Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Camping with the 5 Bears

(photo by a friendly bystander)
We've just returned from a 4 day camping trip in the North Ga mountains. We arrived at Unicoi State Park on Wednesday, and got home Saturday night. Sharing the experience this time were my good friends from our homeschool group and their children (and dogs)- it was a great combination! Everybody got along really well and helped out.



The weather went from gorgeous, to wet and chilly, back to gorgeous. It was colder than I expected, but we managed just fine. The kids had a blast, of course! They ran all over the place, played in the creek, rode scooters and the trike, played ball, and had secret adventures in the woods with a "bear trap". We roasted marshmallows every night over the campfire. The older kids helped watch the younger, and though camping with kids isn't really a relaxing experience, we certainly found the trip to be a rejuvenating one. I'm looking forward to planning the next one. :)

(photo by Billy via iPhone)

Wednesday was warm and gorgeous. Everyone arrived and got set up, and before we knew it we were relaxing around the campfire with full tummies and plenty of happy, excited kids. Thursday dawned cool, grey and misty. Billy got our big tarp up just in time before rain began to fall, and it continued lightly off and on all day. After breakfast the older boys all went to play in the creek. They were having a great time building a dam, when just before lunch someone accidentally dropped a large rock onto Littleman's hand. The results were surprisingly gnarly, and after some hurried triage Billy took Littleman to the nearest ER.

(photo by Billy via iPhone)
Littleman ended up with 8 stitches, a bandaged splint and antibiotics to prevent infection. It was rough on him of course, but he was a real trooper and bounced back quickly.

The rest of us hung out around camp in the light rain, relaxing (OK and maybe worrying a bit) and playing Mancala and Canasta while the younger boys played or read comic books. Billy and Littleman got back in time for our big shared dinner: a traditional Low Country Boil. It was delicious! Billy and I were the last ones awake as the skies opened and dropped a ton of rain. We had fun rushing about to batten down the hatches before turning in for the night.

Friday morning:

(video by Billy via iPhone)


Friday we drove up to Anna Ruby Falls for a short hike. The double waterfall was looking pretty spectacular from the previous night's downpour!



Everyone had a snack before Papa Bear and Brother Bear took one of the dogs and joined Billy, myself and Babyman for a 4 mile hike back to camp. Mama Bear bravely took charge of the remaining 4 boys and one dog, and went back to camp for the afternoon.

The hike was wonderful! It felt amazing. I carried Babyman, who napped most of the way, so I'm pretty good and sore right now! It was just what I needed.

(video by Billy via iPhone)

Saturday we packed up and said goodbye to our friends, with promises to plan this again soon! Billy and I took the boys into Helen so we could visit our favorite rock shop and eat at the Troll Tavern. We stopped at the hospital for an Xray on Littleman's hand before heading on home that night. Whew! What a great trip! And now, it's back to chipping away at the resulting mountain of laundry. (FYI, Oxyclean does a fantastic job on bloodstains.) ;)



P.S.- Find Mama Bear's excellent account of the trip here:
Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4

Planting Blueberries!

Last summer we went with a friend to pick blueberries in North GA. It was such a delightful trip, and we couldn't believe how many delicious berries we gathered! The berry bushes were absolutely laden with plump blue goodness. This got us thinking. . . we should plant blueberries, too! We thought about planting them at our house, but decided a better location was at my in-laws' property instead. I did a little research, and decided on some Rabbiteye blueberry varieties.

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

Time got away from me, and lo it was April before we got around to purchasing our blueberry plants and going to Grandma & Grandpa's for planting. That's OK, though- we were still within acceptable time for planting blueberries here in GA. It was a perfect setup: I did the research, purchasing and direction while Billy and his brother did all the digging and planting!

After I selected a nice sunny, well-drained spot on a gentle slope, we marked where we wanted the plants to go. Then, Billy and his brother set to work digging out the dense Georgia red clay.

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

The clay we found there wasn't quite as hard as some I've seen, but it still needed some good topsoil and compost mixed in.

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

The great Gimli McGuinness, our cairn terrier, was happily on hand to supervise. It was a perfect day for him, running free outside to get filthy. (And yes, he needs grooming- he's scraggly!)

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

After a hard day's work there were 7 blueberry bushes comfortably ensconced in their new home. Billy put stakes and string around them so Grandpa wouldn't accidentally mow them down.

