Journal Jottings of a Maine Mama - April , 2016

I haven't had much time (and truth by told ENERGY) to do much blogging lately, or even reading all the wonderful things you all blog about. My life is blessed! I simply want to enjoy every day that God has given me with my loving husband and zany kids, the new experiences, the adventures, and even the challenges.I miss writing though, and this link-up. Perhaps starting it at the beginning of the week and posting the following Monday will work...

CLOCK READS
2:48pm

WEATHER IN MY NECK OF THE WOODS
Although we've had some days of steady, cool rain, the weather has warmed up. We are enjoying more and more sunny days. Some days we don't even have to wear jackets!

OUTSIDE MY WINDOW and IN THE GARDEN
All the snow is gone. The leaves have been raked off the lawn. The downed tree branches have been gathered and stacked to burn in the fire pit. The grass is green and growing. Cate's perennials have popped up as well as the Bleeding Hearts under the crabapple tree. The brook is swollen with melted snow from the mountain. Decidious trees are leaf buds. And the birds and spring peepers are back filling the woods with songs.

WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW and AROUND THE HOUSE
After a busy morning filled with learning and errands, I'm resting in the livingroom. The windows are open and I can hear the hens clucking. Another egg? Sam is making homemade peanut butter cookies and watching Netflix. The dogs are napping on the other end of the couch.

TODAY'S TO DO
Laundry
Grocery Shop
Bank
Band Practice
Homeschool
Dishes
Vacuum
Scrub Toilets

DINNER MENU
Monday: Pepperoni or Cheese Pizza
Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread and Steamed Peas
Wednesday: Leftovers - Baked Beans and Hot Dogs or Spaghetti and Meatballs and Baby Carrots and Celery Sticks
Thursday: Breakfast Pizza with White Pepper Gravy, Scrambled Eggs, Cheese, and Bacon and Pineapple Chunks
Friday: Chicken Alfredo and Steamed Cauliflower/Broccoli
Saturday: Chinese Take-out
Sunday: Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

WHAT'S ON TV
I usually catch up on "Survivor", "The Amazing Race", "The Voice", and "Big Bang Theory" on Hulu or CBS sometime AFTER they have aired. We haven't had cable or local TV in several years now (nor Netflix). I do miss some of the shows on cable, but it's convenient to watch shows when it works for me through Hulu or CBS.

FROM THE CRAFT BASKET

Most of you probably don't know that 3 1/2 years ago I attended the birth of my nephew Ayden. I was also there with my family when he died 50 minutes later. Ayden, the first child of my sister, arrived at 22 weeks due to an incompetent cervix. He was perfect in every way, but too early. It's been on my heart for a while to use my crochet to create special hat and blanket sets for Moms and Dads who's babies never go home through prematurity. These parents have only a few special items from their babies so they are treasured. I took a break from my 2 temperature blankets to make 2 sets for hospital donation. (If you are interested in also donating Project Robbie is a great place to start.)

The left set is for a baby about 1 pound. The hat is approximately 8" in diameter and 3 1/2" from top-to-bottom. The blanket is 17" x 17". The right set is for a baby about 2 pounds. The hat is approximately 10" in diameter and 4" top-to-bottom. The blanket is 18" x 18".

I'm sharing my crocheting creations over at Lucy Blossom Crafts (Mondays), Frontier Dreams (Tuesdays), Small Things (Wednesdays), Oombawka Design (Wednesdays), and Lunamon Design (Wednesdays).

PAGE TURNER

A BLESSING

It's truly been a blessing to spend a couple of overnights a month with my husband boondocking in our little camper. We've had wonderful times together: fishing, exploring waterfalls, seeing new areas. The simple pleasure of a homemade breakfast sitting near a rushing river or reading our bibles before it gets too dark at night with the ocean waves lapping the shore nearby and a campfire are special times together.

DEVOTIONAL and INSPIRATION

James 1:17 - Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

I'm linking up to The Simple Woman's Daybook and Happy Homemaker are Mondays.

A Peak at Our Week: The One that Begun

Welcome Year 10!

In Our Homeschool This Week

On Wednesday, Jake woke up early (for him), nibbled a quick breakfast, grabbed his backpack and bagged lunch, and for the FIRST TIME EVER set off for public school with a friend. Not your TRADITIONAL public school, but a hands-on STEM charter high school without grades. And then Cati, Sam and I started our new year, right at the diningroom table.

So, How Did the Day Go?

6:15-7:30am Getting a Move On, Sort of

Jake and I got up and got moving at a snail's pace. I'd never consider us MORNING PEOPLE. Staying up late doesn't make the early hours appealing, but we'll adjust...eventually. I woke Cati and Sam before driving Jake 7 miles to meet up with a friend driving him to the school (which isn't nearby). 

