solstice celebration

You know, the thing about having a strong rhythm in one's life is that, when it comes to blogging, one keeps rhythmically blogging about the same things each year, each season and each day.  Forgive the constant repetition friends.  We've just, you know, got this rhythm going...

Once again we gathered for a small Summer Solstice celebration with some of our dear Waldorf friends.  The day was overcast but still festive and, as always, a gentle and enriching commemoration for this seasonal quarter turn.

Mostly these festivals are about the getting together and, for the children, the play!  We adults hold the inner meaning in our hearts and plan a few games and crafty crafts for the kiddos but they just enjoy the fun of it all.  So, we set the stage for joy and frolicking and also put out some Fimo oven fire clay.  (I know... it looks like cheese.  All the kids thought so too.)  The children crafted little clay suns (and various other objects) that we later turned into refrigerator magnets for them to take home and display.

Then they were out in the grass, jumping on the trampouline and fishing for shells in the pool with their toes.

While they were distracted, Green Man crept into the yard...

He spoke his now traditional verse:

"I am the Sun -

And I bear with my might

The earth by day, the earth by night.

I hold her fast, and my gifts I bestow

To everything on her, so that it may grow;

Man and stone, flower and bee

All receive their light from me.

Open thy heart, dear child, to me,

That we together one light may be."

                                                           (by Ch Morgenstern from Summer by Wynstones Press)

"With these crowns and gifts of the earth, I knight you all princes and princesses of the Summer.  Together we'll hold the sun in our hearts to light the world all year long..."

The little ones loved their shells and gorgeously warm and sunny stone orbs.

Some wore their crowns and a few sat with we grown-ups to weave some flowers into the ivy wreaths.

Of course there was a fire and a delicious pot luck feast.

And, as the season turned, we embraced the new summer rhythm of long days and warm nights, free time and unscheduled outings. 

Welcome all (at least in the northern hemisphere) to afternoons lazing in the shade and enjoying bare feet on the grass.  May the goodness and fullness of Summer fill your days.

the last of the spring showers?

We spent most of the day inside making treats for the fairies and watching the dark, dark clouds dance a little dance overhead.  Somehow Summer preparations in 60° weather don't feel quite right.   We did make some sweet and tasty cookies and cakes though and, this time around, Naiya even delighted in fashioning that dough into a few fruity pies!

She set them out in the garden just so.

And with so many to offer, placed a few in their covered gazebo.

She made a couple of Ojo de Dios as a gift for the Queen.

And cried when Pippin sampled her beautiful display. 

I told her I thought the fairies would likely not mind sharing with all the good living things who venture into our back yard so we went inside to tidy...

And then the sky opened up and the rain began to fall.

Such is Mother Nature with her own sort of magic.
We covered the treats tables with "skylight umbrellas" and all was well.  We shall see what tomorrow brings...

midsummer's eve preparations

There's a lot of Solstice preparation going on over here today.  We woke and made the dough for mini cookies and cakes that we'll bake and decorate later to offer to the fairies who live in our back yard.  We did this last year and they seemed to really love it. 

(this is last year's offering)

 Of course Naiya loved it too. 

The recipe is very simple and for frosting I think we just used powdered sugar and food coloring:

Simple Sugar Cookies

     1 1/2 cups butter

     2 cups sugar

     4 eggs

     1 tsp vanilla

     5 cups flour

     2 tsp baking powder

     1 tsp salt

Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs one at a time and mix.  Stir in the vanilla.  Combine the dry ingredients then add them to the sugar mixture.  Mix until well blended.  Cover and refrigerate the dough for at least an hour (or overnight).  Roll the dough out quite thinly (perhaps 1/4").  Cut by hand or with these nifty mini cookie cutters.  Depending on thickness, bake at 400° for 5 - 8 minutes.  Decorate, stack, fill and nibble as you please...

