Earth, Air, Fire & Water

HOW can we have become so detached from the elements: earth, air, fire and water? They are too messy, dangerous, primitive, and not available in pink.

And yet, take four young children away from the comforts of home and place them in a tent in the middle of the woods, and they could be children of any time in history.

How wonderful to be able to get dirty and wet, feel the musty old leaves, cool new ones, sand, grit, wood on your body without someone immediately running for a washcloth.


To actually feel the difference between hot and cold without heating and air conditioning, warming your body instead through movement, layers, fire and the sun.

To watch fire as it blackens, then consumes its fuel, with a mesmerising dance.

To breathe in a cold, dewy morning.

To get tired. Not bored tired or brain tired - the kind of whole-body tired that comes from fresh air and healthy activity and leads to really deep sleep.

While I know tent camping's not for everyone, it makes me feel alive.

Spring Cleaning

BEFORE we could prepare for our camping trip by stacking everything in the car port, we first had to sweep all the leaves away. Well one thing led to another and before we knew it, a full-on spring cleaning episode was in progress. Luckily we did still have enough energy for the intended project of the day - and had a clean car port as a bonus.

At one point I heard an excited: "Mama, look at me!" to find Emma up at the ceiling, having climbed up the decorative iron supports. I was impressed at her climbing skills, but since she was up there tried a little reverse psychology to get the cobwebs down too. "I bet you can't hold on with just one hand and dust the ceiling at the same time!" "I can, I can, give me the duster, I show you!" Wily Mama.

Hawk Eyes

BIRDS of prey have always been somewhat of a mystery to me. You see them on posts at the side of the interstate, sometimes soaring overhead in the woods. But always so far away, until today, when we were lucky enough to see a wild hawk in closer proximity than ever before. We first noticed a sound not unlike seagulls. Clearly not seagulls in Atlanta, we traced the sound to two large birds in a tree. A naturalist confirmed they were red-shouldered hawks, possibly drawn by members of their own species kept in captivity at the center for rehabilitation. They circled in the sky a couple of times, then landed again on a branch not 15' from the ground. The hawks were then perfectly obliging, staying neatly in place as we crept closer to admire them.

As they flew, Emma noted that they didn't flap their wings. She thought they were very clever to spot little animals on the ground while flying high above, so we decided to train our eyes like hawks as we continued our walk and see what we could discover. It worked! We made a new identification (to us) of an Eastern towhee, then had our first sighting of the season of turtles basking on a log. We also discovered, sadly, a red-bellied woodpecker "sleeping" at the base of a tree, which Emma covered with a leaf blanket. Even Alexander learned something. He's been squawking like a hawk (or is it a pterodactyl?) ever since.

Some fun facts:

• "Hawk" is a general term used to describe the entire group of diurnal (active by day) predatory birds
• Hawks can see in colour
• Most hawks pair for life
• Kestrels don't have such great eyesight, but they can see ultra-violet light. This enables them to see the trail left by their favourite food, voles.

The Thaw

RUSHING water overhead
Journeying from roof to earth
Along the gutter, down the pipe
Streaming ever onward.

A different pace where no sun shines
Clinging to height and form
Yet fading more with every hour
The snowman bids farewell.

A Snow Day

WELL so much for welcoming the Spring! Our camping trip this weekend was postponed due to an ominous weather forecast, and sure enough March 1st brought rain, then sleet, and finally a rare few inches of snow. Woohoo! On with the boots and gloves and we were out making footprints, tasting snowflakes, watching them melt on our clothes and making a snowman. The garden was picture-perfect, with more than a light dusting on branch, leaf and bench. So much fun to be had.

Snowflakes
(to the tune of "twinkle, twinkle little star")

Snowflakes, snowflakes falling down,

On the trees and on the ground.

I will build a man of snow,

Tall black hat and eyes of coal,

If the sun comes out today,

I will watch you melt away!

No Short Shrift in these Pancakes

IT is celebrated all around the world: Mardi Gras, Karnevale, Karnival, Shrove Tuesday, or in the UK plain old Pancake Day. Historically, this day marked the beginning of the 40-day Lenten fasting period when the faithful were forbidden by the church to consume meat, butter, eggs or milk. Thus people would use up these goodies in a last big party before the solemn fasting time began.

We marked the occasion first with a Karnival party at Emma's German school. As three years is the Great Age of Opinion, she decided not to wear the costume neatly laid out the night before. Instead, a pair of too-small pyjamas would be perfect to make a blue dog. So with a blue scarf-tail and ears hastily sewn on a hat in the car, Emma The Blue Dog was born. With sweets, balloons and oompah music, we enjoyed our own little piece of German revelry.

My family's tradition is simply eating crepe-style pancakes, so on Shrove Tuesday we had fun mixing up a sticky batter. The problem with Pancake Day is that it comes but once a year, and my pancake-making skills do tend to regress over that period. Luckily Thomas arrived home just in time and saved the batter from a fate infinitely worse than frying. My culinary prowess was redeemed the next day when we enjoyed German-style potato pancakes with delicious homemade applesauce.

Mix a pancake,
Stir a pancake,
Pop it in the pan;
Fry the pancake;
Toss the pancake,
Catch it if you can.
Christina Rossetti

Sharing...

...a giggle

...a resting spot

...a snack break

...a bath