7:30-9:00am Language Arts Block

I'm trying out a BLOCK SCHEDULE this year. Something new. Yeah, always tweaking. The kids started their new reading books, Bridge to Terabithia (Paterson) and Dinosaurs Before Dark (Pope Osborne), filled out a Who Am I worksheet (for their portfolios), started Grammar, and took their :groan: Spelling Power placement tests.

9:10-10:00am Math Block

I snagged a couple of Mind Bender books for FREE earlier this summer. Have you seen them? They're wonderful critical thinking puzzles. Anyway, we started Math with a "Bender Warm-up" and then plunged right into our text books, Saxon and Math-U-See.

10:00-10:25am Science Block...and a Shower

We're focusing on Life Science with notebooking and experiments this year. Cati is working out of a middle school Prentice Hall textbook and on-line website, and Sam will be doing Mr. Q's Life Science on-line free here. Cati took a shower and got dressed then did a few minutes of independent Science reading while Sam and I worked together on-line.

10:25-12:00n Band and Nibbles
We hopped into the van and headed off to the public middle school for Cati's first band practice. But while there, Sam and I got hungry so we drove to Subway, then back to the school for a picnic lunch on the grass. Cati ate her sandwich on the ride home, while reading her Language Arts book.

12:00-12:30pm Science Block Continued
We finished up our Science, notebooking information on the scientific method, and biotic and abiotic things.

12:30-1:15pm History Block, but Running out of Learning "Steam"

Looking for something video-based for U.S. History this year, I decided on the National Repository of Online Courses (NROC). Definitely for older students, we'll focus on just the videos and record people and events on our wall map from here, adding in Netflix documentaries and "America: Story of Us" videos (History Channel). It's a perfect, less focused way to end our school mornings.

1:15-4:30pm Free Time, Mostly
After chores, tidying up the livingroom - Ugh! Legos! - and catching up dishes, the kids biked and played with a friend that was in the neighborhood. And MAMA had some Facebook and Words with Friends time before vacuuming and sweeping and folding laundry and pondering what to make for dinner.

4:30-7:00pm Everyone's Day Wraps Up
I picked Jake up at his friend's house at 4:30pm. He was tired, but happy with his first day at B____. Today, the entire school went to a state park (with a BEAUTIFUL light house) and did team-building exercises. Not your typical public school!

I Rewarded By Kids This Week By

Having Chinese take-away to celebrate our first day back to school and going to Zeb's General Store for "penny" (i.e. QUARTER) candy!

7:00-10:00pm TV/Video Game Time and Off to Bed
After a productive, busy day, the kids and I settled down for SCREEN TIME before showers and climbing into bed. 6:15am will come much too soon again!

What about Fine Arts?
Did you notice that our schedule is "stream-lined" this year? and it didn't include fine arts? Oftentimes I over-schedule and over-complicate our day-to-day schooling. I have come to realize the VALUE in SIMPLICITY and allowing the kids more unscheduled learning and exploring time. I'm not ready to go UNSCHOOL though. :wink: Fine Arts will be accomplished on Fridays through a homeschool co-op starting in October. This Mama is concentrating on Core.

Our Favorite Thing This Week

Our FIRST Wellsummer hen egg! The "baby girls" are FINALLY laying! (Just in time too as 3 of our "old girls" are molting and have shut down egg production.) Just for comparison: L. to R. Pekin duck white egg, Ameraucana-Barred Rock hen pink egg and a Welsummer hen tan egg (which will get bigger as she lays more).

People and Places

On Tuesday we hopped into my friend's van with her and her kids and we headed to New Hampshire for some WATERFALL FUN. Diana's Baths is SUCH a cool spot to "hang out" and get wet! But the water is downright CHILLY!

And you know I would take my own photos too, right? LOL

As ALWAYS, linking up to these WONDERFUL blogs:

Take a Hike: Holt Pond Preserve

Over 400 wetland, field and forest acres make up Holt Pond Preserve in Naples, Maine, including a 41 acre shallow lake (with a maximum depth of 10 feet). There's a Red Maple swamp area to meander through as well as hummocks, "nutrient rich glacial deposits where hemlocks take root". Grey Herons nest in the area, but beavers, a variety of fish, moose, minx, and numerous species of birds also make this area their home. Moss, pitcher plants, swamp rose, water lillies, and a variety of broadleaf and evergreen trees grow abundant. It's a quiet, meandering 5.3 mile walk through wooded paths and on bouncy boardwalks that rest on floating sphagnum moss.