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

Finally I contributed a little manual labor, to spread the mulch: lots of nice, acidic pinestraw to protect the plants, help discourage weeds, and hold moisture. (Blueberry plants like an acidic pH in their soil.) There is no shortage of pinestraw on that property!

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

Just as I was spreading the last wheelbarrow-full of pinestraw, big fat raindrops began splashing down. A short cloudburst of a thunderstorm gave the new bushes a nice drink of water and then moved on, leaving a breathtaking sherbet ice cream sunset to polish off the day.

From Planting Blueberries 4/27/09

Compare the two small sunset photos carefully, and you might notice a flash of lightning caught in the first one- it's the whitish blob behind the trees in the lower left part of the picture.


Now we look forward to many summers of blueberry harvests ahead!

Wordless Wednesday

From Blogger Pictures

Campout 2009! Edisto Beach, SC- Days 1 & 2

Every year, I plan and implement a large reunion-style campout for our near and extended family. Besides myself and Billy with our children, usual attendees are Aunts, Uncles, cousins, "adopted" cousins, and close family friends, with cameo appearances by Grandma, Grandpa and "Aunt P". It's car camping in established campgrounds. I alternate years: going to a mountain destination in the summer one year, and to a coastal destination in the spring the next year. So far, we've been to Cades Cove TN/NC (in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park), Jekyll Island GA (my photos here), Pisgah National Forest NC, and now Edisto Island, SC.

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

I was delighted with this year's campout! Edisto Island State Park was a gem of a place. I was particularly thrilled with our campsites, which were the walk-in sites located in the marsh-side campground loop.

The views were beautiful, there was a constant breeze from the marsh that kept all the gnats and mosquitoes away, and we had gorgeous (if chilly) weather the whole week!

We arrived a day early, along with Billy's lowcountry-resident sis and her party. We had cousin Dashi with us, whom my boys idolize.

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

It had been a long drive. The kids were excited! I loved the campsites. Ours had the perfect climbing tree for the boys (which Billy tied a rope swing to for even more fun)!

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

(Isn't that a GREAT tree?)

First order of business: hurry and set up camp. Setting up camp is always a flurry of activity, especially with a toddler around to get in the way!

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

But we managed, with Billy setting up our tents while I got dinner going. (Note to self: next year, pick up some take-out for the first night's meal!!)


Day 1 closed cold (lows in the 30s F that night!) and full of promise for the week to come!

Day 2 we donned our bike helmets, hooked the kids' trailer and bike seat to Billy's bike, and rode out to explore the network of paths running through the State Park. Billy was pulling quite a load!

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

(My bike's design makes it difficult to attach the bike seat or trailer. Lucky me!) ;)

The paths were wonderful- pretty flat, well-maintained, of packed sandy dirt alternating with boardwalks to cross the marshy places.

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

We rode out to the Edisto Beach Interpretive Center, which has some neat natural artifacts and interactive environmental displays. (If that link didn't work, go to http://www.dnr.sc.gov/video/misc_tv/videoEdisto.html for a cool video about the interpretive Center.) After exploring the building, we took the path out to the pier (my last Skywatch Friday photo was also taken here).

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

It was windy! Littleman's hair was going wild.

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

Afterwards, we enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading back to camp. By the time we got there, the rest of the group had begun arriving. Time to get dinner on and lend a helping hand!

Late that evening Billy towed the boys to and from the bath house to get them ready for bed. The moon was rising full and silvery, and though the air was chilly it felt fresh and invigorating. As soon as Littleman and Sweetcheeks were all tucked in (Babyman had gone to sleep some time before), Billy announced he was going for a bike ride. I had to stay with the kids, but my brother went along. When they returned, it was with wide eyes and breathless excitement over the experience. They had turned off their flashlights and let their eyes adjust to the night. The moon was high and bright, and the light sandy path seemed to glow before them in the dancing shadows. With such good visibility (and no other people around), they'd been able to zoom along at a fast clip, watching the palmettos whip by in the darker periphery, moving in and out of moonlight like minnows darting through sunlight-dappled shallows. Hitting the long boardwalk through the marsh, they'd felt like they were flying through the salty, windy night under that pearly moon.

We went to sleep that night happy.

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

(To read my account of Day 3, go here.)

Here I am!

