Squinting into the Sun

Yesterday we visited one of our favourite local nature reserves, Dersingham Bog. The heather is in full flower, with loads of bees and insects buzzing about; more dragonflies than I’ve ever seen; and – look! – the sun even made an appearance! As evidenced by our squinting faces:

DH took this superb photo of a some cross leaved heath:

There’s something quite bizarre and alien about it, but I find it really appealing!

He also took this picture of patterns in the trail, which I am itching to turn into stitch somehow or other:

And in the garden this week, we have had a little croaky visitor:

And yet another shot that’s crying out to be turned into stitch:

Ah, nature. Just stop, notice, appreciate.

Glorious Day Out!

Yesterday, we had a glorious day out at Oxburgh Hall with a whole bunch of other home educating families.

There was a chance to plant up sage cuttings in the kitchen garden:

consort with scarecrows:

roll down grassy banks:

hide in the Priest Hole:

pose in front of the hall:

pose on the roof of the hall:

and, erm, practice sprint starts on a small bridge:

Not forgetting to hunt for flowers for the May Flower Challenge, of course:

A lovely, sunshiney day

Ter-wit Ter-woo

Inspired by Mina’s love of owls, we have been drawing and making owls. First up these drawings (with a little bit of help from Art Projects for Kids). Waif drew a very wise owl:

I drew a cute owl:

And Gman went for something a bit more psychadelic:

The boys have also had a go at making clay owls. They fashioned these last Friday and then, making the most of the first sunny day in weeks, yesterday took them outside to paint:

Here they are, all painted. First up, Gman’s:

Then Waif’s:

Even the ladybirds came over to check them out:

It was lovely to have some sunshine and be back outside. Waif in particular was happy about it:

Alas, today it is raining again!! Perhaps some owl poetry..?

Sketching up a Smoothie

Here in the UK, it pays to make the most of any glorious sunshiney weeks that we get – they are few and far between

So last week, we made the most of the lovely weather and had plenty of fresh air and exercise outdoors. And what better way to refresh yourself afterwards than with a homemade smoothie? The boys experimented with various combinations of coconut milk, yogurt, coconut cream, frozen bananas & blackberries, fresh pineapple, fresh blueberries…but eventually settled on their favourite combo which was coconut milk mixed with frozen bananas and fresh blueberries. Here’s a pic Gman took of said combo:

Oh, did I forget to mention the whippy cream topping?

Coincidentally, Barb’s Sketch Tuesday assignment for this week was to sketch something that you put into a smoothie. What a great opportunity! We took the ingredients outside and set up a “still life” and both the boys set to sketching:

I think you’ll agree, they did a grand job. Here’s Gman’s sketch:

And Waif’s:

This week’s weather forecast: heavy rain, cold, cloudy. Back to normal then!