Pinewood Castle

This Weather is for the Birds

 

 

Wordless Wednesday

For the Squirrels

I've been wanting to make suet for years!

It took a full day to render the suet (I neglected to chop the fat into smaller chunks), so it was nearly bedtime before the kids had a chance to stir in the seed, nuts, and dried fruit. They cut and inserted twine, and delivered filled muffin tins to the garage to freeze overnight.

Our Christmas tree was repurposed and moved near the bird feeders, suet ornaments were hung. We waited and watched for the birds to flock to our tree and devour their special treats.

Instead, we watched with both horror and amusement as the squirrels greedily ran off with them.

The Fort

The current backyard project.

 

The Pre-Teen Separatist

Camping, Waterfalls, and the Donut Shop

Did you know that there are over 130 waterfalls between Duluth, MN and the Canadian border?

We tried camping one more time this summer, this time up at the North Shore (the week before we started school) with the hopes of seeing a few more of the famous falls as well as Grand Portage and some rock hunting beaches. Yes, you read that right. I tried camping again and I almost liked it enough to try again next summer. Almost.

For about twenty four hours I thought I might take to tent camping after all. The the air was cool and dry. A light breeze blew away the mosquitoes. The bathrooms at the MN state park were the cleanest yet. I thought perhaps we had just been camping in all the wrong places and that the best place to be was definitely the North Shore where it was cooler. We enjoyed the evening by the campfire, a chilly night, and awoke to a promising day.

The first thing on our agenda was a hike to Devil's Kettle Falls, a challenging one mile hike but totally worth the effort. There are two large falls and the first one was a wonderful place to linger.

The Devil's Kettle Falls is a geological mystery - no one really knows where half the Brule River goes after it falls into the cauldron on the left.

Waterfalls are so amazing. The sound of the rushing water is energetic, the sight of the falling water mesmerizingly relaxing. The thought of falling to one's death and being swept away down river adds a certain adrenaline rush.

 

We vetnured off the path and found a little bench in the rocks to sit on and contemplate the destiny of so much rushing water. Most likely both halves of the falls lead to eternal life in Lake Superior, but it was amusing to imagine the possibility of half the water gushing into the underworld.

After lunch and a trip to Grand Marais the wind and rain clouds blew in. We had a cool evening by the fire and I still felt like I might like camping after all - until the rain started hitting the tent roof at 1:00 am, the baby woke up crying at 1:30  and the 4yo threw up at 2:00. I resolved for the umpteenth time that I would never go camping again. At last until the youngest is six.

 

The next rainy morning was spent at the laundry-mat and the World's Best Donut shop. I was feeling rather sorry for my poor sleep-deprived self until an older couple at the donut shop struck up conversation about our "lovely family", if our daughers' good posture was due to ballet and if we were unfortunate enough to be tent camping. As it turned out they had six children, took them to the North Shore every summer, and all of them now home school their children. After raising their family they retired and bought a house on the North Shore and love having their children and grandchildren come to visit. Their witness to me that day at that particular time was just the encouragement I needed to get through the rest of the trip and, well, perhaps the rest of life.

 

Although the rain ceased, the fog and mist lingered that day. With Grand Portage on our agenda, we proceeded northward towards the Canadian border. All three times we have been this far north there has been rain or overcast skies. In fact, everything north of the Naniboujou Lodge seems eerie and haunted to me. I kind of like it and kind of don't.

Grand Portage was once the fur trade center of the universe - the half way point between Montreal and the fur trading lands further west. The visitor's center offered interesting displays and a great movie about the lives of the voyageurs complete with their little rest stops to smoke their pipes, the songs to which they paddled, their mosquito repellent of bear grease and skunk oil, and of course the grueling portages. Can you imagine carrying almost 200 pounds on your back on miles of hiking trails? Or carrying this canoe uphill? At least it provided shelter at night.

The gift shop had two great books I have no regrets about purchasing: With Pipe, Paddle, and Song: A Story of the French-Canadian Voyageurs  (Bethlehem Books) and Waterfalls of Minnesota's North Shore. We used the waterfall book on the way home and I had the Voyageurs book read by the end of the weekend.

Since the forecast predicted rain for the rest of our time except the following morning, we decided to pack up during the dry stretch and head home. Joe did not want to pack up camp in the rain, even though it meant we wouldn't be able to get together in Duluth with our dear friends, Lori and family from Loving Them From Scratch.

The drive down Hwy 61 was broken up with several stops - one at Cascade Falls.

Another at Caribou Falls. We were all wishing we had worn swimsuits for this one.

The Little Princess was quite done with all this traveling by the time we hiked to Caribou Falls. She had a tantrum all the way there because she didn't want to go and all the way back because she didn't want to leave while I had that old conversation in my head questioning why we even try to travel with young children at all.

The Little Prince, however, was an angel when he knew we were heading home after not being a happy camper (like, not at all a happy camper) the whole time we were there. Too much wind, too many tree roots to trip on at the campsite, too many people shouting "No!" when he got too near the fire. Nothing seemed to be right with him. He was so glad we were packed up and heading out.