We've also just finished our newest fairie house.  This one is actually for a letterboxing gathering we're attending but leaving out treats and gifts for local fairies is a fun way to celebrate the change of season with children I think.  This house is a temporary letterboxing "box" (that will only be up for the day) and the stamp will sit inside.  We didn't originally plan it this way, but when the logbook wouldn't fit in the tiny door, we made the book the welcome mat!  (This tiny wooden house was purchased at Joann Crafts and with a glue gun, watercolor and natural goodness found in our backyard, we transformed it into its fancier camouflaged state in no time at all.)

Finally, since Green Man was such a hit at last year's Summer Solstice celebration, we're hoping for a visit from him again this year.  It's amazing what one can do with silk leaves and a glue gun...

Man, I love me a good glue gun. 

We're still running around frantic with sausages to pick up, camping supplies to sort through and some secret mama work to do...  It seems that Green Man could use some assistance in fashioning ivy crowns for the wee ones for tomorrow afternoon.

I hope all of your seasonal festivities are bringing joy and wonder for you and your wee'ns.  We're hoping Father Sun will actually make an appearance to help us celebrate the first glorious day of Summer.  Perhaps you can dance us a little dance or sing a little song to help us encourage him to visit...

in the garden

In the Spring and Summer we spend a lot of time with Naiya in the back yard.  A lot of our afternoons are spent playing with the fairies, in the sandbox, barbecuing, enjoying meals or gardening as a family.  Naiya has her own little corners of the yard though that she has planted and maintains all by herself.

This area around her play house is filled with flowers and veggies she chose on her own.  It's a mish mash display and with all the eating of the fennel leaves and picking of the most beautiful blossoms, I'm not sure how this area will fare through the season.  (Which is, of course, totally alright, since her pleasure was its purpose from the outset.)

A pot on our table that Naiya calls her "special garden" has been dormant for months.  She told me she had planted seeds there and when they started to poke out of the soil I wasn't sure that weeds hadn't simply found a foothold in her little patch of wonder.  When they grew taller, they looked a little less weedy (but were still mysterious) and just this morning these poppies opened up.

Sometimes daddy brings plants home from work for her, because they're a little weird or especially fancy.

Inside the house we often find flies in the windowsills.  Other crawly critters meet their demise out of doors for any number of reasons and our daughter often discovers these bodies in both locales. We have tried to instill a reverence for all life (even the most pesky) in Naiya so when she asked what to do with these bodies I told her returning them to the earth might be nice.  She's had this area for years but only recently asked me to write out some markers for the tiny beings resting there.

may day hair garland

Each year for May Day and for the May Faire at Naiya's school we have been putting together hair garlands to lend a bit of natural decor to our festival garb and liven up our merry making.  I've even posted a garland tutorial.  (Click here if you're interested in checking it out.)

Often, however, these coronets stay in place for a picture or two and then end up on our gathering blanket to wilt in the afternoon sun.  They're lovely and Naiya and I both enjoy putting them together but, she complains, they can be a bit cumbersome and, especially for active children, not really that practical.

That's why this year we decided to try something new.  What you see in the photo above looks like a  garland but is, in fact, just a series of hair clips holding little bunches of flowers onto her hair in a circle round her head!

To make it, I pulled a little hair back from the front of Naiya's head, made a braid on each side and bound the the two plaits in the back.  I then gathered very small flowers into two-ended bunches and clipped them onto the braid in the middle.  She has five clusters round her crown with the largest in the back covering the band where the braids meet.

She loved her "garland" this time around and it stayed in place until her night-time bath.  No wires.  No floral tape.  No complaining.  And put together in about 4 minutes.  I don't know that we'll ever make a proper garland again!

the beginnings of a new play mat

  We found these cute flower buttons at a local craft store and Naiya wanted to sew them onto something.  I had an old felted wool blanket that I had stored (read hoarded) away should we ever find need for an old felted wool blanket.  (I have some ridiculous boxes and bins full of all kinds of peculiar natural crafting materials.  I'm not sure whether to be proud or ashamed of the quantity.)
Anyhow, I cut her this little odd shaped green material and she sewed to her hearts content.

