O how I enjoyed your days so long
with cricket chirp and tree frog song
You blessed us with flowers' upturned faces
and glorious rose fragrance traces
You gave us berries from the garden so sweet
and reasons to relish an ice cream treat
The times we passed up your sweet corn were none
and stunning was the setting of your sun
You gave us fountains
and flowers
you were a good friend
Sadly as the saying goes all good things must come to an end
Soon all will be white covered with snow
All I have left to say is NOOOOOO!
Christine
P.S. It's fun to rhyme! I might do it all the time!
P.P.S. Thank you to everyone who voted for Unexpected Daisies on the Picket Fence blog! You can vote daily! So if it comes to mind, please feel free to cast another vote! Thanks again!
The old furnace...
and air conditioner...
were reduced to little more than a pile on the lawn!
After 17 years of service they were done and now they're gone!
They've been replaced by a furnace...
and air conditioner all shiny and new!
Don't mind saying they're 95% efficient too!
Now the wallet is significantly lighter, ouch and boohoo!
But no heat through a Minnesota winter absolutely will not do!
So Happy birthday to me, it's just a few days away
I didn't really want Chanel N˚5 anyway.
Christine
P.S. I'm on the fence! If you enjoy reading the Unexpected Daisies blog would you take a moment to click on the We're on the Fence button at the top right of this post? It will take you to the Picket Fence blog which will introduce you to some new, fun blogs! It will also give this little blog a vote, moving it into a more prominent position on the Picket Fence blog sight, introducing new readers to Unexpected Daisies! Please and thank you so much!
Have a lovely weekend!
While at Deep Portage with Emma's 5th grade class we were constantly on the move. There was very little down time. We went from one activity right to the next.
We were busy!
Yet somehow it was very different from the business of everyday life that I am accustomed to.
It was a focused business. We had a specific task or lesson and that task or lesson was all we needed to be mindful of.
There were no Ipods! No televisions! No computers! No video games! No list of chores to be done! No errands to be run! There was none of the usual pull hither, thither and yon! There were few distractions!
There was a peace.
Admittedly there was plenty of telling kids they needed to pickup the pace to keep up with our leader. There was the occasional need to remind a child that they may not point their bow and arrow anywhere but at the target! And there was a lot of 5th grade not so quiet chatter, but still there was a peace.
There was time to wonder at God's creation!
There was time to ponder His intricate deigns!
Did you know that there are woodpeckers that feed on sap? I did not! It's the sap sucking woodpecker that makes the rows of little holes in a tree.
Did you know that an owl's eyes cannot move in their sockets and that they have more vertebrae in their neck than humans, which is why they can turn their heads so far? A good thing if one's eyes can't move!
Did you know that a beaver's teeth will grow continuously throughout it's life and that the large incisors have a special coating of enamel, which wears away more slowly than the rest of the tooth, giving the beaver a sharp biting edge? A good thing for taking down a tree!
Did you know that bats have a thumb and four fingers, just like people, that are covered by 2 thin layers of skin to create it's wing?
Do you know how many stars can be seen when one is out in the middle of the woods in northern Minnesota? The abundance of stars we saw at night were as impossible to count as the grains of sand on a beach. They brought tears to my eyes!
While on our many hikes at Deep Portage I had time to dwell on these and many other facts we learned. There was time to grasp some of the vastness of God's creativity!
No, I do not believe that anything on this planet came about by happenstance! All things were designed, created and given life by God. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)
Away from the bustle of everyday life, the awesomeness of what God has made impacted me like never before. I was truly overwhelmed!
More than just a happy exhaustion I returned home with a heart full of praise for God so amazing!
Christine
It began Wednesday the 26th at 5:15 am.
No, Miss Sofi Bug did not wakeup sick again. No hair holding! Thankfully!
Miss Emma Bean and I were getting ready to meet the rest of her 5th grade class at the school for a 3 day, 2 night field trip to Deep Portage. Deep Portage is an amazing environmental learning center in Hackensack Minnesota.
The students at our elementary school look forward to this annual, 5th grade trip with great anticipation! The last day of their 4th grade year instead of hearing children say, "Hurray for summer" they exclaim, "We get to go to Deep Portage next year!"
