Tag Archives: spring

Teaching Children

As a parent there are so many, many things we want to teach our children.

There are many more things that we should teach them.

And then there are all the tidbits that we accidentally (and often unfortunately) teach our kids.

Sitting down and putting to much thought into this parental responsibility can become overwhelming.

Personally, I find it helps to remember that so long as you hit upon the basics:

how to care for animals…Jane and chicken

…how to get along with others…Ivy and Clara in crick

…and how to build a good dam…sandles by dam … that they are likely to turn out just fine!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Change

Weekly Photo Challenge: Changewillow fence with survey flags

Some years spring suddenly changes the land from the grey of winter to a burst of greenery and color. But this year, as spring slowly creeps it’s way forward, the survey markers for the new right of way are the most flamboyant reminder of change in our yard.

The road that you can see through the willows is due for improvements and our house, along with the willow fence, is in the new right of way.

Change is a commin’!

(For more of the depressing details you can read A Line Drawn)

Who Says?

Who says you can’t have fun on a 36 degree drizzly day?

I can tell you that two kids, one mom and ten brave chickens can have at least five whole minutes of good puddle splashing fun in weather like that.

And then the chickens decide that puddle jumping is really more of a duck thing.

And the kids boots fill with water.

And before you know it the mom has two crying children and flock of disillusioned chickens all headed home.

Poor chickens, they didn’t even make it in the house for the hot chocolate drinking.

Robins and Dentists

I do not like the dentist.

Not at all.

I do like Robins, and Sandhill Cranes, and Turkey Vultures and Red Winged Blackbirds.

Since they have all made their appearances I think it’s fairly safe that aside from a bit of freak winter weather spring has come to southern Wisconsin.

Ivy will be so happy.

I hope spring brings you many robins and few dentists.

Now I’m going to go drink my Shamrock Shake while the drugs from the dentist wear off before I type anything truly ridiculous!

A Little Bit of Spring

The last few weeks Ivy has been asking a few times a day, “When is it going to be spring?”

She seems to be done with winter. I think her yearning for spring is largely because she’s ready to be able to run and play outside without spending ten minutes getting ready and only having about five minutes before Clara face plants in a snow drift and wants to go inside.  Ivy also knows we’ll be getting this years crop of animals and planting gardens once it’s spring, a month or two is forever to wait for such things when you are only four.  Last but certainly not least I’m afraid that her spring question is  partially based on an ill founded notion that when it’s spring she’ll be able to get a real horse.

But that’s another story.

This afternoon the snow from yesterday was almost gone and Ivy found a little bit of spring.

Then we checked out all the gardens looking to see what else was coming up. We even checked out the buds on the trees and bushes where Ivy surprised me by telling me that the forsythia would be yellow soon! She was a very happy girl to have found her bit of spring!

I’m thinking that will last right up until she realizes that horses don’t pop out of the ground with crocuses!