Butterfly Release

We let the butterflies go free today. They were happy to finally spread their wings and fly away!

Ick!!!

We had a beautiful 65-degree day, so we headed out to the lake again for an afternoon picnic. We'll probably get a bit of snow a month from now, so I don't want to pass these days up!

We ate and the kids played around on the beach and the playground.
Then Ellie and Lexie spent a good half hour chasing around grasshoppers. Ick!!

I sometimes wonder how they came from my womb. You would NEVER have caught me doing that as a child. I still don't want anything to do with bugs. I just can't believe that they TOUCH them. :)

Kate definitely takes after me in that respect. The poor kid could barely do her science experiment this week. We have caterpillars that are in the pupa stage right now. She couldn't even look at them while they were in the little jar. The creepy, crawling caterpillars and their waste, were enough to push her over the edge. She decided that she already knew what they looked like and could draw them without observing them. She cracks me up.

Science in Our Backyard

We went for a nature "hike" if you could call it - in our own yard. The younger girls were making a list of living and non-living things. They were also fighting over the nice magnifying glass. I guess maybe we need a couple of those....We have a lot of trees in our yard - both coniferous and deciduous. I am very aware of this in the fall when all of the leaves need to be raked. :)We also have a couple of trees that have died and need to be chopped down:


We have many plants that I can't identify. Shame on me!
Whatever these are, they are EVERYWHERE!!


The kids were being goofy as usual:


Grass that has grown, because I don't weedeat:


We have many bracket fungi on the trees in the backyard. I always call them "conks". My mom used to pick these off of trees when I was a kid and she would draw pictures on the white part with a woodburner. I have no such talent, but I remember searching for them as a kid and learning to be very careful not to bruise the white part - they are very delicate.
We couldn't decide what these were either. Ellie insisted they were a berry, but I thought they were a flower. Maybe we need a field guide to Alaskan wildlife...
And some more fungi. I just like that word. Fungi. These were very tough-skinned.

One thing I did learn: the kids haven't been throwing away their popsicle sticks. They are absolutely everywhere!! It looks like an afternoon of yard clean-up is in store. :)

Field Trip to Creamer's Field Migratory Bird Refuge

We took a nice mile-long nature hike at Creamer's Field yesterday. I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went.

The trail we took was almost entirely made up of a raised wooden pathway. It was very well kept and easy to walk on. No muddy feet! I think that the trail normally goes over some marshy areas and I'm sure is a mudhole in the spring when the snow is melting. We have had so little rain this summer though and everything was very dry.

Nick did pretty well with the hiking. He is getting so much easier to handle as he gets older. He was walking with his right arm glued to his side (and sometimes had his hand in his pocket). He seems fine until he raises his arm and then he always screams "My arm still hurts!". Poor guy. I'm hoping that it will heal quickly. It sure hasn't slowed him down much!
Fireweed:
I'm not sure what is with Nick's pose. What a goofball!
Here is what I believe used to be a pond. It is now an area of dying lily pads.:
We saw many cranes. The Crane Festival is coming up in a couple of weeks.:
And I managed to get them to pose for a picture in the woods.:
Nick was a bit too short to look at the birds which were hanging out in the field. He refused to let anyone pick him up because of his arm though.:

He thought the old tractors which they had parked out front were very cool. He is definitely a boy! Anything with wheels is neat to him. :)

Field Trip: Georgeson Botanical Gardens

We had a busy day today. Oil change. Trip to the Botanical Gardens. A nature hike at Creamer's Field. Sign-ups for dance class. Respite care and shopping. A trip the library. I'm exhausted to say the least! Here are some pictures from the botanical gardens. It was a nice cool overcast day. No rain, but no heat either. :)

Treasures in Our Yard

I did manage to kick the kids outside for a while yesterday.

I don't know why they fight me on this so much. They just don't seem that interested in hanging out in the backyard. They are more than happy to ride their bikes - because that involves me keeping an eye on them in the driveway, but as for the backyard - it's boring.

I wish they would all remember that our last house had a postage stamp yard and the one before that was an apartment. Then maybe they would appreciate it a bit more.

Anyway, they ventured out into the back corner of our lot, which is overgrown and outside of our fence. They came back from their travels with some treasures!!

First, they brought me an entire bowl full of raspberries. They were very tart, but still good.

They also brought me this beautiful flower. I'm not sure what it is, but it's gorgeous!

Botanical Gardens

We took a trip to the botanical gardens earlier this week and everything is starting to bloom! I think that in another month, it will be even more beautiful.

I was happily surprised at how well Nick behaved. He's a flower-picker, so I was a bit worried that he was going to get us kicked out of there. He was on his best behavior though and held my hand the entire time. :)