 

I was pleased too. Even though every time we have camped and I swear I will never do it again, I know I probably will - if faced with the choice of traveling or staying home. I'm sure we will try it again next summer - but at a campsite right on the lake shore. Don't tell my husband, but I even find myself daydreaming about retiring there up like the couple in the donut shop, as long as our kids and grandkids have to camp out in the yard so they know what we went through for them!

For the Birds

Our efforts to complete the Noeo Chemistry curriculum this year fell short. Seriously short. My son picked the subject, and we read a few of the books, but not much stuck, I am afraid. I am resolved to complete the experiments at least, then move on to ornithology.

The feeders have been cleaned and reflled, Dino built a birdhouse at a workshop with Grandpa, and the bluebirds have nested and laid eggs.

We spotted an oriole, then put out oranges and grape jelly. Will he return? We hope so, though we do not live near water.

We replaced our yucky plastic hummingbird feeder with a pretty red glass one and the little hummers came right away. I am paying $20 to the first child who can find their nest.

Here are a few resources I am assembling for the summer:

• Feeder Birds Coloring Book by Cornell Laboratory for Ornithology (will take to office store to be spiral bound)
• Apologia Zoology 1: Flying Creatures and the Notebooking Journal
• Praying Mantis and luna moth on order from Earth's Birthday Project
• The Boy Who Drew Birds picture book about John James Audubon
• Birds of Minnesota by Stan Teiela
• Wild About Minnesota Birds
• Binoculars for all
• Off!

 

 

 

Nature Notes

 Time for some honesty here. I've been grumbling when it comes to being in the out-of-doors this summer. In a big way.

This summer I have taken up Volume 1 of Charlotte Mason's Homeschooling Series and have been consequently reinvigorated about getting the family out for nature hikes. "Never be within doors when one can be without," she says.

 So one fine Saturday afternoon we packed up the children and their corresponding backpacks and head out for a three mile hike to the Refuge. My high hope was that we could stop along the way and sketch in nature notebooks now that the girls are getting older and less resistant to this activity.

The rain we received after a June drought has helped the wildflowers and mushrooms flourish. We would have stopped to sketch them but for the swarming and biting insects encountered every step of the way. Instead of wandering around the "Enchanted Forest" we high tailed it through there swatting at bugs. I might have been heard grumbling something about how Charlotte Mason must not have encountered gnats and deer flies and mosquitoes in the Lake District.

We finally reached a clearing by a marshy lake with enough breeze to make a comfortable stop. We sketched a little, changed a diaper, ate our trail mix, tanked up on water and made the decision to either:

1. Relocate somewhere there are decidedly fewer bugs (suggestions anyone?)
2. Resort to using Deep Woods Off instead of the natural stuff. At least on clothing and hats.

In the meantime I am sticking to our trusty nature path across the street. In June I was afraid that poison ivy and tent caterpillars were taking over but now we are seeing all of our old friends. Fewer bugs = more nature journal entries!

Here they are:

Knapweed

Lead Plant

To me, this is a weed, but it showed up in our CSA share earlier this summer as "Lamb's Quarters"! We dutifully steamed them with rice.

Black-eyed Susan

Hare Bell

Spiderwort

Butterfly Weed

Butter & Eggs - these are like little snapdragons!

Ox Eye Daisy

Spreading Dogbane

Canada Hawkweed

Raspberries

Blackberries

Hazelnuts forming

And could it be? Buds on the Goldenrod?

These are our old wildflower friends. I do love them. I would like to make new ones someday!

It's Monarch Time!

 Last summer we let some milkweed grow amid the flowers so we could learn about Monarchs. Once we figured out just how to bring the metamorphosis indoors we reaped the benefit of seeing the caterpillars ooze the green liquid as they formed a chrysalis and we caught some in action as they emerged from the cocoon.

The milkweed returned this summer as well as the Monarchs to lay eggs on the leaves.

Once the caterpillars reach an inch or more we cut a milkweed branch, wrap the stem with a wet paper towel and foil and place it in an empty glass -

and placed this inside a butterfly house.

We give them fresh milkweed every day and remove the old. In another week or so they will travel to the top, attach themselves and make a "J" shape before making a chrysalis.

The children seem even more excited this year to see it all happen again. After setting up the butterfly house inside I even witnessed what to me is an educational dream come true - Sunshine looked up Monarch in her new Peterson's Guide to Caterpillars without any prompting from me!

(I really should start doing the Small Success posts and include this as a huge success!)

(I could even share that without complaining, the girls drew a frog and toad in their nature notebooks while they watched the real things leap about in the metal tub we fill with water and big rocks for our amphibian friends. I've waited soooo long for them to get excited about their Nature Journals!)

So, go check the milkweed in your neighborhood and give this a try. You can even use a plastic storage tub or a jar with holes poked in the lid.

Here are some books we enjoy this time of year:

Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons

Monarch and Milkweed by Helen Frost

And of course there are a bazillion caterpillar and butterfly crafts out there from which to choose.The egg carton caterpillar is always a hit!