In no hurry, we strolled along the trail, stopping often and looking for signs of spring.  The swamp grass and broadleafs remain brown and yellowed from winter. We heard Canada Geese as soon as we reached the pond and soon they flew overhead, honking loudly. We searched for frogs along the pond's edges and swaying plant life beneath the water's surface, but only found Water Skiers flitting about the surface. Blue Jays squawked from the trees overhead.

We found different kinds of fungus and moss growing on both live and dead trees.

Cati searched and found some "baby" Fiddlehead Ferns just a few inches tall along the wetland areas. Fiddleheads can be harvested, cooked and eaten. (The taste reminds me of asparagus. Bleck! :wink:) Wintergreen was everywhere. The kids plucked some leaves to crush and smell.

We also located both male and female catkins. Can you tell which is which? (Hint: We call the male catkins 'bananas'.) Catkins are flower clusters on certain species of trees such as birch, willow, chestnut, and hickory and are either wind or insect pollinated. These males, old and brown from another season, are usually a yellow-green, but the females tend to be brownish cones.

Sam was quite fascinated with this grouping of plants in the middle of a ring of trees. The leaves felt "velvety" and were a vibrant green. (We're still working on identifying them.)

Along the way, we stopped for a snack break among some Fairy Houses that previous visitors had constructed. Inspired, Cati created her own house to go with the the others who were in "disrepair" from the winter months. Using only natural plants from around the area, she made a tipi-style house with an awning over the door, a garden of pine cones and a stick fence.

We decided to turn back after we reached about half-way and followed a narrow, deeply rutted dirt road back to the parking lot. It was getting warm and SOMEONE didn't pack enough food to satisfy the hikers. :wink: And trust me - hungry hikers make for grumpy explorers!

Explorers Blog Hop: Meandering Essentials

I'd never call us hard-core hikers. We're just a family who likes to get out for long walks in the woods, sometimes through marshes and along lakes and sometimes up small mountains. We meander. It's not about making the summit or finishing the trail, but about exploring wherever we are. But some things can make that exploring much more enjoyable.

Our Top 5 Meandering Essentials...And Some Extras

1. Backpack

It's simple! Choose a backpack that feels comfortable and holds what you need to bring. You don't need anything fancy or expensive (unless you're doing more than meandering through the woods for a few hours). And your little kids? Get them one too! They'll love wearing one like everyone else! And having them carry their own water, snacks and jacket will lighten your load.

2. Footwear

Depending on where you hike, you may need some sturdy hiking boots with "grippy" soles, but if you're on flat, "park" trails, then supportive sneakers will do the job. I wouldn't recommended open-toed sandals or flip fops.

3. First Aid

We have yet to use our first aid kits, but they're there and they're important. Don't leave home without them! I purchased EACH OF US a Johnson and Johnson Mini Kit from Walmart for $1.20 and then added some other things such as antihistamine, mole skin (for blisters), tweezers, and a tick remover. We also have small bottles of DEET and sunscreen as well as unscented baby wipes, Duct Tape and a Swiss Army Knife. (Obviously don't give young or untrained kids knives. All my saplings have had supervised training with their SMALL, simple knives and understand that they are only used in emergencies.) Oh, and don't forget a map of trail, compass (if you know how to use it) and your cell phone. But as important as these supplies are, don't forget to tell someone where you are going and when you anticipate returning.

4. Layers

Certainly dress for the weather, but be prepared for sudden changes. We have LL Bean waterproof jackets OR cheap Dollar Tree rain ponchos in our backpacks in case of a pop-up shower as well as long-sleeved fleeces or thin sweatshirts for temperature dips. Depending on the season, we have hats and gloves or baseball caps. And bring an extra pair of socks, preferably wool or synthetic, because wet feet are the worse.

5. Energy Builders

Water, water, water! In addition to water, bring some snacks. Everyone has their favorites, but make sure it's something that can take bumps in your backpacks as you meander along. I often pack our stuff in small reuseable plastic containers with locking lids so I don't have to worry about something getting crushed to crumbles.

6. Extras
My saplings like to bring binoculars and some hand lenses along for viewing wildlife and plants up close. Field guides help to answer those probing questions about what a plant is called...or, in our case, who "pooed in the park"...and nature journals can be a fun keepsakes of your adventures. And I never meander without my camera.

But no matter what you bring or where you meander, it's the having fun and enjoying your walk in the woods with kids that's the best!

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Take a Hike! Bald Pate Mountain

There's nothing like taking a hike when it's a brisk 24 degrees. ::shiver:: But why not, right? 

