Higher Ideals

When my mom was a little girl, her dad used to give her a bucket of water and a paintbrush, and tell her to 'paint' the fence. As she would finish up one section, another section would dry and be ready for more. I was reminded of this story when I went out to check on the kids and they explained to me that they had made paintbrushes out of plants and were dipping them in puddles and 'painting' some boards. I so love seeing my kids echo their ancestors.

Did you know that worker bees only live for a little more than a month, but in that time, they can fly hundreds of miles visiting tens of thousands of flowers to make just one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey? When a bee finds a good source of nectar, she’ll go back to the hive and tell the others about it by performing a dance! I had a child start first grade this year, and we’ve been reading science picture books. One author I discovered this round was Candace Fleming – we learned this info about bees from her book Honeybee: The Busy Life of Api Mellifera.

An unanticipated consequence of my daughter’s use of scissors was that her younger brothers got into them after she was done. They explored the new skill of cutting on my Plutarch books. 😭 Upon discovery, my facial expression alone was enough to send the boys into tears. I had to make a rapid decision on how I wanted to proceed. I got them some old newspapers that they could cut to their heart’s content and we discussed the idea that they should only cut things Mommy gives them for cutting. Everybody won (except Plutarch).

I love when my kids re-discover an old pastime – it’s one of the many joys of reading old books. I’m currently reading the oh-so-sweet novel Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace to my six-year-old. After hearing about the girls in the story cutting paper dolls out of old magazines, that’s how my daughter wanted to spend her afternoon.

I came in from letting the chickens out, and my 4-year-old and 6-year-old were squabbling over something minor. I didn't interfere as I believe working through disagreements are an important part of developing social skills. Instead I got started making breakfast. A few minutes later, I heard my 4-year-old telling his older sister, "I still love you, even when I'm mad at you." I glanced over and they were hugging. It made my Mama heart happy.

"Nobody else but the rosebush knows How nice mud feels Between the toes." – from the poem "Mud" by Polly Chase Boyden

Our grass in the back pasture got long enough that we were in danger of losing kids in it, so James finally mowed. I was a bit melancholy because I love seeing the wildflowers out there. When James told me he was done, I looked out and realized he'd mowed around the densest concentrations of flowers, leaving me patches of primroses, just because he knows they brighten my day. It's like bringing me flowers, but better. Feeling so loved. 🥰

🤍 Have a joyful day 🤍

My 12-year-old's latest hobby is making finger puppets for her younger siblings. 🥰

Sometimes I go through periods where I need to take a step back and process life events. I’m currently re-engaging online, catching up on what’s been occurring as the world moved on around me. I thought I would share some posts that have a made me smile and remember what I enjoy about being involved. 🎉 Many, many congratulations to Lord Wolfshield on his wolf-cub!! I can’t wait to meet the Little Lordling in a few weeks and give mama a big hug. 🎲 This post was a such a sweet, feel-good story, which I can always use more of. Also, I loved her earlier post on game-schooling – we do board games and card games once a week with my younger kids, too, as it’s definitely the most engaging way to get my kids excited about numbers. 🌷 This crochet tulip was adorable and I may need the pattern. I have daughter that would love for me to make her one! 🪡 I can always use more cozy crafting posts in my life. Beautiful work, friend. 🐰 Loving the homesteading inspiration. 🔥 What Mandi is able to do with a woodburning pen is 🤯. So much talent. 🏍 Based childhood ASMR indeed. 🌺 This picture was beautiful, but the message was more so and one I needed reminding of lately.

🤍 I love my children and want them to thrive.🤍 Nobody seems to misconstrue this as some bizarre message of hatred against other people's children. 🤍 I love my people–my ancestors and their descendants.🤍 This is also not a statement of hatred against other people. The natural inference of an expression of love is not hate. Love your people proudly.

“I believe that every people on the planet has the right to preserve their heritage, their culture, their unique character, their art, literature, music, values, faith and other characteristics that define them.” – Dr. David Duke

This time of year makes me want to read all the cute anthropomorphic animal stories. 🥰 My current fav are the Mother West Wind stories by Thornton Burgess (which even though he lifted the character name Peter Rabbit, it reminds me more of Kipling's Just So Stories than Beatrix Potter). Some other family favorite series are Brambly Hedge and Frog and Toad. Oh, and while not anthropomorphic, I can't mention sweet animal books without also throwing in James Herriot's Treasury for Children.

A few years ago, we got one of our daughters a circle loom (for knitting). Initially she made hats for everyone she knew. She's since expanded her skills way beyond what I realized was even possible on a circle loom, making things like fingerless gloves and baby doll clothes (just free-form, not following any pattern). This daughter had a recent birthday, so we got her a large wooden knitting loom. I can't wait to see what she does next. I love watching my kids explore their interests.

For our first Tuesday teatime of spring, we thought it would be fun to make dandelion tea! If you haven't tried this yet, it's fun and surprisingly simple. We sweetened ours with local honey and maple syrup. 😋 Bonus points if you drink it outside on a picnic blanket while wearing wildflower crowns!

You don't need all the fancy tools to make something, especially when starting out. I'm a big believer in using what you've got on hand when experimenting with something new. While I'd love for my sourdough to rise in an aesthetic banneton basket, right now it does so in a mixing bowl lined with a floured kitchen towel. I score my bread with an x-acto knife I had in our craft supplies. I pulled our Dutch oven out of our camping supplies, and accordingly, it has little legs that make using it in the oven a bit of a pain. We work with what we've got and will make upgrades over time. And in the meantime, my loaves are beautiful and delicious, no matter how messy the process.

I always use the same lid for my active sourdough starter (or as my little guy calls it, my 'flour-dough'). I often leave my freshly fed starter in the oven to bubble. One time I had fed my starter the night prior and went to preheat my oven the following morning when making breakfast. The oven was over 200 degrees when I suddenly remembered my starter. I frantically pulled it out of the oven and when I grabbed the lid (with an oven mitt), the lid was so hot it melted. It's now my friendly reminder to be aware of what may be in the oven before pre-heating it.

Welcome Spring!! We've missed you.

It's fascinating to me when I see glimpses of innate differences between my sons and my daughters. I've always heard that boys are more likely to prefer non-fiction over fiction. I definitely see this with my own kids. Even at 4-years-old, my son loves non-fiction books, especially with colorful photos, asking for them to be re-read with just as much frequency as story books (something my girls rarely did). I like to get books relevant to what's going on in our lives, so right now we have a bunch of books about chickens. My son loves being read these books and pointing out commonalities between them.

It's beginning to feel like spring. Our house is filled with the cheeping of chicks...