"sunny side up mama"

introducing...

The newest member of our family....Beardie, the Bearded Dragon.  I'm not sure who uses words like, sweet, friendly, attached, fun, playful, silly and pretty to describe a reptile, but it's true - this one is all of the above.  In the past few months the boys have spent countless hours holding, and loving on this little lizard. 

Presently Beardie is shedding his skin, revealing his fresh pretty colors underneath.  I am busy doing just about the same.  There is some serious spring cleaning going on, in the most literal sense, and in a metaphorical sense as well.  Spring cleaning.  Shedding a layer of drab, old skin.  Lightening the load, sprucing up both the physical space of home, the space inside the structure we inhabit, and the space inside the body I live within - the soul space. Shedding, letting the pretty colors shine through!  It makes me want to dance and sing!

 

swarming...

Tea in hand, camera at the ready, kiddos dressed in playsilks (like "ninjas") we headed a few blocks down the road to see if we could lend a hand in operation Swarm Come Home.  In the end my dear friend, Kim, had it all under control.  I think I ran to the house to grab a thing or two for her, and clipped a branch, and probably said an encouraging-type thing or two from behind my camera lense.  So really, I didn't "help" at all.  I did, however, have a great time capturing the fun in pictures. 

I can tell you that there will be bees in our near future.  My Grandfather's love of bees lives on in my heart.  I recall with the fondest of memories, standing in his garage with honeycomb in hand, slurping the sweetness up, just as fast as I could, while the rest ran down my arm.  And, Gavin, well he's been asking to keep bees for over two years now.  So I really must make haste!

It is an exhilarating experience to be up close with that many bees; their behavior aw inspiring, their buzzing dizzying, their gentleness comforting and surprising.  Their desire to swarm, in search of a new home, nothing short of the perfect spring experience, all alive with fresh energy, and the promise of a new season full of beautiful blossoms, and sweet honey ahead.

So without further adieu, I bring you a snippet of my Sunday morning entertainment.

(note: I am behind the camera for all of these shots, these images are of Kim and her husband Rob- thanks for including us in the fun guys!)

(more information about swarming bee behavior here)

spring craft roundup

I just wanted to share a quick, springtime roundup for the sake of getting inspired!  Have a peek and please, do share what your plans are for the season.  What's on your crafting, baking, celebrating list?

(about natural egg dye - see the post Nature's Color)


( more info and pics on wool felted peeps, here)


(For more about blowing eggs, painting, and making a springtime egg tree see this post)


(a few words about making an egg banner and the paint we used, here)

Spring has sprung!

What are you up to in this new season?

eggs in a basket

The energy of spring is palpable.  I'm feeling it, and I'm guessing you are, too.  Am I right?  That restless feeling, the energy in our body, in our soul, stirring, awakening, springing forth!  It's always a welcome feeling, and also a bit uncomfortable, a bit irritating.  Like a child just before a huge growth spurt, our internal energy is ramping up, running at high speed, but not yet covering much ground, just revving.  Yes, it can be agitating, and delicious all at the same time.

Thank you to the lovely preschool and kindergarten teachers at our school for bringing this craft to our children each year.  It is indeed looked forward to, and what could be sweeter than a basket growing real grass come the day of egg and basket hunts?  Though, I see so much more in this annual planting. It is a tangible representation of the season, a way to use our hands to express that which we feel so strongly stirring in our bones.  A quiet seed, holding all it's energy in a sleep-like state, is planted on some fertile soil, tended with regular watering, warmth of the sun, and the lengthening day's light.  Bathed in an atmosphere of love, and anticipation, the wheat seeds send out their shoots. Bursting outwardly the stored energy reaches out into the world - to become.

I

Also inspired by school, Chaz requested tea and felting on the patio yesterday morning.  "Mama, get some warm soapy water in a tub, I'll get the wool and a towel, and I'll show you how to make an egg!" Ugh, how I love this little boy.  So we did.  We soaped, lathered, felted, sipped tea, giggled and made a few little eggs together.

And aren't eggs and baskets just the thing for this spring season?  Bursting with life, growth, symbolizing hope, fertility and new life!

(Much gratitude for Donni of the Magic Onions for hosting, another creative space to share, The Friday Nature Table)

 

coyote calling

On a recent hike, we paused along the trail to enjoy a small picnic.  Oden, our dog, suddenly spun around, alerted, and startled awake, from his resting.  Just behind us was a coyote, who, by the time I turned to look, was already silently trotting off.  The boys and I were quieted, and elated at the same time, by our close encounter.  It seemed to communicate more, simply in it's happening, than our words could make sense of.  After watching him in wonder, until well out of sight, we attempted to return to our snacking.  Each taking unspoken turns to check our back, and see if the wiley character had returned.  Before long, another coyote was spotted, down the hill and across the field.  It, too, stopped and gazed up at us, at which point turned and came up the hill, crossed our path not far from us, zipped under the fence, and trotted up the hill to join the other.



We all felt some stirring in ourselves, chatted about it as we continued, but quietly the experience stayed with each of us in a different way. I have seen plenty of coyotes.  Once in a rainstorm I was accompanied, for quite a distance, on a solo trail run - which gave me quiet a start when I first became aware of my company.  But, something about being crept up on, spied on from behind. Then having the opportunity to watch, the trickster himself, from such a distance, and for so long.  Something about this particular visit called for me to come out and play. 




It's spring after all.  There is a laughing, giggling, trickster quality wafting about the air we breath.  Even the soil we work is full of surprises, what with new seeds emerging each day, blossoms blooming.  It all makes me smile a bit more impishly.  If I do declare, Coyote was the harbinger of spring!

Happy first day of spring!  May the energy of the season call you out to play, invigorate your very body with the energy for deep roots and new bright shoots. It's spring!

a reflective practice

I had a lovely chat with my wonderful, and inspiring friend, Lindy, this afternoon.  I always feel a bit more full after we share ideas.  Somewhere in that conversation I got around to sharing just how much I have been missing this space. This space of mine. This space I enjoy sharing with you.  I recalled the days when I chose to walk away from the screen for just a bit, and how those days rolled into months, yup, just like that...months pass.

It was just before the holidays.  I was busy lovin' up the seasons goodness with my littles.  Then, there seemed to be a rash of difficult-to-swallow news, both close to home, and afar.  Disease and death, sadness, grief.  I couldn't find a way back here.  I just wanted to hibernate in my own nest, with my own little loves, soak up every moment of the NOW.

And, I did.  I hibernated (along with doing so, so much) but, I gave myself the space to sleep long nights of cozy-warm-winterness, to step away, just a tiny bit.  I was storing my energy for the re-emergence.

Today, while talking, I mentioned that this space, is one of the ways I cultivate the life that I love, the life I want to live into even more.  In this space I allow myself the time to just stall for a moment longer on that which I love.  In so doing, I bring more of that very stuff I love into my life.  This is somewhere I am called to jump right back into being, right here, right now - my reflective practice.

Among the winter months we decorated, we celebrated two boys completion, of yet another, trip around the sun, we savored the crisp outdoor air - hunting for pine cones, we enjoyed countless hours in the garden, loved on a few new crafts, and snuggled a lot!

Thank you dear friends for joining me on this journey, in this space.