 

 When it was done she started to use it as a play garden for her puppet shows and doll games.  As its novelty wore off, I decided to alter it a bit to perhaps inspire some different amusements.  I cut out some triangles from the edges, sewed them back together and turned the little mat into a hill.

 I used some wool roving to mound it up then hand stitched the hill onto a larger mat that could take on some additional elements.  A stream perhaps?  A needle felted veggie patch?  A bear's cave or some shrubberies? 

 It's a project slow in its creation as it's one Naiya and I are building on together.  At the moment she loves it just as it is and her little dolls so enjoy a good roll down the flowery hill.

our first letterbox plant

stamping a found letterbox

This summer we've done a bit of Letterboxing here and there and even finally came up with our own signature stamp.  After discovering that it wasn't nearly so difficult as we imagined, we were inspired to carve a few more and finally planted some letterboxes of our own!

For those who have never heard of Letterboxing, I, as always, totally recommend you check it out and share this fun family activity in your own home town or whilst out and about on travels.  (For some helpful and informative sites and to start your own adventures today click here and here.)

If you're a local (in or around Portland, Oregon), you might even give our clues a try and see if you can find our first two plants.  (Since we are usually doing our questing with a five year old, those we've searched for with riddles or confusing directions have often been just really frustrating.  To make these simple for others with children in tow, we kept our clues pretty straightforward.  They're both also less than half mile walks on very easy trails.)  Great for kids and fun for the whole family...


"Gnome's Home" at Tryon Creek State Park in Portland, Oregon:
Tryon Creek State Park was named after Socrates Hotchkiss Tryon who originally established a land claim there in 1850 (and who I must mention because of his exceedingly excellent moniker). This 645 acre woodland park contains a number of trails for both horses and people and also seems to be home to dozens of magical hidey holes where we are certain colonies of gnomes and possibly fairies also live.

To locate the one gnome home we did verify (and the location of our very first letterbox) start your search at the southeast end of the Visitors Center (entrance off of SW Terwilliger Blvd.) and proceed down the Center Trail. Take a right at the Maple Ridge Trail and then a left onto Middle Creek Trail where many paths converge. You'll pass a bench with a back.  Midway down a fairly steep hill, you'll approach another bench with no back.  Have a seat.  Across the path you'll notice a fallen log.  Walk up the log to its end where you'll spy a circle of trees with a rotting stump at their center.  It's there you'll find our Gnome's Home.


"Native Salmon" at Wildwood Recreation Site in Welches, Oregon:
The Wildwood Recreation Site is located 40 miles east of Portland, off U.S. Highway 26, just past the 39 mile marker.  Nestled along the Mount Hood Scenic Byway near the town of Welches, this beautiful day use area offers a chance to explore natural stream and wetland ecosystems along accessible interpretive trails and boardwalks.   The site also offers family picnic units, several group shelters, outdoor picnic kitchens, playing fields, volleyball and basketball courts and fully accessible trails.  It likewise provides access to the Salmon River and an extensive system of trails in the Salmon Huckleberry Wilderness (managed by the Mount Hood National Forest).

After paying the $5 fee to enter the park, skip the first junction and take the next left.  Park near the covered information area and bathrooms.  From there, head down the path past the silver salmon.   (Many wooden salmon will also line your trail.)  At the end of the boardwalk go left.  Pass the mini mountains and take a right at the fork.  Some grand old stumps will line either side of the path just before it forks again.  Go left at this fork passing a hidden world of streams.   Just past the forest gifts, heed the blue arrow at the 4-way crossroads.  Over the bridge follow the fish's nose at the next junction.  After stopping for a most unusual view of the river, continue on the path until you spy another bridge.  Pause to read Coyotes Tale then cross the bridge.  Where trolls might lurk, you'll find Native Salmon atop a support pillar covered in moss.


