Beneath the Surface...

I love the contrast reprented by these photographs. As the seasons come and go, Chi-Chi and Muffy are consistently drawn to this corner of our property. We initially created this tiny body of water with visions of good old fashioned pond hockey in mind. As much as the boys might enjoy a practice or game at the "real rink", nothing quite compares to the hours they spent with their Daddy on this ice surface - racing back and forth on growing legs, perfecting their shots (and saves) and breathing in the crisp fresh air. Although we experienced a mild winter, we took advantage of any opportunity to lace up our skates and revel in the joy of our own backyard rink.

Now that spring has sprung, our tiny pond has become a treasure trove of opportunity for learning and discovery. When one takes the time to simply sit and quietly observe, the diversity of life in this "over sized mud puddle" is absolutely mind boggling.

This evening we ventured down to the pond to check for frog eggs. We were not disappointed and discovered three large gelatinous clumps. Each of us settled into our own thoughts and space as we absorbed all the sights and activities below the surface of the water. I overheard Chi-Chi beckoning me to come quickly as he had made a very, VERY interesting discovery that he described as a teeny-tiny bunch of woven grass. I was skeptical, but I meandered over. I was fascinated by what he had discovered, which looked to be a tiny "log cabin" fashioned out of twigs and grasses. Inside this cabin, a larva or nymph of sorts was poking in and out. Back in the house, a quick Internet search revealed that he had indeed found the larva of the caddis fly. The larva of the caddis fly builds this protective covering around it's body out of debris. It spends it's lifecyle inside the case, until it finally emerges as the adult caddis fly. How fascinating is that! Seriosuly, I'm not as much of a bug lover as these boys of mine, but this is very cool!

I'm expecting endless hours of exploration and discovery in our little pond over the coming months. Who knows what other discoveries await us beneath those murky waters.

They boys spent so much time down there last summer, Mama even had time to park herself down with a lawn chair and novel....which she actually got to finish! I may have been eaten alive by mosquitos and deer flies....but the quiet contentment of my children was worth the pain and suffering

Adorable Acorns and Creepy Crawlers

This past weekend brought lots of sunshine our way. I saw it as the perfect opportunity to get out my felting basin and enjoy some fun soapy, wet activity with the boys. Muffy didn't show much interest in the project! Chi-Chi, however, was right there beside me as we worked on a set of felted acorns for our fall decorating efforts. I was so excited to finally get to this project, which has been on my wish list for quite some time. I wasn't really sure of the best way to approach it, until I found this excellent tutorial! I followed the steps outlined in the video with great success, including the use of both dry and wet felting methods. We even got a little creative as Chi-Chi wanted to create a planet earth. So much fun!





I'm really pleased with the results. In fact, I really need to get out and collect more acorn caps, as I have grand visions of these little beauties dangling from the limbs of my Christmas tree! I think they make such a nice addition to our fall nature table. It was time to pack away the seashore/summer themed decorations in favor of items inspired by autumn. I really enjoy the process of completely refreshing the seasonable table and digging through my tucked away stash of trinkets. It's nice to pull out something that we have not admired in almost a year. The children are always drawn to the new display, and it was not long before I found Muffy adding a touch of colored leaves he collected outdoors. I keep a child-sized chair pulled up to the table so both Chi-Chi and Muffy can spend time admiring and rearranging the items when they see fit.

Our sunny weekend also offered lots of opportunity for backyard exploring. Check out what Muffy carted home from our tiny pond! Ok, I have to admit, I was glad to see it was dead. In fact, I confirmed it was dead before I let it enter our home. Yikes! What is this thing? Big Sister, is this one of those predacious diving beetles???? My bug-lovin' boy was pretty proud of this discovery!

Hoping everyone had a wonderful weekend!

The Latest Buzz

We took the boys surfing today at Rainbow Haven Beach, which is so conviniently located 2km from our house. Being an avid surfer, Hubby is super keen to get the boys in the water at a young age. They can't get enough of it these days, begging and pleading to be taken to the beach for a surf or "goggling" session several times a day. "Goggling" is a term coined by Muffy, defined as any underwater swimming, sporting his much loved goggles.



So, I'm not much of a surfer girl myself! I do so love the ocean and the beach, but I'm not a strong swimmer and I'm much more content watching from the shoreline with my knitting basket by my side. My role is to provide cheering, photography services, towels and post-session cuddles to warm up icy cold little bodies.

This afternoon, Muffy and I were lying on the warm sand in an effort to shake off his shivering. There were some beautiful round and smooth beach rocks within reach, and we soon found ourselves admiring them. My sweet boy suddenly exclaimed that he had a GREAT idea! "Mommy, let's collect these rocks and use them for crafts at my birthday party! All my friends can make rock bugs!"



