Our Treehouse

Tree House

A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.

A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all --
Let's go live in a tree house.

--Shel Silverstein

the fairy house

Our new/improved fairy house . . . the shadow and light in these pictures that Brian took seem quite fitting for a fairy wonderland . . . and (how exciting!) we've already seen evidence that fairies have visited . . .

our mud kitchen

My newest project idea (and construction request for Brian) is a mud kitchen. We had the shelving, and I found the rest of it at a local re-use store, The Scrap Exchange. It's the kind of the place where you can spend hours, wandering around, scratching your head, and you either figure it out or you don't. This project was perfect for what the store has to offer, and I left with a pile of stuff (for only $11.23). I'm still patting myself on the back for that one.

We put it together a few weekends ago, and it's been a hit. The timing was good, with the weather cooling off a bit, allowing for more comfortable backyard play. It's much dirtier now, due to all of the wonderful dishes prepared and served. (We've had lots of fun with this kitchen.) I've learned along the way that dirt, sand, and water are really all you need to keep everyone happy.

The last picture shows shutters that the kids painted and that Brian will attach eventually, after I get around to sealing them.

bugs, bugs, bugs

Have you ever sniffed a centipede? No? Well I hadn't either until Sarah told me they smell really good. In that moment, I was thinking, What a weird kid. She then stuck the thing near my nose and told me to smell it. Okay . . . I had no interest in doing this, but she was pleading at this point. And you know what? She was right. They smell really sweet, like perfume. How weird. (Unlike my child, who can't seem to get enough of it, one sniff was sufficient for me.)

We then proceeded to have a discussion about animals' defenses. Sarah's theory was that the sweet smell didn't really smell that good to other animals who might try to eat them, which would stop the animals from eating them. The logic may be faulty, but the thinking is certainly there.

Eric can hold his own when it comes to thinking about how bugs survive and thrive. Today, he clarified my mistake when I called a slug's eyeballs antennae instead. "No Mommy. Those are its eyes." Totally right! He wondered about the slime they leave behind, saying, "Maybe that's part of its protection." He then wondered about where its mouth might be and we took a closer, without success. He guessed, "It's probably underneath."

While we are on the topic of my children and bugs, I think that they have officially surpassed my comfort level when it comes to "loving the bugs." (Cockroaches aside, I do appreciate investigating this fascinating world.) But - slug slime isn't quite my cup of tea. And cicadas aren't really either - not to hold anyway. They're too big and the wings feel creepy when they fly out of your hand. I have to admit though, I have a sense of pride when I witness my two little people observing and nurturing and thinking about all things slimy and smelly and small.

cicada

I've never seen a cicada shed its exoskeleton until this afternoon. So cool (and sort of weird, too.) Eric and I found it after lunch, and then we showed Sarah after school, and Brian after work. Eric's original idea was to pull the poor thing out of its exoskeleton because he was feeling quite impatient about waiting to hold its discarded shell. After Brian took the last picture, he gave it to Eric who then passed to Sarah. She put the exoskeleton in the family treasure jar, including the two legs that broke off after she pulled it from her arm. (She had attached it to herself and was pretending that it was attacking her.)

more snakes

It looks like our snake decided to invite some friends over. We now check under the rock daily, to make sure the snake is still there, and here is what we found yesterday.

Today, the lighter-colored one has left, but the two darker ones are still there. Eric knew that Sarah had held one the other day, and it seemed fair to let him have his turn. I reminded him to be gentle, and he was. It was cooler today, and the snake was sluggish, which made it easier to hold, at least long enough for me to snap a picture.

our snake

We found this snake today under one of the rocks in the backyard. We've seen two more like him this spring, one of which was under the same rock several weeks ago. Originally, I thought it was a baby black rat snake, but after spending the last hour trying to identify him, I've decided that he's either a worm snake or a rough earth snake. (Or maybe a smooth earth snake?) I've also learned that he's not a baby, but full grown. I wouldn't have messed with him, except that I was concerned Eric might decide to mess with him. After giving him a few pets, I let him go, in an undisclosed location, under another, safer rock.

Treasure Hunts

The other day, Sarah and Eric decided that we should look for treasures. So, they both drew maps and helped me find my way. Eric led me to the sandbox (a very nice treasure indeed!) and Sarah's treasure was a lovely dinner of sand and berries, complete with little chairs to sit on.

I took their lead and drew a map and made two paper hearts for them to find. Sarah liked the idea so much that she drew a second map, cut little hearts out of that map (no clue given there, huh?), and we followed her once again. Too cute, and quite appropriate, considering that today is Valentine's Day! I hope you had a great day!

fairy house

We've added a fairy house to our yard this summer, complete with a swing, a slide, a table and chairs, a playroom, and places for the fairies to take a nap and dip their toes in water. Sarah and Eric fill their dinner plates, made from seashells (of course!) with holly berries, as they've decided that must be what fairies eat. Not very often, but sometimes, the fairies leave presents, showing their gratitude for what's been given to them. We now have a collection of fairy rocks, along with some dried flower petals, all courtesy of our small friends.

What's most exciting to me is that making the fairy house was Sarah's idea. I tried to force my will last summer, but neither one of them was interested. This year, when I intended to get rid of an old dollhouse we weren't using, Sarah said, "Hey! We could use that for a fairy house!" What a great idea . . .

New Additions

We've been busy the last few weeks - some of which has been time spent creating new additions in the yard. First, we have a fort for the kids, which was underused until I threw some towels down. Now they very happily play house in it for extended periods of time, exactly what I had hoped would happen. I've added some vines on the sides, and maybe one day the trellis will be covered. Note the neon green string - doesn't blend in so well does it? The color was Sarah's suggestion. She thought it looked pretty at the store, but later decided it looked better on the spool than on the fort . . .

Next, we added two raised beds, with one currently used as a veggie garden, including peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, beans (Dad - take note - I'm trying them, even though I probably won't like them!), herbs, watermelon, and cantaloupe. (I may be a little ambitious/naive, but we'll see what happens!) The other will house sunflowers, just because they're pretty and we like them. I'll add pictures when we add the fence and trellis, which may or may not get installed tomorrow, depending on how much fun we're having doing other things!

Catepillars and Inchworms

We found some cute bugs today. After Sarah told Eric about how to get the inchworm (take hold of the string that it's hanging from), he (very gently, I'm proud to say) held the inchworm for awhile before giving Sarah a turn.

Sarah named the two tent catepillars "Tenty". She explained that they have the same name because they're twins. (Works for me.) We gave them a drink with the spray bottle and fed them some cherry tree leaves. They must have been hungry because they started eating immediately. Very cool to see. I'd prefer the bug box over the tree, but I'm sure Tentys' friends will eventually find the tasty leaves.