Well, as usual after I've neglected my poor blog for awhile, I'd first like to apologize for my lengthy absence. I'm sorry! I've just been busy- mainly, we had our big annual family campout- it was awesome. I'll tell you more about it later. Also, there were taxes due (ugh), and LAUNDRY, and a handful of other things. Plus, I've been enjoying Spring- I've just been doing more and blogging less. But I miss you all, so hopefully I won't be gone so much now. :)

Do you know how it is, when you finally get to talk to a good friend or family member that you've been out of touch with for awhile, and you find you don't know what to talk about? Those people you chat with all the time, well you could ramble on with them for hours. But with someone dear that you haven't kept up with, you just don't know where to begin? The scope of your experience, the catching up, has grown too vast to be distilled by words, and you're not sure what drops of the ocean would make the sweetest and most meaningful conversational libation. Well that's how I'm feeling now- what should I write about? What makes the cut??

* * *

Being that it's technically now Wednesday (Earth Day, as well!) I'll throw out a wordless wednesday pic for you, even though the "wordless" part is obviously out the window now. I'm tired. Hopefully I'll have a few tales (and more pictures!) for you soon. Good night!

Wordless Wednesday

From Edisto Island Campout 2009

Spring Rain

Sometimes, a rainy day is mystical. It has a soft quality, where the edges are blurred and grey shapes flit through a foggy landscape. Sometimes, a rainy day is powerful. The air is literally electric, tingling your senses and stirring instincts deep within your soul. Sometimes, a rainy day is peaceful and steady, quietly welcomed by the thirsty ground. But in the Springtime here, there are rainy days that manage to be all of those things and more- the rain is peaceful and steady, nurturing the youthful vegetation, which is just bursting into being all around. The misty edges of your vision are blurred into a gentle green illumination, like hope and remembrance bound up together in this journey's fresh beginning. And somehow, against all odds, despite all distraction and clutter and jaded perceptions, in spite of yourself, you drink deeply of the promise, and you smile.

Spring Cleaning

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Spring Cleaning Current mood: cheerful Something about Spring tends to make me feel like organizing a bit. I must not be alone in this, considering the "spring cleaning" cliche. It seems a little odd to me that the urge seldom strikes in the Winter- wouldn't that be the best time, when you are holed up inside anyway? Wouldn't it make sense to concentrate on your interior spaces when you are staring at them all the time? But no. . . in the Winter, I feel like hibernating. I feel sluggish and unmotivated much of the time, and staring at the same clutter all the time can easily make one blind to it. No, it's the Spring that starts to awaken my senses- I throw open the windows and breathe fresh air, and suddenly see my rooms in a new light. I get the urge to finally finish storing and labeling the outgrown baby clothes and diapers. I want to overhaul my closet, and banish all that stuff that Billy and I will never wear. I want to turn out the kitchen pantry and cabinets, purge my shelves of ancient specimens and put everything back in some sort of logical order (unlike the current haphazard storage). I still want to finish storing and labeling my art supplies (a project long-since begun, and long-since suspended). I want to sort through the toys and banish some of the junk that's crept into the collection. And I want to scrub the inside of my fridge, wash all the windows, and really clean the floors. In the course of cleaning and organizing, I would like to set up some areas to be more condusive to the Montessori philosophy- so that the boys may have more freedom to do things independantly. I'd like to have an accessible cleaning station in the kitchen for them, with child-size tools (broom, mop, bucket, dustpan, rags, duster and a spray bottle of vinegar-water for cleaning with). I'd like to have the bottom shelf of the fridge organized to be accessible to them, so they may help themselves to healthy snacks when they want them. (Including a small pitcher of milk that they may pour from). I have other ideas in this vein, but you get the general idea. My tidying trend doesn't stop there- I want to trim shrubs outside, fill in the doggie excavations in the backyard, and dig out/level/mulch a path. And of course, I'm preparing the vegetable garden! I let it go sadly over the last couple years, but with a little TLC I think we can have a rockin' veggie garden again. It's a wonderful thing for Littleman to be a part of at this age- I have everything ready for us to start planting seeds tomorrow. Hopefully the garden will be ready to receive them by the time they sprout. Therin lies much of my motivation- any time I start to feel lazy or intimidated by all the work that needs doing, I remember that these things work right in to my preschool "curriculum"- my unwritten, loosely defined set of values and goals that I am using to guide us in our current homeschooling. Organization (to some extent) is important. Fostering independance and responsibility at home is important. A comfortable learning environment is important. Just being outside is important. And learning about plants and growing things is important. So, even in my extremely limited time, I am making time to do these things. (The organization has made minor progress so far, since being outside comes first. . . but there has been progress!) It feels good. I love Spring. P.S.- I know something you don't know. :)