happy}
So much happiness in the summer.

Blurry, but she was moving fast, people.  Amber runs Pearl in the gymkhana games.  Last night she placed for the first time at this arena - 4th place in pole bending.  She was so {happy}.

Kids helping in the garden is oh, so {happy}.

Having enough free time for fishing makes me {happy}.

Winning first place at BMX = more {happy}.

Very, Very {happy} is plucking fresh cherry tomatoes for breakfast right from the patio plant.

{funny}

Joseph feeling the gap after just losing a tooth.  His little tongue was flicking in the gap all day.

{real}

I really wish this were not {real}, but Joe dumped a little less than a quart of milk on the living room rug.  The threat of spoiled, stinking milk made my decision to haul the rug outside for a good hosing an easy one.  But where do you drip dry a 10' x 12' area rug?  Over the 4-wheeler, of course.  I sure hope it dries before the predicted thunderstorms this afternoon.

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What About Socialization?

We field this question more than any others. Well meaning onlookers are wondering if, as homeschoolers, we ever get out with other people. I'm not sure if they think we hole up, never needing groceries or library books or visits with relatives or animal feed. I do know that many people don't think of that as socialization. For most, childhood socialization means getting together with like aged kids and doing what kids do: talk, laugh, play games, listen to music, eat snacks, ride bikes, etc. Let's just clarify what socialization means. According to my Webster's College Dictionary socialization is 1. a continuing process whereby an individual learns and assimilates the values and behavior patterns appropriate to his or her culture and social position. I interpret that as being able to get along in the world: knowing how to be courteous to the grocery checker, postal clerk and garbage man, understanding the benefit of asking for help at the library, fabric store and county park and most importantly conversing with all age groups in a kindly fashion. Socialization really isn't about friends of the same age hanging out together. The next word in the dictionary is socialize, 4th definition is to associate or mingle sociably with others. This is what I think most people think about when they ask homeschoolers about socialization. Do they have friends? OR Are they social misfits? I have to stop here without really communicating all I think about this issue because I really wanted to say that yes homeschoolers (the ones I know) socialize.

Another mom and I organized St. Francis Nature Club and we met for our first of 6 gatherings at a local county park. We had 10 kids (age 15, 12, 11, 9, 8, 7, 5, 3, 1, 1) at the first gathering and next week another family will be there bringing our total to 16 kids. We had a great time eating lunch, playing all sorts of made up kid games at the playground and then walking, talking and exploring nature together. Our theme was early signs of spring and the kids found things like violets and drew them in their journals, tree buds, shades of green, frogs, dead crayfish parts, a spider web, poison ivy, stinging nettle, wood ticks, ants and clam and snail shells. They played a bit longer, shared what they found and said goodbye until next week. Three full hours of SOCIALIZING and learning of course, but it seems most onlookers aren't concerned with academics. It's all about the socializing.

Flowers: (top) Spring Beauty; (bottom) White Trout Lily

A Walk Around the Yard

Finally a sunny and somewhat warm day. I actually pulled myself away from all my indoor obligations and took to the outdoors just to soak up the sun. It really helped my mood as well. Here's what I found beautiful while watering flowers and enjoying the newly mown lawn.

In My Backyard

When I walk out the door I see so many different things, but today a few things just needed to be acknowledged and here they are.

Diamond, the kitty with only 8 lives left.

Isn't she cute? Sara, our 5 year old lab
Chickens...they only have a few months before butchering time.
Ducklings...freebies from the neighbor.

They are cute and so fun to watch as they eat the water plants through the cage.

I don't know the variety of day lily, but they bloom profusely every July, even in dry conditions.The Astilbe, just past peak bloom.

I was surprised by the lovely scent of petunias this year. I hadn't noticed other years, maybe because they weren't in my daily path. I mixed in the pansies, which always look like little faces peeking at me.
I couldn't resist the line up of four chairs waiting to be sat on by anxious kids waiting for the nightly fireworks lighting.

Now, back inside for a couple of canning pictures.

Rhubarb can be picked unti July4th and then it needs to rest and store up energy for the long winter. On the very last day of the season I pulled as much as I could and then made rhubarb juice. It was incredibly easy, tastes delicious and now I wish I had been making this all season. I guess I'll have to wait until next year; it'll be back. 4 quarts won't last long, but if I hide it at the back of my canning shelves, I can pull it out in January for a refreshing taste of spring.

And since the canning supplies were up from the basement, I made a batch of cranberry juice. I am a cranberry grower's wife and this was my first time ever attempting juice. I used a simple recipe. Just drop in the cranberries, add sugar and boiling water, seal and can. Wait 2 months then strain fruit off and serve over crushed ice. Sounds good, we'll see how it tastes....in two months, which will be right around Lou's 6th birthday.

Nature Observations

The geese are traveling as families, now that the goslings have hatched. The pair in front of the house have two and the upper pond pair have at least six goslings. We've been watching a Bald Eagle fly over quite often, one time with a fish in its talons. Quite possibly it's waiting for the Loon babies. Last year one baby perished by the talons of an eagle, hopefully this year the Loons all survive. The bullfrogs are out in full force. Last night they were calling loudly, garumph, garumph. Today the kids were trying to catch them in the main ditch, no luck. The nets were worked hard last year and not much is left to them. We'll have to check out the dollar stores; that's where we found them last year for two bucks a piece. More than worth it. Wednesday morning we noticed the swarms of dragonflies. That could only mean one thing, the deer flies are out. Dragonflies feast on deer flies, which make them my friend. Not to mention their lacy, and sometimes colorful, wings and bodies. DH has actually had a dragonfly swoop down, capture a deer fly and munch on it right on his arm. Snake season is upon us. This is the time of year I do not wear flip flops around the yard. Those sneaky snakes have a way of appearing out of nowhere. Yesterday DH and I saw an almost 5 foot pine snake on our way to the mailbox. Sara, the not real bright dog, just walked over top the snake, stepped on its head and then was snapped at and looked at us like, what just happened? We've seen a couple of garter snakes on the road sunning themselves, as well.



Now, in the line of plants. The roses are beginning to bloom. It's going to be a spectacular bloom year, all the bushes are just loaded with buds. Blackberry picking, in August, can't come soon enough for Lee and I. We've been noticing the brambles are loaded with blooms. We've had good rain this week, with just enough warmth that pollination should be good. The petals are fully
open and inviting. The kids and I took a wildflower walk this week. Grace brought along her Wildflowers of Wisconsin book and we noted all the flowers we found.



Indian Hemp
Wild Strawberry
Pussytoes

Star Flower

Common Cinquefoil

White and Blue Violets
False Lily of the Valley
Lupine

By just slowing our walk to an almost crawl, it's amazing what can be seen when one peers closely at the forest floor. This week's walk was in an upland deciduous habitat. Next week we plan on taking a walk in the creek bottoms where we'll have a different variety of wild flowers.