We bundled up in hats, mittens, wool socks, and hooded sweatshirts, grabbed our backpacks, made a quick stop at the store for lunch fixings, and headed to Bald Pate Mountain Preserve.

Bald Pate Mountain Preserve has 486 acres of forests, meadows and granite cliffs, and a 1150 foot mountain summit. There are 6.7 miles of interconnected easy-to-moderate trails for hikers and skiers.

From the parking lot, we headed straight down the Bob Chase trail by the kiosk toward the summit (.8 mi). Here, we walked along a wide, root-riddled path with crumbling, frozen ground and lots and lots of brown, crunchy beech leaves. We could hear Black Crows over head and occasional chattering of squirrels. (Well, when the Saplings weren't making up new lyrics for "Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer" using "hamburgers" as the topic. Yep! That's my happy bunch! ::laugh::) The trail was an easygoing ascent through forest.

L. to R. (Top): Lots and lots of brown beech leaves and a moss-covered tree stump. L. to. R.
(Bottom): A mountain view and the sign for the summit

The view from the summit was beautiful! Lakes, mountains and forest for as far as the eye could see. The sky was winter-blue with lots of wispy clouds. But it was breezy and the cold air chilled us to the bone, so we had a quick lunch of granola bars, hard-boiled eggs and chocolate wafer cookies while exploring the top, and then we hiked on.

The Summit! Top to Bottom: Dedication plaque, Sugar Maple on a tree, a lake, and the Saplings.

We decided to head down the Pate Trail, thinking that it would be a quick one (.1 mi). How wrong we were! ::wink:: If only I had brought along our topographical map! (Hiking Hint: Having a trail map, particularly one with topographical information (elevation gain) , is very helpful in planning appropriate paths to follow with kids or for your physical condition.)  Soon after starting, we saw another sign, and we wondered what we would experience on this trail.

My legs are still achy 6 hours later from this one! Phew!  The steep grade descent, all the granite boulders scattered everywhere and a layer of slippery beech leaves and pine needles made for a slow, careful trek. Balsam Fir thought it was a blast to slide down the leaves and needles like a water slide though. (I hope his sweatpants come clean!) Sugar Maple loved the challenge of jumping from rock-to-rock. But White Pine and I were more worried about carefully choosing our path and not sliding down the hillside.  (Hiking Hint: Wearing good hiking boots help with terrain "grip" and ankle support,  making hiking safer.)  My Saplings exclaimed, "Best trail ever!" Of course! ::wink::

L. to R./Top to Bottom: That's the trail marker and trail among the boulders, Sugar Maple and
White Pine slip-sliding down, a Puff Ball mushroom, a sheer cliff, and Sugar Maple and
Balsam Fir on top of a boulder.

This trail ended and we turned left onto the South Face Loop Trail (.7 mi) towards the summit once again. There were switchbacks here and there, but also steep sections. Sugar Maple spotted a couple different old scat deposits  - Don't you look for poo on hikes? ::wink:: - and we're guessing that they were deer and either fox or coyote. (I'll spare you the photos though unless...) We were dragging and rested for 15 minutes on the summit before heading back down Bob Chase (.8mi) to the kiosk.

Balsam Fir taking a break

We only scratched the surface of the trails available at Bald Pate Mountain Preserve. We'll return again in the spring and see what else there is to explore. But in the meantime, we ended our hike with some mint hot chocolate from Dunkin' Donuts to warm up. Ahhh!

Take a Hike: Acadia National Park - Summit Trail and Jordan Pond

One of our most favorite places to explore is Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island. It's especially awesome in late fall when the tourist season is over, the days are crisp and the trails unpopulated. It's such a perfect time to get out and enjoy some nature!

So, despite the dark gray overcast skies with only rare glimpses of the sun, we drove to the park and meandered up the summit of Cadillac Mountain. Cadillac Mountain is 1532 feet high and the first place in the U.S. to see the sun from October 7th to March 6th. Pretty neat, huh? The mountain is composed of pale pink and gray granite and covered with evergreen forests, wild blueberries, and gnarled subalpine plants at the summit. A .3 mile easy trail encircles the summit and provides dizzying views of the ocean and Mount Desert Island.

See the seagull? It decided to have lunch with us! Even though we hopped into the van after a few minutes to warm up (because it was NIPPY on top and we weren't prepared with warmer jackets), it stayed around and watched us, hoping for scraps of, well, anything! (I have an NO FEED WILDLIFE rule though.)