So it was that Miss Emma Bean and I were up at 5:15 so we could be at her school by 6:20, packed with 74 other students and 16 adult chaperones and teachers onto two charter buses, and on our way to adventure!
Our days were filled with canoeing on a beautiful little pond.
And hiking!
We climbed the indoor climbing wall.
At first Miss Emma Bean was not at all sure about trying it out! A little encouragement from her friends and the staff at Deep Portage changed her mind. She decided to give it a go! I was so proud!
I really appreciated that the staff encouraged the kids to try each activity, but were completely understanding if a child was not comfortable participating! They were fantastic!
And then we went on a late night wolf howling hike!
And Thursday morning we went on an early morning hike!
The mist rising off of Big Deep Lake was beautiful!
We learned to shoot with a bow and arrow! There were several children who shot a bullseye. I was very impressed with my little group!
The children were divided into groups of about 12 students with two adult chaperones. The teachers floated between the different groups of students. It worked out very well!
From archery we moved on to do some team building activities. One of the most incredible things the kids take away from the trip to Deep Portage is a greater understanding of how to work well with others.
One team building activity had the children swing, one at a time, across the "lava" to land on a small platform. In other words feet must land on the small platform! No touching the ground! The students had to help hold each other on the small platform as it filled with students leaving little extra space as each child was added.
It was wonderful to witness kids helping each other and speaking words of encouragement to each other!
And then we went on an animal sighting hike.
Our Deep Portage leader taught the students to be more aware of their surroundings and search for evidence of animals living in the area. We looked for scat (animal poop). The kids thought it was great!
And then we hiked to the top of the observation tower!
What a breathtaking view!
Once we caught our breath, we moved on to a survival skills class. Our Deep Portage leader explained how to build a shelter and start a fire.
And then we hiked to a place in the woods to practice what we had just learned!
Without question the kids worked hard, hiked a ton and were Tired with a capital T by the end of each day. The thing that kept them going was the food!
The meals at Deep Portage are fabulous! The food is made fresh by an amazing cook staff! You can taste the love! Though the kids talked about the tasty desserts, it was the homemade bread that everyone raved about. It is spectacular! I asked for the recipe! The recipe makes 24 loaves of bread! I will find a way to break it down so that I can make bread for the Family!
Holy moly this is a long blog post! Are you still with me? Hang in there! I'm almost finished!
Friday morning, our last day of adventure, everyone woke early to pack their things before our activities began.
And then we hiked out to the place where the Pioneer Olympics would be held!
My friends my hiking shoes are worn out!
The kids played cat and mouse, an old logging camp game.
Oh how they laughed as they played this game of tug of war.
They worked together to saw through a small log with a two man saw.
That was a lesson on the need to work well together!
Then came the tomahawk throw!
We finished the morning with learning to use flint and steel,
throwing the atlatl dart,
and rabbit sticks!
The kids had an adventure they will never forget and they learned so much about teamwork, wildlife, and conservation.
Deep Portage makes great efforts in conservation.
They use solar power to heat their water,
and provide power to the building.
They also use a process called wood gasification for their heat.
100 cords of wood, chopped and ready to go!
We arrived home exhausted but awed by all we had just experienced!
Deep Portage was a good thing!
Christine
P.S. When I stepped off of the bus at home the Husband was waiting for me with Starbucks mocha in hand! Oh how I love that man!
Jack-o-lanterns carved and aglow plus...
one Miss Monstrous...
add in one Galaxy Girl... (Thank you Martha Stewart for the costume ideas!)
toss in one bounty hunter for good measure...
multiply by perfect trick or treating weather and one neighbor who goes all out on Halloween...
and you get a pile of candy that would make any dentist cringe!
Subtract the 25 pieces that we allow the girls to keep. Yep, we only allow them to keep 25 pieces each...
(By Christmas I will have to toss out the 6 or 7 pieces of candy they never finished from the 25!)
And I am left with a pile of TEMPTATION!!
YIKES!!
Christine
P.S. Next time I will tell you what happened last Wednesday through Friday!
