a visit from the fairie queen

During most of the year, the Fairie Queen only visits on the full moon, but (as some of you may already know) she returns in earnest on May Day and in late Spring/early Summer, she and her friends randomly stop by for a day or two and hold festive little soirees in our back yard.  She always leaves a gift for Naiya in the box they exchange back and forth, and sometimes we can see evidence of fay activity in their little corner of the yard.  Last night they added a swing to their tree house!

They also had some kind of feast and brought (or grew?) a fresh crop of toadstools.

They refreshed the Maypole with new flowers.  (Naiya had been thinking that bouquet up there didn't look so nice.)

And my dear daughter was ever so pleased with today's present from her beloved back yard monarch.

my favorite things

I love fully punctuated text messages.

jokes for 5 year olds

(I think this should be an ongoing series...)

What's the difference between a train and a teacher?
(Naiya's teacher must have recently told this gem she brought home.)

A train says, "Choo choooo".  
A teacher says, "Please spit out your gum in the garbage."

wooden starbursts and sunsets (clothespin crafts)

With Spring in full swing and Summer fast approaching, we're hanging our laundry out on the line, and I'm feeling inspired by those ever versatile and useful clothespins.  It seems like there are endless crafts to be created with those handy clips.  I was thinking of a sun to hang over the Nature Table when I made these, but, now that I'm looking at them, I'm actually thinking they'd be better as snowflakes.  Since I just can't wait until Winter to post these pics though, I'm going to at least try out my original idea.

I think they're kind of pretty no matter what we imagine them to be.  They're also super easy to make and kids can help too!

All that's needed for their creation are some clothespins and glue.  (I use quick drying craft glue but a glue gun or other adhesive would probably work fine as well.)

I started by taking all the clothespins apart.

(Depending on the specific size and shape of the pins used, the number needed for a complete circle will vary from about 22 to 30.)

I then glued the two separated pieces back together back to back.

After they had dried, I glued the smaller ends together to form the starburst shape.

To make an even, smooth inside edge, it helped to use a form to push the pins against.  For this size, I found the perfect sized lid as a kind of mold.

They can be decorated or, of course, left in their natural state.

 





The round starbursts I'll probably hang in a window but Naiya and I also made and decorated a half circle to use in pretend play as a setting sun.  So sparkly!

As an afterthought...
When these new creations were sitting around the kitchen waiting for some inspired use, I realized they'd also make for natural, sort of retro coasters and trivets!

crocheted flower garland

Portland, Oregon is the City of Roses.  At this time of year, especially where we live on the east side of the river, it seems much more like the City of Rhododendrons I have to say.  Come June though, I know those roses are going to make themselves known.  We'll welcome some fresh blossoms into our home here and there but, as always, I like to reflect the natural world outside with crafts displayed in our indoor play spaces.

When I saw this free crochet pattern at Joann Fabric and Craft Store the other day, I picked it up and spent a couple of hours making this vine for Naiya's Summer Nature Table.  (The pattern calls it a scarf but I just can't see myself wearing something like this.  Perhaps others have a bolder sense of fashion?)   The pattern said it was for those with "skill level 3" (whatever that means).  I think by about the fifth rose I was making them according to the directions.   I altered the pattern somewhat to make it more random and in the end ran out of yarn but, still, I think it's kind of sweet and Naiya has already draped it here and there as a garden paradise for her play gnomes.

spring flowers

My dad (the Master Gardener) sometimes gets invited to view private gardens in the local area.  A few weeks ago we joined him on one of his visits.  Often these folks have acreage but this incredible display was just someone's back yard on a city lot of average size.  

It's amazing what these folks have done in a relatively short time span to turn their personal space into a sculpted paradise.

I felt especially lucky to have visited in the Spring to catch all the color and  the many glorious shades of green.

'Tis like the birthday of the world,
When earth was born in bloom;
The light is made of many dyes,
The air is all perfume:
There's crimson buds, and white and blue,
The very rainbow showers
Have turned to blossoms where they fell,
And sown the earth with flowers.

                                 -  Thomas Hood

slug hunting

limax maximus, the leopard slug

For years now, we've worked at chemical-free slug eradication in our yard.  We plant our vegetables in raised beds.  (This is supposed to be a mild deterrent.)  Between those beds we've lined the paths with yards of hazelnut shells.  (Supposedly the slugs would rather not crawl over the jagged edges.  I've heard eggshells are similarly useful.)  We've got chickens.  (Who eat at least the slugs that wander into their appointed area.)  We put out little cans of beer amongst the most desirable fauna.  (The slugs can't help getting a taste of even the nastiest, cheapest swill - which is, of course, what we put out there - and they drown in the cans.)  But still, our yard is infested with these plant munching critters.  They can decimate five basil starts in about two days.  They love spinach and lettuce and my primroses look like swiss cheese. 

That's why I've begun late night slug hunting.  Yup, slug hunting.  When the Spring shoots emerge each year and I begin to see them nibbled to the stems, I get out my gloves, my trusty flashlight and an old cottage cheese tub and I head out into the nighttime garden.  Slugs are nocturnal you see.  They come out in droves a few hours after the sun sets and I find them leaving their slimy trails on the patio, up the sides of pots and ravaging the potentials of my summer salad bar.  In about 10 minutes I can rustle up about 40 of the beasties.  About 90% of those I find are Leopard Slugs, also known as "great slugs" or "great grey slugs" ("limax maximus" for those scientific types).  They're quite pretty as slugs go actually and they're speedy little guys (I've read they travel at the awesome speed of six inches per minute).  I've collected about 200 of them over the past month or two.

What's been especially interesting about the evening stalking has been finding not only a variety of small snails and numerous slugs but discovering all the other cool critters that also inhabit our midnight garden.  I wish I could take pictures of what's going on out there in the dark.  There are centipedes, millipedes, beetles of various sorts and, the first night I went out, I nearly jumped out of my skin when out of the corner of my eye I saw startled massive worms suck themselves under the soil when the beam from my flashlight caught them unawares.  Those things were huge!  Like eight inches long and as big around as a permanent marker!  I don't know what I thought it might be when it shocked me so intensely that first time but I was out there in the dark with unfamiliar shadowy figures skittering here and there and I was taken unawares.

Since that first night, I've come to especially love the quick, slimy worms and their dash for safety.  I've even come to appreciate the beauty of the slugs I so despise (although not so much that I'm leaving them to range free...in the morning they make the brief acquaintance of a few chicken friends of mine).  I also feel like I'm coming to understand things about my garden that I never otherwise would have.  It's an incredible, dynamic, kind of magical, insect paradise in my back yard in the dark. 
Probably in yours too.

Got a flashlight?