you can learn a lot from flower gardens

We are expanding our flower garden to be a little longer. Now don't confuse me with someone who actually gardens or does it well! I just figured it would look better going the entire length of the garage instead of stopping half way. Insert mini me. She obviously wants to help.

We dug out the existing border edge and yanked up the grass in the new garden spot. We went and picked out a few new plants to start. She helped me transplant and water. We plan to pick up more plants at the new store that just opened in Rockton for all our flower needs! I am hoping that it will be a constant rotation of colors, flowers and plants in bloom throughout the year.

I need more garden pavers and a few more filler plants and voila. We will be done. I honestly got the plant Hen&Chicks because that is just adorable. No idea what it will look like. Don't even care. The name sold me!

Now we can weed the vegetable and the flower garden together. Do I hear bonding time? Yep. Do I hear less work for me? Yep. Do I hear instilling a sense of pride and accomplishment? Yep. Did I take it too far? Yep. Don't even care! We will have pretty flowers to look at while we chill on the deck. 

kitchen fun

We had a rainy day and needed to do something fun. The best part of these moments is that I don't need to look far for fun entertainment. We have science kits, weaving kits, inventor kits, sewing kits, bracelet making kits, you name it. On this particular day, I looked into the big pile of stuff that doesn't get used as much. We settled on the Big Bag of Science Fun.

There were so many ideas in the book that we didn't even know where to start. Whoever came up with these things deserves a huge bonus check! The directions are easy to read and understand. There are mini lessons about what types of science you are using. There are pictures and fun facts.

One of the experiments was one we used to do a lot when she was younger. It's even easier than baking soda and vinegar explosions (it smells better, too). You fill a pan or bowl with corn starch. Slowly add warm water until the consistancy feels like honey. Your fingers will get stuck like it's quicksand. Then the more you play with it, the more it drips. 

Voila. Homemade quicksand. Cheap and easy with no smells. It wipes up easy, too. For a 9 year old that is in love with science, this was the experiment that lastest the longest with the most smiles. I have to remember that sometimes the little things are the big things for little people. Fun is not about specific items. Sometimes it's about seeing what you have and working with that. 

produce season is here!

It's produce season! My little lady tends to our garden everyday. She waters it and refills the bird bath while I weed and tend to the bird feeders. We got these plants from our local plant stand, Bud and Sue's, in Roscoe. I have been riding my bike to Bud and Sue's since I was 10. That's almost 30 years and they're still going strong!

We picked out 4 kinds of bell peppers and 1 zucchini plant. The tomato plants came from a neighbor who started them from seed himself. We wanted to plant a spaghetti garden in year 1 just to make it easy. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any onion plants, but we did plant chives and basil. We will definitely be ready for canning season!

Watching a nine year old get excited about gardening and nature is kind of fun. She has a morning routine that includes the garden. She gets to pick the plants when they're ready. She has her own gardening gloves. We had picked all the black raspberries that grow on our lot and made jelly. Now it's time for gardening.

She doesn't mind getting dirty. She actually enjoys crushing up the egg shells we sprinkle on each week. I am hoping this will be another skill or hobby she will pick up and enjoy due to all the Covid/quarantine stuff. It would be one more positive thing to come out of all this. And ALL the spaghetti sauce we will be enjoying :)

my secret spot

Before it got hot yesterday, we went on a bike ride. Same ol', same ol', but we finally got off and walked down by the water. If you go under the big trees by the dam in town it feels like you're in your own special place. I love it and now she does, too!

It's not really that cool or that special, but I love it. I would go there when I was a kid and tool around. And now my kid can do the same. She needs an ending point on every bike, hike, or ride so I had to entice her with my wooded waterland and she was in.

We walked along and a saw a toad, tons of black and red birds, but no fish or minnows. It was so peaceful listening to the rushing water and making up stories of people who used to live off the land. We took a bunch of pictures and tried to capture the sunlight. It was a great little outing!

UNFORTUNATELY... people have been holing up down there doing who knows what. All the mini fire pits were neatly put out. But then the Gatorade bottles, wrappers, cigarette butts and diapers started up. Who walks across a small bridge and down the water's edge to the middle of nowhere with a baby?! There were quite a few diapers left. Ew. Disrespctful. Gross. Bad for the water, the fish, everything. 

There are so many bad things going on these days and going outside in nature is one thing keeping us happy, healthy and mentally strong. The least people can do is pick up their own garbage. We plan to go back with a garbage bag and gloves and sticks to pick up what we can. You should leave nature better than you find it. 

I cannot control much these days, but THIS is what we can control. Helping something, some way, some how. Making nature beautiful for the next family and bonding with some mother-daughter time along the way. These are the moments we remember. The conversations we have and the laughter we share is just one more amazing way I can show my daughter I love her. And if she is passionate about picking up garbage to make the Earth healthier, then I am in because we try to find beauty and happiness everywhere we go.

Maybe if everyone starts small and focuses on one small thing they can do to better their world, their community, their home, themselves, then all the little things will add up to some big changes... I will just leave that thought there. :) 

As long as I remember that my happy place starts with bare feet and rushing water (with clean landscapes), I know that I will always be able to find happiness.