a week in the woods

We spent last week in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. It is beautiful country: forested hills, farms and quaint towns. We did a lot of hiking over the week and our last hike was to the top of Lenox Mountain, the first mountain that Jove has climbed. The woods were full of interesting critters, many, many mushrooms and a lot of moss: we found a pond filled with tadpoles on their way to becoming frogs (a few legs here and there), we saw trees gnawed by beavers, lots of dragonflies by rivers and streams and Jup spotted a plant I had never seen before called Indian Pipes which is completely white and lives on a fungus that sucks the sap from tree roots.

This area was as picturesque and inspring as I had imagined New England would be growing up. It makes me want a cabin in the woods with a stream and maybe some berry patches and a small orchard. Like Thoreau, but maybe with some electricity and indoor plumbing.

We explored the area and took the kids on a scenic railroad and to an outdoor amusement park at a ski resort. We also drove to Amherst to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. I loved this place- it managed to make an art museum appealing and interactive for kids, for the big kids, too.

It was a super relaxing week. The place we stayed was fully equipped, making meals and laundry easy. There was a winding lagoon with forested islands right outside our kitchen, so our time spent just relaxing at our place was beautiful and allowed the kids to explore. We also got to swim in the pool quite a bit.

Jup has become a hiking aficionado and plans to start backpacking this fall before it gets cold. Luckily, there are so many mountainous landscapes within an hour or too of where we live.

observe

I have been writing many blog posts lately, in my head.

There is so much stuff going on around here lately that I just have to start writing.

We had a trip planned to Michigan to visit our family and friends and we ended up staying here to nurse Miranda back to health (literally) after a crazy four day fever.

Weirdly, the morning after we were supposed to leave we found some eggs in the geckos' water dish. So, we have a lot of critters in our house and garden right now and some pretty exciting things are happening and it is bringing us all a lot of joy. Now, I am a nature lover not really a pet lover, but watching the kids with the geckos may convert me.

Critter Notes:

• We have five geckos (loaned class pets from Jup's school) and two of them have laid three egss and we think we have more eggs to come. We are incubating the eggs. Geckos are smarter than I previously thought: they poop in one corner of the cage and the first egg layer laid her eggs in the water dish since they needed to be moist. We have since created a moist spot in the cage for subsequent egg layers.
• A couple of weeks ago we found a caterpillar in our carrot plants. I thought it might it be a Black Swallowtail because I had seen some of the butterflies in the back yard and they could have laid their eggs. So we bring it in and feed it carrot greens, it attached itself to the side of the container, shrunk by exuding a liquid and turned into a chrysalis (pupa) while we were camping. A few days after we got home our butterfly emerged. The picture of Munchie as adult butterfly is above. It was very exciting. Today we found another caterpillar in the carrots and we are going to rear it into a butterfly. When you touch them they poke out two orange osmetria and release a stinky smell. Jove noticed this with the first one and I got a picture of it this time.
• Look at the picture with Jove observing a green critter covered in small white pupae. I couldn't believe we found this today. The other day while watering my tomato plants I noticed some caterpillar poop on the ground. I looked at the plant and didn't see anything and then today while discussing why our tomato plants are doing so poorly: one has a fungus issue (a humungous fungus, as Jove would say) and the other one seems to be suffering from the sawdust that gathered on it, we saw a parasitized Tomato Horn Worm. I knew that wasps often lay their eggs in a caterpillar so when their larvae hatch they are surrounded by mushy food and then the pupae emerge from the skin. Adult wasps would then emerge from these little white pupae. But, this is the first time I had ever seen it. Jove was very interested and we showed the whole family and our neighbor before freezing it for posterity. By the way, the caterpillar was still alive, but not very feisty. Don't worry, wasps don't lay eggs inside humans, just Bot Flies do that and they only live in tropical America.
• You may know that honey bees, originally from Europe, are suffering from catastrophic collapse in population and farmers are experiencing a pollination problem, both in terms of cost and effectiveness. The other day I read an article about native pollinators (bees, wasps, beetles) and how important they can be when honeybee survival rates are low and now I am noticing all of the different pollinators we have here. Miranda stands in front of our marigolds and watches the bumblebees and says "bee" over and over again.

House notes:

• All of this talk and reading about insects and other animals has Jove using the word "attract" many times a day. If I try to coax Miranda and Jove away from some dusty spot in the kitchen, Jove blames it on Miranda, "She attracted me over here." Cracks me up.
• The TV has been off for the kids almost completely this summer (Psst, I really want to get rid of the TV completely, but Jup won't let me yet). So now, if Jove is completely wiped out from being outside or running around all day he asks to have the fish tank light put on so he can sit and watch them. He will also watch out the window for fireflies or watch what is going on down our street. We have now been asked by two different visiting cousins if our TV is broke. For the record, I don't think all TV is bad, but I think it is a very slippery slope with kids and I feel better staying away from the edge of the cliff.
• I have begun the homeschooling journey and it is very exciting. We had a small playdate with two other homeschooling families yesterday, a little Bronx collective of sorts. Since Jove is still young, it feels like we have the best of both worlds: a lot of his friends that do or will attend school are still pretty available since they are in pre-K or kindergarten and we are meeting some really inspiring new friends that are completely available to share time and learning with once the school year starts.

