Natural Playground, Part Four - The Community Build

Yesterday we had our Community Work Party for the Playground, to try and get as many of the finishing touches done as we could before the Grand Opening next weekend. It was a great success! There were ten kids, and eight adults.

The kids mostly entertained themselves, playing in the sandpit, and helping out.

We got our fern circle planted,

Our chainsaw log benches built,

Which inspired some amazing little teeter-totters.

We added some more log paths, and rock paths, and some stump chairs for our spool table.

We dug a trench and added another vertical log stepping path.

We added a rock spiral.

Still to go - putting in our granite slabs for stepping stones, installing the slide, and making and installing the sign. Hopefully now it is the town's turn to step up and help us out with some of that work. Next stop - the Grand Opening!

September Days are Here

Hello again! Just sneaking in a moment of nap time while the washing machine and the dishwasher hum quietly in the background. Thank goodness for modern conveniences! We've been busy as usual, but I wanted to take a moment to praise the month of September, and all the goodness that comes with it. Griffin and I were out walking early this morning, after we ran out of milk for our breakfast cereal. The air smelled so good - rotting leaves, woodsmoke, and ripe apples - it reminded me just how much I love this time of year.

We went from sweltering, unbearable heat, to digging through our closets to find sweaters and jackets. I have picked up my knitting again. And I feel this need to start planning out and preparing for the winter ahead. But summer isn't over just yet. We have been enjoying incredible bounty from our garden, and those of gardens around us. Our tomatoes have been extra prolific, and I've been falling behind on drying them in the dehydrator. Home-made sun-dried tomatoes, though - YUM! Literally buckets of tomatoes!

And I was not on top of the gardening scene this year at all, so other than tomatoes, there isn't too much out there that I planted this year. But we did eat the one giant watermelon that grew (bigger than a basketball!) and it was delicious, and perfect for sharing with friends. And we are still enjoying all the excellent fruit, of the perennial variety.

Jai, Griffin, and I shared the one peach that our little tree produced this year, and it was full of super sweet peachy goodness. Our apples are coming along very nicely. And our grapes are covered in fruit for the first time ever this year. We've all been hanging out under the grape arbor an awful lot this past week, pigging out on the grapiest-tasting grapes ever.

“The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do.” ~Galileo Galilei

I just love the idea of being able to hang out in the yard, and pick food off the branches and vines that are scattered throughout. It sounds like heaven, and it is heavenly indeed. Last night we went to our local farmer's market, then dined on a princely supper of local peaches, blueberries, strawberries, and plums, with home-made bread, sun-dried tomato pesto, and feta cheese. And knowing that winter is stirring, around the corner, makes it all just that much sweeter. Hooray for September!

"By all these lovely tokens

September days are here,

With summer’s best of weather

And autumn’s best of cheer."

- Helen Hunt Jackson, September, 1830-1885

An Evening at Jubilee Park

What a beautiful long weekend we just enjoyed! I mean, there was a small hurricane in there, but it's still a major improvement in weather. That last week was just stifling. And Hurricane Earl ended up being just a little bit of rain for us here in the Valley - though other parts of the Maritimes didn't get off so easily. Most importantly, it wiped out some of that horrible humidity, and left behind some perfect end-of-summer days. Jai and Griffin and I had some "look where we live" moments down at the park behind our house, so I just had to post them here :) Warning: this is a LOT of pictures of Griffin...

We looked at the horses on the other side of the river, and made horse-y noises at them...

In-between the snuggles, of course...

The River looked so beautiful (and inviting)...

Jai and Griffin couldn't resist getting their toes wet...

Griffin thought about walking...

We had fun in the tree...

Playing hide and seek...

And laughing...

We played in the sand...

And sat at the picnic table...

And played on the logs...

And played...

And played...

Until it was time to move on...

Into the great wide open...

Luckily Daddy retrieved him before he got tooooo far...

What a great Daddy!!!

And that was our night. Nice, huh?

Not too sure what happened with the fonts there - Griffin pressed some buttons, and I can't figure out how to undo it. Good thing he's so cute!

One Thing and Another (including a message from Griffin)

Hello! Wow, I can't believe it's already been a week. Wow, I can't believe it's already September! Today was the first day of school! I love this time of year. Normally, it has the best weather. Of course, we're in the middle of a crazy heat wave (40 degrees yesterday with the Humidex!) and about to be hit by a hurricane, so maybe not this year. The best is yet to come, we'll say.

v gg .,,,,,,,mmmmmmmmm

And that is what Griffin wanted to say! He can now officially reach the computer keyboard:)

Anyway, we've once again found ourselves extremely busy with one thing and another. Although if it were up to Griffin we'd be busy all the time. He's so active and inquisitive that he rarely sits still anymore, even without walking yet. He learns new words almost every day, it seems. And he has a great time trying for longer ones like "caterpillar" and "Cheerios."

And inevitably, this time of year gets my brain ruminating about Christmas, as I like to make as many presents as possible. Griffin has some Mommy-made toys from before he was born, but I haven't really made him anything since. Somehow, I really want to try and find the time to get something together. I would like to make him some nice wooden blocks. So yesterday I went hunting around for some inspiration, and came across these vintage Playskool ones, which I LOVE!

It's going to take a while, and some careful allocation of time, but, since I don't have the $100 + it would cost to buy the originals, I think I can come up with something pretty close with some of the maple I have sitting around waiting to be turned into butcher block, and my good old Yudu machine. Sounds like fun! Wish me luck - I think I'm gonna need it!

Ducks and Trucks (Guk! and Guk!)

Hello Again! Well, as much as it might have seemed like it some days, our lives haven't been totally consumed by work on the playground. We did get a chance to hop over to the Lawrencetown Exhibition and check out some animals and tractors and such. Plus (for the Moms) eat some delicious home-made fudge. Griffin and I went with Ambre, Ella and Morgan, and had a great time. He's got quite a few animal noises that he likes to make now, so he had a great time trying them out on all the animals. One of his favourites was this little duck.

How much do I want a pond?!? Another favourite was the John Deere booth, where he actually got to sit on a tractor (or "GUK!!!!!" as he calls anything with wheels on it.)

He kept screaming "GUK!" in the Quilt barn, and I couldn't figure out why, until I saw him pointing frantically at this quilt. If a certain Grandmother, who is also an expert quilter, happened to be wondering what kind of quilt her Grandson would like for a present, wonder no more!

The two of them were having so much fun they didn't even nap. Our down time was spent at the Family Matters nursing and changing station, which also featured a crayon table.

While they coloured, we watched the "Kids and Pets" competition, and "Little Mr. Cowboy." This was the first year I had made it to "the Ex" as they call it around here, but it definitely won't be the last!

Then this weekend, we went to Halifax for a little visit, and on the way back we stopped in at Hennigar's Farm Market. And for the first time we actually took the time to explore the grounds a little. And we were both so glad that we did! Not only did we get some amazing produce, but we saw goats, and baby bunnies, and ducks with their ducklings.

We played on their sandbox boat, which is much larger than I expect ours will be, but was definitely neat to see. And Griffin got to try out the Tricycle track, sponsored by his favourite tractor company.

I took some more pictures, but I thought I would post them over on the Lauren Kaye Photography site, if anyone wants to see them. It was definitely worth the stop, and made the trip home seem like a walk in the park!