Do let us know if you find them.  (That's what makes the whole thing so much fun!)  Subsequent plants of ours will be listed as we place them under owners name "Spaceship Passengers" at Letterboxing.org .

we're winners!

I have to admit that, despite being a blogger myself, I'm not an entrenched member of any blogging community.  I often forget to visit some of my favorite sites and just don't have the time to search out the many, many fabulously witty and creative folks who, all around the world, share some of their most intimate thoughts and lives.

That said, one of the places I do regularly visit (and often share with at Friday's Nature Table) is The Magic Onions.  Every year the creative, warm and friendly Donni hosts a Fairy Garden Contest there.  This year she had over 150 beautiful gardens entered and (unbelievably) she chose our little backyard village as one of her winners!

We feel so honored (and somewhat falsely deserving since it is the fairies themselves who did most of the work under the trees in our little  garden corner).

Our garden changes throughout the Summer with Naiya and I sometimes making offerings to the Queen and her entourage but mostly with the fey folk themselves leaving evidence of their nighttime festivities.  Our daughter is endlessly delighted to discover what new bit of magical something or other those tricksy pixies leave behind.

solstice offerings

fairie firepit

additions to the village

fairieland festooned

Might I suggest you check out the many super creative folk who have likewise welcomed magical creatures with amazing creativity into their own tiny spaces?   Donni lists this year's winners here.

Perhaps you or your children will feel inspired to create a mini garden of your own?

summer nature table - at the beach

During the Summer our Nature Table transforms several times.  For the past couple of years, the beachy version of our nature collection and play space is often the favorite.  It is played with more than any other tableau of the year and this time around I had the idea to add actual sand.  It is messy, but Naiya just loves hiding shells and special stones in there, and the little people enjoy all kinds of adventures on the sea and shore alike.  The sand area is actually one of those rake-able decorative tabletop Zen gardens that my brother made for me many years ago.  The sand is special glass sand (that was also part of my brother's gift) and so produces no dust (but still gets scattered about the house).  One could also use regular sand and a high edged baking sheet or box for this purpose.

Hours of fun for those quiet, restful afternoons spent out of the heat of the day (and a great place to display the many shells and stones found on our outdoor Summer explorations).

a special visit to the fairie garden

We had some special visitors to our fairy garden this afternoon...

paper leaves for the summer tree

Even filled with felt butterflies and bees, our seasonal tree has been looking a little scant this Summer.  To give it the fullness of the season then, each day we've been adding a few more paper leaves to its boughs.  These are super simple and have been a great way to use our water colored paper scraps.

This was an old card we never used that was painted using the wet-on-wet method.  (For wet-on-wet water color painting instructions click here.)

From the card stock we cut leaf shapes with long stems.  Some were cut with one leaf while others had leaves on both ends.

We folded the leaves down the middle to give them that classic shape and then curled the stems either around a pencil before hanging them from the tree or curled them directly onto the trees branches.

 The curled stem holds them loosely to the branches and no adhesive was applied.  (However, should they frustratingly keep prematurely dropping from the tree, we may resort to a dab of craft glue.)

praying mantis

A little over a month ago we bought this praying mantis egg case at the Farmer's Market.  I thought it would be fun for Naiya to see the wonder of birth in the insect kingdom.  The egg sat in the covered jar on our kitchen counter and we were all pretty sure nothing was going to happen.  Then, this morning (after a few weeks of warm weather...just like the instructions promised) I looked over and thought, what's all that stuff in the jar?

They hatched! 

We couldn't believe they all came out of that little egg case.  (The case is that brown blob in the lower right of this picture.)  There must have been about 70 or 80 of the little critters.

Pretty immediately we noticed that some of them didn't make it, so we quickly released them out in the garden. 

Likely, we'll never see them again.  I understand that that's usually how it goes, but perhaps we'll be favored with a glimpse of some adults in the months to come...