Birthday Boy

    

 

Happy Birthday, J! I can't believe he's 12 (and one inch shorter than me!) I love my curious, funny, computer nerd, Lego-building, animal-loving kid. This, this, this and this are some of his loves.

 

 

For my boys

For my two free-spirited boys. XO

Summer Reading And Learning

 

 ~My Reading:
The Language of Flowers
Wild Trees
Anthill
The Painted Drum
The Shoemaker's Wife
Finding Beauty in a Broken World
Gilead
Wanderlust
The Dovekeepers
Bird by Bird
Writing Down the Bones
Taproot magazine
Whole Living magazine          
              ~                  

                                                   
~Family Reading:
Old Mother West Wind
Favorite Greek Myths
Woody, Hazel and Little Pip
If I Were a Bird
My Father Doesn't Know About the Woods and Me
I Was Born in a Tree and Raised by Bees
Crinkleroot's Guide to Walking in Wild Places
Katya's Book of Mushrooms
The Elves' Big Adventure
Dirt Boy
The Kids Book of the Night Sky
All In A Day
Eyewitness books
Audubon field guides
Lego magazine
                 ~


Favorite games

                                                
~Family Learning:
Sparkle Stories
Meteor shower
Constellations
Clouds
Bug ID
Water and mud play
Frogs and toads
Baking pretzels
Card and Board Games
Raft-building
Legos
Car mechanics
Stream invertebrates
Birds
Mushroom prints and harvest
Drawing
Hikes
Herbal medicine-making
the Beach and Ocean
Pirates
Ships
World War II
              ~

A tiny inchworm ( I couldn't seem to get a good pic of him)



C studying stream invertebrates at 4 -H

J learning car mechanics and safety at 4-H

I have been involved with a couple of swaps, thanks to Mary and V. Looking forward to my packages being received by my lovely swap partners, and to seeing what I receive (from California and Finland)! And V just opened another swap!

Adieu, Summer



Oh summer, we will miss you. We will miss the bright green foliage, now beginning to fade to golden hues; the life-filled flowers and plants now withered and brittle; berry-stained lips, frog-song symphonies; fresh flowers on the table; not-so-small-anymore water sprites; the bare feet in the soil; the joy-filled vacations. Until next year, we bid you adieu!


...Pleasant summer over

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The grey smoke towers.

 

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

 

~Robert Louis Stevenson

Being and Becoming

Cannot wait to see this!

The Art of Enjoyment (aka Hanging Loose)

A little midweek enjoyment:
~mamascout: poetry bombing the alley and Keri Smith's post on being a guerilla artist
 (I've read it several times!)
 ~Herbal Roots Zine: Prunella & Sweet Birch elixir and I'm A Medicine Woman, Too giveaway
~Alabama Shakes: Hang Loose

We spent the day picking up our new car and running errands. After getting home, we all are hanging loose. Hope you all are having a peaceful week. XO

Thrifted

More reading...and I also found a beautiful sweater.

The Joy of Books

       Love this. The unfettered joy of books...

A Day At The Fair

We love the NC Mountain State Fair! It's a tradition every year.





the animals





the craftspeople

winning entries

Funnel cakes and maple syrup cotton candy

'Bird Song' by The Wailin' Jennys

                                                 Listening and loving it.

Quiet Time

Hi all, this space will we quiet for a bit while I get my computer fixed. Take care. Loves to you. xo Jenny

The Birds and Cool Cats (and a great giveaway)

Cecropia Moth caterpillar (he says hi)

After our time studying (and burying) the owl, we have have been reading alot about birds. We are fascinated by birds. J (our oldest) wants to work with birds of prey when he grows up.

Our favorite books about birds are:
Birds: Nature's Magnificent Flying Machines
Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Birds
If I Were A Bird
Eyewitness Books: Birds
An Egg Is Quiet
National Audubon Society Pocket Guide: Familiar Birds of Lakes and Rivers
Sibley's guides

Today we found two of these cecropia moth caterpillars on our azalea bush. The boys got a kick out of how chubby and cute they are. Hopefully we will see their metamorphisis into moths.

Excited about our full weekend making apple butter at church and the upcoming fair. I'm also excited about this great giveaway: flaming hag folkwear: jewelry giveaway.

Hope everyone has a blessed weekend.

Bird of Prey

My hubby was coming home from a handyman job and found this little one dead in the road. He brought it home for us to see and give a burial. It is an Eastern Screech Owl. This one was probably full grown, as they are 8 to 12 inches long. It's so sad that he became prey to a car.

Not So Hot and Bothered

Vance Monument obelisk with Jackson Building reflected in the Biltmore Building

Jackson Building

Former Pack Memorial Library, now Pack Place art museum. Angel sculpture in
memory of Thomas Wolfe, author of Look Homeward, Angel

Courthouse (left) and City Hall (right). City Hall designed by Douglas Ellington

Fine Arts Theatre

Pig sculptures, part of Asheville Urban Trail public art

Turkey sculptures on the Urban Trail

Art gallery kitty

We do love going into the city. This particular day wasn't too hot and humid for a trip. It's wonderful to get home to the rural noises, not city noises. We do love our hillside home.

 

 

 

There is such a temperature difference leaving the mountain to travel into the city. It has been muggy, but we have had several cooling rainshowers. Last night, we got over 3 inches!  It washed out part of the road again (there is a spring that runs under our road), but not severely. I love my gravel dirt road, it makes me think of this song by Lucinda Williams and I sing along.

Photo Of The Day

Honeybee on Sedum flower

          This photo of mine was featured on our local weather website several days ago as their photo of the day (I showed the link previously, but they keep the photos up for only a couple of days, so I share the photo here, too).

Thrifted

Thrifty finds from this weekend. Reading Wanderlust and loving it. The little lidded flower pot is a gift for a friend (you get only a hint at your swap package, *wink, wink*).

XO, lovelies.

Indian Summer

 

                                                  ...A soft veil dims the tender skies,
                                                  And half conceals from pensive eyes
                                                  The bronzing tokens of the fall;
                                                  A calmness broods upon the hills,
                                                  And summer's parting dream instills
                                                  A charm of silence over all.
                                                                ~Henry van Dyke


little owl eyes

                     

Herbal harvest

Chicken coop with amaranth in foreground

Summer serenade from cicadas, frogs and crickets.

Duet with songbird

Little Huck Finn on homemade raft

photo by J (our oldest)