Enjoy!

Nature Notes

The path across the street has not been the best place for wildflower study this spring and summer. The weather has been dry and many oaks that provided shade have been removed due to oak wilt. Our favorite crab apple tree fell victim to the chainsaw as well.  Mostly we see poison ivy and tent caterpillars.

To offset this loss we headed out one Sunday to the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden. The challenge of finding small flowers amid lush greenery is a task the children seem to enjoy as much as we do. Here are a few pics of what we found:

Wild Columbine

Jack in the Pulpit

Yellow Lady Slipper

Not sure, I'd have to look it up!

Wild Geranium

Forget Me Not

Dame's Rocket?

These ferns grow into a cone shape

Another worthwhile excursion was this National Wildlife Refuge.

My favorite lupine field was about done.

Did you know that lupines are legumes? When they go to seed they look like this:

 

Hazelnuts forming

Lots of poison ivy

Eagle's nest

The best finale of the day - a turtle laying eggs by the roadside!

Blue Hill Trail

The newly instituted St. Francis Nature Club met again last Friday, this time for a nature walk. This time Laura the Crazy Mama and family joined us to learn more about mushrooms while getting some rather chilly fresh air and exercise.

Normal looking 'shrooms were found

as well as some unusual ORANGE mushrooms!

Upon reaching our destination (aka The Enchanted Forest) we sat on the mossy carpet for a snack and some hydration. This stand of pines was other-worldly with moss all over the tree branches like fur.

Although we had all endured a solid week of overcast November days and neither of us quite knew if we were up to the hike until we pulled out of our respective driveways, we are awfully glad we braved the wind and weather. It was a monumental mood lifter for us all and I suspect Laura's two year old had a great nap on the return trip!

Interesting Interruptions

My husband cleaned the windows so well that we have been hearing the unmistakable sounds of birds hitting glass.

Here's a stunned nuthatch that interrupted our reading time on the sofa.

It was the big excitement of the day to watch daddy pick it up and hold it for a while before it regained it's senses!

St. Francis Nature Club!

Inspired by Alice's new book, I emailed some friends who live within a reasonable distance (some homeschooling, some not) about getting together for nature field trips and am pleased to say that our first meeting was a success!

Five moms and 15 children met at Hillside Honey for a bee/hive demonstration and candle dipping.

First, St. Francis medals were presented.

Then we got to feed the proprietor's sheep some apples ~

 

Then for the presentation. A brave volunteer donned a beekeeper's outfit -

Another volunteer bee collected pollen in her pollen purse -

A mom filled in for story time while the beekeeper prepared the wax for candle dipping -

The children looked for the queen in this demonstration hive while waiting in the dipping line.

And we all returned home with jars of local honey and pairs of taper candles. I also picked up some hunks of wax (only $5 each!) to melt down for my own candle making.

Thanks for coming everyone, and I will keep you posted on plans for our next meeting!

More Monarchs!

Don't Touch!

Have you heard about the Wild Parsnip invasion?

About the Town

Favorite oaks -- both within a holler of the Mighty Mississippi

One from our favorite park

And one from our favorite farm

And one of our favorite gardens - within a holler of Ebu the Dog. We refer to it as the shabby house with the lovely garden -

Emergence

Old news, but I just have to tell you that last Friday our Monarch butterfly emerged from the chrysalis  - and we saw it happen!

First, the chrysalis turned dark, then transparent enough to see the wings inside.

This is kind of blurry, but you can kind of see the wings inside -

The next morning we asked Dancer to keep watch and sure enough, while the eggs were sizzling and the toast was popping she cried out, "It's coming out!"

Quick as a wink it was out and clinging to the clear chrysalis. The wings were small at first but grew larger before our eyes until we were all wondering how it ever fit in a chrysalis so small.

You know, like after you have a baby and wonder how it ever fit in your womb and if you could get it back in. Not that you want to. You know what I mean, don't you or am I the only one who wonders about these things?

Here is the empty chrysalis -

After several hours we took him outside for the big release. He flew right out and landed on the end of a pine branch. He stayed perched there for hours.

Today we saw a Monarch flying around our yard and of course wondered if it was "our baby". We were able to witness him both pupating and emerging and are grateful for the opportunity to witness this little miracle of life! We hope he stays around to sip nectar from our garden flowers!

Our Caterpillar Pupated!

OK, this IS NOT my footage - it's from YouTube, but this is exactly what the children and I witnessed this morning just before breakfast!

Wildflower Tour

A gorgeous Saturday + This incredible resource nearby + A free wildflower tour =

 

Large Flowered Beardtongue

Spiderwort

Columbine

Prairie Smoke

And my personal favorite - my inner Miss Rumphius loves the Wild Lupine

We also saw some other wildlife wonders that I was unable to capture with my basic camera such as a pair of trumpeter swans with five cygnets and an eagle on a branch by an eagle's nest.

One wild creature was close enough to photograph - a bullsnake!

Bloomed! Hatched!

At the Feeder

The snow has driven the birds to the feeders.  It is always a thrill to see cardinal red against the white snow!