My sweet Muffy has had a passion for anything creepy, crawly for as long as I can remember. So, once again this year, he will have a bug-themed party. This makes 3 out of 5 years he has requested bugs to take center stage at his birthday. His special day is at the end of the month, so I have lots of time to pull things together. I really do love planning these parties for the boys! I sat down tonight to make a list of some fun plans and ideas, keeping in mind I need to keep it simple. Thanks to Muffy himself, I've got a cute, SIMPLE, eco-friendly craft already planned (:



Bugs are seriously a form of entertainment in our house. I'm not joking when I say I use "my bug supply" as a method to provide Mommy with a break. I leave the porch light on every night to ensure a plentiful "supply". Most mornings, I just send the boys out to the deck to hunt so I can enjoy a quiet cup of tea to myself. Same goes at supper-making time. Those two boys spend at least 1 to 2 hours every single day hunting for new bugs and feeding the collection of "pets" we've got visiting our science table. This week they are collecting pairs of crane flies to see if they can get them to reproduce in captivity! Chi-Chi is certain of success since he collected both male and female specimens, caught in the act! We've also got quite an extensive moth collection going on - and would you believe Chi-Chi snuck into my wool stash for food!!





Remember that painted-lady buttefly science project from the spring? Well, it's still going on. I believe we are on the fifth generation, as the butterflies continue to mate, lay eggs, hatch caterpillars....etc. It's been a very interesting life cycle study, that's for sure! I'm actually going to see how long we can keep it going. We were also excited to find a couple of "mystery" chrysalides recently, which we took home to study. Two beautiful mourning cloak butterflies finally emerged, to our delight. We observed them for a day and then realeased them.



Yes, the place is certainly buzzing these days. Even though some of the crawlies give me the creepies, I do love to see them so enthusiastic about the nature on their doorstep. I will admit that the Wool Fairy is having nightmares about the moth family residing in our living room. I can't believe they survived the household purge! What I'll do for a boy and his bugs!

Creepy Crawlies

I have to admit, one of the things I love most about having wee ones is the opportunity to step back in time in a sense, and relive my own childhood. Their curiosity and enthusiasm for learning is truly infectious! Inspired by my two budding scientists, I recently initiated a nature/animal study that I was certain would be a hit. I purchased a painted lady butterfly larvae kit from Boreal a few weeks ago. I was so happy for find a Canadian supplier for live specimens. (I just ordered the larvae and food and picked up the containers at a local pet shop) The mail man knocked on my door and handed over a package containing approximately 80 tiny little caterpillars. Although I only purchased 30, they obviously sent along afew extras in case of death! I split up the kit in order to share the experience with as many as possible. Chi-Chi's primary class, Muffy's preschool class, my sister's family and my nephew's primary class are all caring for and studying the caterpillars as they undergo the metamorphosis to butterflies! With Chi-Chi being in French Immersion, we are also learning the French vocabulary associated with the project.

On first glance, I was skeptical the project would be a success. The larvae were no bigger than a tiny ant when they arrived. Wow! These little guys are big eaters and have been growing steadily each day. Muffy comes down each morning and exclaims how much they grew overnight. They are certainly developing into some big, juicy caterpillars so I'm expecting they will soon start forming into chrysalises.

Like all little boys, Chi-Chi and Muffy have caught caterpillars in the past. After a short observation, we've always released them since we were never able to determine what proper food to provide. This will be a wonderful opportunity to view the entire process in an up-close and personal manner. Once we observe the adult butterflies for a few days, we will be releasing them into nature.

Well, at least our little caterpillars make us feel like SOMETHING around here is growing! My garden, which now resembles a pond after all this rain, certainly isn't! Let's hope for some sun soon!

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dogs' Tails...

I don't know what's gotten into me, but I'm on a bit of a science kick lately! It must surely have something to do with spring fever. As the world around us wakes up from a long winter snooze, there are so many interesting and exciting things going just outside the front door. Perhaps Chi-Chi and Muffy are the ones leading the charge on this one. As they spend more time outdoors, they are asking tons of questions and noticing tiny details such as the tulips poking up and the increased activity at the bird feeder.

I'm super excited about the latest "science project" we've undertaken. Friday was a day off from school so my sister came to visit with her two boys. She and my nephews brought us a few presents - tadpoles they collected from a pond near them home! It's hard to believe, but she's been raising her tadpoles all winter in an aquarium. Apparently, they are green frog tadpoles, which take about two years to develop into adult frogs. With four boys in the house, the tadpoles didn't get much attention. There was a serious amount of boyish action going on! Now that the house has quieted down, Chi-Chi and Muffy have had some time to get acquainted with these new friends. They really are fascinating to watch and study and I find myself drawn to them. Once they are grown and developed, we will release them back to nature, in the pond they originated from. Big sister also supplied me with some water plants for them to eat. Apparently our little friends feed on algae that grows on these plants. I'm relying on her expertise, since she's the one who studied marine biology and not accounting!

Thanks again Big Sis -for both the tadpoles and the visit! I was thinking today how lucky I am to have my sister and my parents so close by, despite the fact we grew up in Northern New Brunswick. In fact, my husband's parents and siblings also live very close...his brother just down the street. In this day and age, the stars don't align very often for this to occur. Our children are so fortunate to grow up truly knowing their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. So lucky indeed! Hope everyone had a great weekend!