Adios!

outside

a mid-summer night's dream

We are remodeling the kitchen and putting in a half bath in one corner of the kitchen. I can use the kitchen, but a few things still need to be done. I am still in awe of the process of completely redoing a room. Thanks to my dad and my dear hubby for giving me a new kitchen and a first floor bathroom. I will post more pics when everything is done.

My little chocolate monster is four!

Jove's 4th birthday is tomorrow but we celebrated last week with a chocolate party fit for any chocolate monster. He had so much fun and it was our first combined friends and family party. Jove has really great playmates and cousins and it was nice for all of them to meet and play together. I really enjoyed planning it and was relaxed enough to actually enjoy the party and experience it with Jove. All of the kids really liked getting to be chocolate monsters for a day.

We made chocolate lollipops in molds (Jove's idea), the kids topped their own ice cream sundaes, mixed up chocolate milk, they swam in the pool, made mud pies in the sandbox, hunted for chocolates (which I had to freeze since it was 85 degrees outside), had a water race and, of course, ate cake.


































I have been thinking a lot about Jove and Miranda's lives lately and how much they have changed in the past few months. Jove seems so aware of the beauty and joy of life and is making connections between his experiences: what he sees, what we read, things that have happened to us, the places we go, what he sees others doing or saying. He doesn't want to be left out of any conversation or trip anywhere. He is also trying to make sense of some difficult things to understand like lying versus pretending and the rationale for fighting (think pirates and knights). He really internalizes everything I tell him and I have to be so thoughtful about what I say to him. Above all, I want him to feel safe and secure in his world. It really is a gift to be with him everyday at this stage in his life.

Miranda is walking and talking up a storm. She wants to do everything Jove is doing, which he loves. She wants to eat everything everyone else eats. She LOVES animals and we just acquired some geckos and turtles that we will be pet sitting this summer and she likes to hang out and watch them. She is bringing books to us to read. Jove loves to build hiding forts and she loves to look for and uncover him. That is what they do every morning while I get dressed. She loves playing with water in the yard and bends over to stick her hands in every puddle she finds.

I am grateful for summer's arrival and Jup's last day of work being today!!
Jove has his first real friendship and it so fun to watch. His friend is four and a half and has a brother the same age as Miranda, so Miranda always has a playmate too when we hang out. They really enjoy each other and have similar dispositions and interests: making up songs and dancing silly, being outside and getting dirty and they both have gentle souls. We are going to stay overnight with them next week for a couple of days to escape the kitchen remodeling. We are all pretty excited, well, except for papa (and grandpa) who will be working on the kitchen. I keep telling myself the most helpful thing I can do is to get out of the way.

busy bees

I feel bad that I have not been posting more frequent entries here, but every time I feel inspired I feel pulled away by many new and exciting things in the works and unfolding around me.

We have been ordering and planning our new kitchen. My dad will be here soon to employ his masterful skill to help us. Jove's birthday is coming up and his chocolate party is in the works. It has been raining like crazy which means that our garden weeds are very unruly and begging to be pulled.

Miranda has started walking and we are all enjoying this new stage of her life. She is also in a block building apprenticeship with Jove. She miraculously leaves his towers alone except to maybe take a single block on and off the top. This morning she made a five block tower all by herself and then called to me to look at it. She is going through a putting things in and taking them out stage and is saying a lot of new words. Toddlerhood is in full swing.

Jove is enjoying warm weather so much: collecting bugs, monitoring the flowers and vegetables, checking his rain gauge, watching thunderstorms (even dancing outside in a recent one).

This brings to me to the latest development in my life which is our decision for me to homeschool Jove next year. It is not homeschooling in the truest sense since he is not of compulsory school age, but he will not attend a pre-K program. I have met some homeschoolers and I am reading a ton about it. It is all very interesting and even through Jove will attend "regular" kindergarten soon enough, the information I have learned in the last couple of months has really informed my parenting and my understanding of learning. My own teaching of adolescents has shown me a lot of the problems kids experience when their personality or learning style seems to be at odds with what they are supposed to do, but I have never throught about it the way I am now. I think I will also be a different and better teacher when I return to the classroom.

I really cherish the joy and wonderment that Jove shows towards his interests and I feel like he is learning so much from our life right now. He says he does not want to go to school right now and I am excited to have him home with me. The great thing about the homeschooling community in this area is that there are so many great things going on, opportunities to explore and learn together. I will share more of our adventures as they unfold.

cars out, buildings in

Jove has seemingly lost almost all interest in zooming cars, trucks and trains all over the place and his new passion is making buildings.