More Spring

Fringed Poppy Mallow

Moss Rose

I am including more and more native plants in the yard and this local company has been helpful to me.

Missouri Wildflowers Nursery

www.mowildflowers.net

After all the yard flooding this spring, several of the plants in my rain garden have exposed roots that need to be dealt with. But today i noticed the fringed poppy mallow blooming.

The moss rose reseeded in the pot from last year. It makes me feel like I got something free.

Birthday Girl

Judy is 1!

Old Lamp Post Clematis

The blooms seem to open overnight. The only downside to this plant is the scale that also kills the blooms overnight. I have tried a number of things to no avail, so for now we enjoy these for a month or so.

I Remind Myself

"No good deed goes unpunished."

Some people cannot help themselves from being ungrateful and take every gift as an opportunity to blame.

Often we give our time, money, love, food out of guilt or a narcissistic hope that a person will change because of an act of kindness. When the person doesn't respond in a manner we would like, we feel unfulfilled and resentful.

Love goes above and beyond this. Love sometimes looks and feels quite unlike Love. But it isn't feeling and it doesn't come from us.

Thankfully.

East African Medical Missionary Sisters

Spirit of God in the clear running water,

blowing to greatness the trees on the hill,

Spirit of God in the finger of morning,

fill the earth, bring it to birth and blow where You will.

Blow, blow, blow

till I be but breath of the Spirit blowing in me.

Blow, blow, blow

till I be but breath of the Spirit blowing in me.

Strawberry Harvest

Freshly picked and delicious. Our patch is 2 years old and it is prime time for picking. Amanda thank you for a wonderful gift!

Home School Art Show

Grins

Yankee Doodle and Trees In Winter

Ribbon Grins

Flowers in Spring Kirigami

Trees in Winter

We had an exciting of evening at the SHARE art show last night. The big kids each entered 2 projects and family/friends were there to celebrate with us.

Jasper made a paper "Yankee Doodle" with various materials. And he won third place for "Trees in Winter". He did this piece for an SCCS project. They used ink on paper and blew the tree designs on with a straw.

Tullaia also did "Trees in Winter" and won Honorable Mention for her kirigami (a variation of origami that includes cutting) piece "Flowers In Spring". She also won the Children's choice awards for this one, when all the kids that participate get to vote for their favorites.

The women who organized the show did an excellent job with everything and it was very special for the kids.

SHARE has been an excellent home school resource.

http://www.homeschool-life.com/mo/share/

Science Blitz

We have decided to take the week off of regular school work to accommodate yet another creature to learn about.

Justin found a baby snake this morning outside the basement door. We will keep him for a few days in his new temporary habitat the kids created.

We also had to move one of the itty bitty crawdads into his own quarters because he wants to eat the smaller one.

First Evening Primrose Bloom

Forest Park 365

I attended an art opening on Friday with a picture for each day of the year in Forest Park. It was a wonderful evening with lovely photos and wonderful people.

http://www.edwardcrim.com/FP365_May.html

I think this is up for a month, so if you are in STL you should pop over.

Taddies

Today we collected tadpoles at Forest Park. In our small yogurt cup of pond water was also 2 tiny, tiny, smaller than my tiny pinkie finger nail crawdaddies. As well as several other little swimmy things. I guess the tads are American Toads, but we hope to collect some gray tree frogs next week.

http://xplor.mdc.mo.gov/sites/default/files/resources/xplor/2010/03/Raising_Tadpoles.pdf

Dying Alium