After Cadillac Mountain, we meandered around the Park Loop Road and decided to stop at Jordan Pond and walk the 3.3 mile easy-to-moderate trail there. This path winds around Jordan Pond on a wooden boardwalk, through and over granite boulders, over a wooden bridge, and through the forest with views of the Bubbles. North Bubble is 872 feet high and South Bubble is 766. We can't wait to bring our kayaks here! Doesn't it look peaceful? 



So, we started left of the trailhead (at the lower parking lot) and went over a small stone bridge with clear water rushing under and then walked on the boardwalk through the swampy forest,  and finally "bouldered" (i.e. climbed) through the jumbled granite rocks. Do you have young kids? Such a perfect walk for kids! Varied, but not difficult terrain! We compared tree barks of young and old trees of the same type, found bracket fungi and other common New English mushrooms, and some cool, papery-looking lichen.

That bottom right photo - that's where we did our "bouldering". Believe it or not there's a trail that winds through those rocks! It requires a little motor planning and climbing and jumping, but totally doable and fun for kids to explore. I suppose most wouldn't really refer it it as "bouldering" because it's not that challenging, but that's how we like to refer to it.  And "bouldering" sounds more interesting than "climbing". ::wink::

After a brief break at "Beaver Bridge" for a snack of crackers and cheese and exploring, we walked along the groomed trail through the forest. This part of the trail is easier to wander along as it's on packed, level ground. But Hurricane Sandy brought down some birches and a large pine that we had to climb over and around. The pine's trunk was already half chewed through by a beaver and totally blocked the trail. We had hoped to see a beaver, but they mostly come out at dusk or night-time...and, well, my bunch can be a little loud talkative during hikes. We did see a squirrel in the trees though, and a lone black salamander in a small pool of water (who should be preparing for winter already).

As we wound back around to the trailhead, we noticed the changing light as the sun moved lower in the sky and then heavy, dark clouds moved in again as the winds picked up. Brrr! We walked over a stone bridge with the water bubbling through from a wheaten-colored marsh area, and then up the hill to the parking lot.

Where should we go next?!

Take a Hike: Along the Kanc

It's peak foliage season in northern parts of New Hampshire and Maine, and one of the most beautiful places to visit, IMO, is along the Kancamagus Highway in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire.

The Kanc is a 34.5 mile scenic byway through central New Hampshire.  The road winds through evergreen and broadleaf forests and along flowing streams, and rises to an elevation of 3000 feet over Mount Kancamagus. There are numerous scenic pull-outs with amazing views as well as miles of hiking trails, small waterfalls and even covered bridges. An amazing nature experience!

So, Friday morning we packed up a hearty lunch cooler, filled water bottles, laced up our Bean hiking boots, and headed out for a day-long "leaf peeping" road trip. 

But it turned out to be a day of waterfalls!

Our first stop was Sabbaday Falls. A quick 1/3 mile walk in on a wide, tree-lined trail and you're at the falls. It's cool, damp and slippery! Sugar Maple and I enjoyed the antics of a chipmunk on the return trip.

Our next stop was the Rocky Gorge Scenic Area. Rocky Gorge was SUPER busy and even finding a parking spot was difficult. We didn't stay long and skipped the 1 mile hiking loop. But it did have beautiful views!

We stopped at Lower Falls for a picnic lunch and lots of wet fun! We've been here a few times on past drives and it's always a favorite. Although the falls aren't impressive, the Swift River with its shallow pools and smooth rocks is an endless supply of explorations and we stayed for a few hours. Balsam Fir ended up slipping into the water while wading and got soaked. He took FULL ADVANTAGE of his "wetness"! ::wink:: Lower Falls is just one of those nature spots that the kids never seem to tire of.

But we saved the best for last! After meandering through the rest of the Kanc and finding side roads around heavy "leaf peeper" traffic, we found Diana's Baths in Bartlett, New Hampshire. Diana's Baths are a series of small waterfalls, shallow bowl-shaped wading pools and a rocky gorge in the middle of the forest. It's a popular spot in the summer and with school groups, but we arrived later in the day and only a few families were there. There was lots of opportunities for "bouldering" (i.e. climbing rocks) and wading in the icy water, and if we weren't getting tired and hungry, I think we could've spent HOURS and HOURS exploring!

After dinner at 99 in North Conway, we finally headed back home. Unfortunately, traffic was backed up for MILES heading into Maine for the Fryeburg Fair. White Pine was able to use my Tom Tom and plot a route through side roads to get us around it, but it still took about 45 minutes to go 2 miles to reach a road that would work. ::sigh:: We were quite amused to see a man jump out of a car in front of us, walk to a gas station and then return with refreshments for his friends in the car...and we had only moved about 100 feet. We hit the road at 8:30am and arrived home at 7:30pm. Phew! But what a great day of exploring!