Adventures out the back door

Every bone and muscle aches. Past three days have been a marathon of activity.

We took the canoe to the pond yesterday morning, walking the trail in the woods across the street from our farm to a hidden pond. This is the pond where Peter and I let Elliot (snapping turtle, the size of a 50 cent piece) go last fall. While canoeing we saw a Great Blue Heron, a Green Heron sitting on a log over the pond, a painted turtle sunning on another log, many large grass carp undulating in the weeds (at first we thought they were turtles feeding-- quite a surprise, seeing them up close), damsel flies, very small fry, not sure what kind of fish, but not minnows (there are Blue Gill and Pumpkinseed in this pond), and A Rough Shinned Hawk. The children who have never been canoeing before were quite good at it. They kept quiet, quiet too, so we could see everything in its routine. We had a glorious mid-week weekend. The children have keen imaginations so it was fun swimming and hiking with them. We went berry picking (black raspberries-- the bramble was fierce and welcomed the gentle blueberry branches. Made blueberry and black raspberry pancakes which turned the batter lavender. They were delicious too. We watched two movies, their selections, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Nim's Island. I enjoyed Nim's Island because it sparks my imagination-- like Swiss Family Robinson ( I always wanted to have a treehouse room with a roof that opened up to the stars). The singing chipmunks were amusing too. They were singing contemporary pop tunes besides their own hits. It had some moments.

It's quiet here. Now to return to my appointed tasks.