An early spring hike with my daughter making observations in her Field Notes journal.“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer.” ― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
At spring’s closing and with summer nipping at its heels, the flora and fauna of the Hudson Valley have rushed in. This will be our third spring here and I can’t say I remember there being such an abundance of life awakening around us.
The Dogwoods have become a favorite feature on our property.The trees are taller; an unfortunate circumstance for my garden bed as that means one less hour of sun for the plants but we will welcome the extra shade come summer’s heat. The blooms of our Dogwood trees budded in April and have only now lost their flowers. We discovered a new hiking trail this year populated with wild Honeysuckle; the intoxicating scent arrested our noses before we spotted them along the water’s edge.
Our youngest on her father’s shoulders on an early spring hike.
We had to take a few cuttings of Honeysuckle home to enjoy its fleeting scent for a day or two longer.
Those along with a few other wildflowers we ended up pressing in our flower press kit.
Could it be our mild winter here on the East coast that has all animals thriving? The snakes stretch themselves out during the heat of the day on our stone paths and in our creeping ivy along the hill. The frogs, toads and even baby Box turtles are unabashedly making themselves known by creeping out of their winter homes and into our yard. And back on the trail, we have found newts, unusual fungi, evidence of beaver, and birds aplenty.
I spy a Garter snake in the Pachysandra!
This is an Eastern Newt. They can live for 12-15 years!
The Pickerel frogs have started singing keeping the woods humming at night.
Birding. Can I take a moment to tell you about my new found “hobby” since moving out to the country? When I lived in the city, I loved to sit on a park bench or look out my window and people watch. With very little people watching in the country, I naturally gravitated to birdwatching. And there are SO MANY birds of all types. From your run of the mill—Robins, Crows, Blue Jays, to your winter birds—Chickadees, Cardinals, Grey-Slated Juncos, to my spring and summertime favorites—Eastern Bluebirds, Scarlet Tanagers and lastly, (but no where near complete) my daughter’s favorite the hummingbirds.
Nerding, I mean birding out (pic courtesy of my daughter).
My birding essentials.
But I’ve steered off topic. Birding will often have me do that as I spot a new bird from my window, drop whatever I’m doing and reach for the binoculars in hopes of identifying said bird. I’m digressing again.
Summer begins.What I’m mean to say is that everything is abuzz—trees creak, leaves ruffle, birds sing, chipmunks chirp, my daughters giggle in the sun-soaked yard. Nature awakens with a spirited renewal and I can’t help but be struck by the placidity of it all.
The day we she received her first library card. Spring 2014
“It was good to walk into a library again; it smelled like home.”
― Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian
The library. Any library. The one I frequented as a child in my hometown. The one I spent huddled up between classes researching and cramming for finals during university. The little town library at the end of a bridge I currently frequent with my daughters. I step through a library’s doors and my mood lightens. It’s a feel good kind of feeling. A gives me all the feelstype of emotion.
What an extraordinary idea; the public library system. A place you can go everyday of the week if you wanted, and leave with a gift of your choosing. Well, I know my oldest daughter thinks of it this way. And for her, it is usually a hefty selection of free gifts.
A library excursion is a weekly must for my daughters and me. It was one of the first destinations I attempted after the birth of my second daughter. Fortunate for me, we live in a small town, with a small (but abundant) library just a few miles down the road. A trip to the library seemed like a manageable excursion for a mother adjusting to life with two.
The day we she received her first library card. Spring 2014
Once a week, we reach our destination bags laden with books. We trundle our way up to the children’s section—divide, conquer and leave replenished with new biblio-treasures. My oldest daughter has gotten into the habit of requesting three books to read on the ride home. This is how excited she is to dive into her literary finds. Although she is just now starting to read the words on the page, she has always loved “reading” books. She carefully looks at the pictures and makes up a story to go along with what she thinks is happening. Then she has me read the actual words to the story. She will often times reread a hybrid of both her story and the author’s story at her leisure. And you see, that’s it! I know I have her hooked just as I was when I was a child frequenting the library. It won’t be long until she’ll be reading these stories to me and pulling her little sister along into biblio-worlds of enchantment.
To end, I want to begin with what I hope will be a series of posts about our top literary finds. My daughter choose a classic as her first pick and I choose a book I think could become a classic one day.
Tikki Tikki Temboby Arlene Mosel and illustrated by Blair Lent is a retelling of a Chinese folktale about a boy with a long name who fell into a well. My daughter often requests her father to read this book for her bedtime story. She loves the repetition of Tikki’s name throughout the story which makes it a great read-aloud book. I love the muted colors of the illustrations indicative to the year it was originally published in 1968.
Wonderfully illustrated as it is written, The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith, is a sweet and quiet story about a fox who has a friend in a star. The star guides him through the dark forest but when the star disappears from the night sky, the fox must learn to be brave.
My daughter loves the deep orange color of the fox. I knew this would be a favorite of ours the moment I picked it up. The cloth bound cover is a rich blue begging you to take it home. The story’s illustrations do not fail to disappoint with their minimal color palette—visually matching the hushed tone of the story.
The library never fails to disappoint us. Not every book is our favorite but our moods are lightened with every discovery we do find.
daughtersbarrow 