Birthday week.

Dave's Dad celebrated his birthday on Wednesday past, and My Mama celebrates her's on the Wednesday to come.

The party for Opa Naus is today, and Karla Ann is up to her creative ideas (as usual). she has chosen a very unique form for the birthday cake. I made the cupcakes, and she.... brilliant she... is going to make each into a face representing a member of the family. AH. CRAZY. I have a picture of the "Family Tree" that i painted and attached to my large tray, incorporating natural materials (twigs) to elaborate on the "Tree-ness" of it all. Then i wrote out bible verses having to do with trees of wisdom, and the righteous being like trees by streams of water.. etc. These verses then became leaves on the twiggy parts of the tree. :) i'm super excited to see how it all turns out!! :)

anyway.... Dave and Julia are now doing chain maille, so i think it is safe to say: today is crafty-day!! :)

Rainy and Gray. But cheery inside.

Our Trip Today

Well dear reader(s),
we found it! The home of the beavers. Here is their dam, tucked away in the quiet woods and marshes of Wawanash. They really did pick a lovely "waterfront" property. Walking through the woods we spotted the "sub-trail" that we were told about, followed it into the marshy land (now frozen mostly solid) and soon came upon something i have never seen before. Masses of trees were felled along the edges of the lake, at least fifty of them. All gnawed down by a beaver. amazing really. Dave pushed on through the trees, marshland and reeds, Julia and Sam following close behind and I pulled Mercy's sled on a more clear section of the marshland (we couldn't navigate the tight spaces). Finally we spotted the dam, encircled by water.... why we do not know... is it from the beaver's swimming, so the water is always too agitated to freeze over? i do not know. Whatever the reason, there it is, in the photograph above, a beaver's home.


Time to relax to some "trail lunch". What a life eh? Being pulled along so comfy with milk in hand.... man, that would be nice!

Another week of adventures.

As we explore the great out doors, we are constantly reminded of their Maker. God has made this world so intricate, just watching each footprint in the snow is amazing. Observing the way frost forms on the branches, needles, or grasses brings us Awe and Wonder. Today the frost formed in spikes, incredible!!




Julia and Sam have worked on art projects in relation to our outdoor adventures. Sam mostly is experimenting with pastels and crayons, but Julia is creating images. The Snowy Owl here, is one of them. :) Today she sat down to create an "OutDoor Adventure Book" in which she drew a stick figure picture of different things she recalls from many of our trips. Mommy pulling the kids in the sled, a tree, etc. And each page had a title explaining it's image. I have yet to buy our sketch books for this project, then we will tape in feathers, write in notes, draw what we remember seeing, and other fun things like "Draw where you would hide in this forest landscape, if you were an Owl/squirrel/mouse in the winter".


on Saturday we stopped in at Oma and Opa's to fill up on hot chocolate, tea and soup. Mmmmm. now THAT, my friends, is the way to adventure!! :) Ever since we began our 'OutDoor Challenge' i have been saying, "Every explorer needs their hot chocolate!" And every time we drink it upon our return from the Great White North. (well, that IS where we live right? so i can say that... hahaha)




A Raccoon has left his/her mark. very clearly.


FUNGUS. everywhere. there was so so much. I have not studied about Fungi, but does anyone know why the snow would not cover it?? Is it giving off heat energy from it's exchange with the dead tree, or did the snow just fall off because it is not smooth like the tree on which the snow has fallen?? CURIOUS.


Beavers have been here! We will return to see where they live.


The Snow Girl guarding our house. Julia is so industrious, she created this snow-girl while walking home.




SLEDDING TIME!! :)

so many things to do. so little time.

So, i did mean to fill you in on those "adventure" photos in the last posting. But i came to look at my blog and it appears as though i have not updated anyone on what i did outside last week. Ah well. The Title says it all. "So many things to do, so little time". Maybe one of these days it will be too cold to be outside, my little brain will feel creative and then i will write about the mishaps and the joyful things we discovered in the great out doors!! :)

so long for now!
Su

A week in Picturegraphs*. (* Su-word)

Too much to write about, too little time. So enjoy the photos and i will elaborate on my first week of the "Outdoor-Challenge" at another time! :)