Category
Spring
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04.23.09Spring Pond Tour - California Newts
Aquaria, Spring, Woods (2)Following Beard's lead, we have been visiting all the ponds we can think of. Yesterday we struck gold, or sort of an ocher orange, the California Newt. We made a special trip to the Yerba Buena Native Plant Nursery. On the side of the demonstration garden is the redwood grove and the newt pond. Since we have had a heat spell the pond was densely populated with newts. As Seth approached the pond he kept shushing me, "shush I see a newt, shush I see a water skeeter, shush I spotted a squid." Well that was an unusual shushing. Apparently banana ...
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04.16.09Creek Walking
Aquaria, Hiking, Spring (5)The spring section of the American Boy's Handy Book features a gazillion kite patterns, freshwater pond science activities and a hand full of kooky fishing projects. I like the fact that Beard did not belabor the season with to much construction or productivity. All his suggestions are experiential, each suggests going out and taking part in fresh air and life in motion. Two weeks ago Seth and I took advantage of a minus tide at Fitzgerald Marine Reserve (as some of you know Seth is a self-styled starfish scientist). Our hours on the beach were lovely. However, after lunch in ...
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03.29.09chickens! but first: paint!
Crafts, Little Brothers, Spring, decorative arts, xo (47)The decorative arts (ornamental and functional works in ceramic, wood, glass, metal, textile) are explored briefly in The American Boy's Handy Book in the chapter Every Boy a Decorative Artist. I think that's where my bookmark fell out. Shadow paintings were a big hit about a month ago with the boys and we had a big agenda to fill in the following weeks with urban graffiti and mural painting that flew out the proverbial window with the arrival of the migrating birds and Spring. Spring does not mess around where we live (does it anywhere?!). From the first almond blossoms to ...
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