Super Museum and Art Day

Begin the day at 7:00 am. Eat, smush all of us into the car, and head to daycare and then to Meridian School for Global Studies Museum Day.

The entire school, grades K through 5, participate in a study of one continent each year which culminates in this museum day. This year, Asia.  In kindergarten we visited Nepal, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Iran.

I learned about living in a yurt, eating momo (dumplings) cooked over an open fire, and how to purify well water for drinking.

 Oh, yes, and Nepal is the only country with a flag of two triangles!

And for those of you who are not well versed in reading Kindergarten: "The biggest mountain in the world is in Nepal. It is called Mount Everest."

First grade had built the Great Wall of China and offered toboggan rides.

Pita and hummus from the second graders.

Third grade had examined industry in Asia.

Fourth had created the Silk Road. And Fifth Grade was holding mock trials on social justice issues such as equal rights to education for girls.

There was way too much to appreciate it all in the short time allotted. An amazing job by everyone!

So, off to my next adventure: The Seattle Art Museum with a special exhibit by Kehinde Wiley who creates portraits of people of color in the tradition of the old masters. These are gigantic paintings, 10 feet tall with amazingly vibrant color.

The Sisters Zenaide and Charlotte Bonaparte,
from the series The World Stage: Haiti 2014

St. John the Baptist in the Wilderness,
from the series The World Stage: Jamaica 2013

I explored every inch of the museum and left just in time to join my family for dinner and our last adventure of the day, the Fremont Art Walk which included Travis' daycare.

Finally, we headed home for a bedtime snack (green smoothie), jammies, books, and nighty-night time. I needed it as much or more than the kids. And, yes, Travis insisted that I use my hair tie to give him a pony tail before bed. Look at that face; how could I say no?!?

Hiram M. Chittenden Locks and Carl S. English, Jr. Botanical Gardens

 It was so warm this afternoon that I put a blanket on the lawn and lay in the sun. The tulips in the front yard were begging me to take their pictures.

Karen came home early from work, and we walked to the locks. On the pathway through the woods, the horsetails were beginning to emerge.

The herons are back in the rookery sitting on nests.

Lovely rainbows appeared from the spray.

The sailboat tooted its horn, and the railroad bridge rose out of the way.

A barge of stone moved through the locks piloted by the Island Chief tug.

The coots seemed unaffected by the seagoing traffic.

Once we were over the locks, we enjoyed the botanical gardens. Mr. English, a landscape architect from the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers, planted and tended these gardens for 43 years beginning in 1911.

Soon it was time to move along to pick up Travis from daycare and Katelyn from kindergarten. My goose friend posed for this picture and bid us adieu.

Almost Instant Spring

Just hop on a plane... Seattle was only 15 hours from LeRoy on this trip. That includes driving to Grand Rapids, taking the cat to her kitty-sitter (Thank you, Sylvia,) having the plane in Denver need to be swapped out for one that worked correctly, and hail and lightning in Denver, also.

But look at the view when I woke the next morning! Spring in full bloom!

And the tulips already mostly spent!

I took a 3 mile walk into the Magnolia neighborhood. Color everywhere.

Yep, dandelions.

Even chard and kale in a local shop's window box and neighbor's garden.

Many of the flowering trees have already dropped their blooms, but not this one.

And these pictures are two my daughter took 11 days ago. I'm especially fond of the subjects in the pictures.  :-)

And if I'm especially lucky, I might get second spring when I return to Michigan in 3 weeks!

A Late Winter Walk

Disclaimer: Yes, it's been over a year since my last post, and this is no promise that there will be more soon. But my walk was so lovely that I couldn't not share it. Enjoy!   -Mary

Strap on the snowshoes, and let's go!

Leaving the house behind...

Down to the creek.

 Sandy bottom and flowing water

A picture for my family...me in my 42+ year old salvaged green hat and a hand-me-down jacket from my daughter's middle school/high school days! Perfect for snowshoeing through snarled thickets.

There are many parts of my land that are inaccessible during most of the year since they are wetlands. Though a challenging tangle, snowshoes let me visit these special places.

A great beauty, a fallen cedar, whose roots are now bleached, dried artwork.

Hidden segments of creek

Amazing ice formations

Old friends now demanding new paths be blazed

And in a clearing, my art and writing nook (read: almost collapsed, creature infested shack.)

A peek in the weather-dirtied window...my desk and chair are waiting. But the mousies have been busy redecorating this winter, pulling down the last of the old insulation.

Now home to bring in more wood. Itty-Bitty hunched in this corner of the wood pile for the longest time stalking a little creature who calls this spot its winter home. I finally coaxed her in for a warm nap in front of the wood burning stove. (Itty-Bitty, not the little creature. The mousies seem to find their way in without coaxing!)