Just a short post tonight as I have a lot on my mind. I am realizing that I am at a crossroads of sorts, that what has been so helpful in the past no longer is—I have moved on, grown, changed. I want (and need!) to make room for new things in my life: new experiences, people, work (like homeschool facilitating next year!). Some of the people and groups I have found so supportive and helpful in the past I find myself drifting away from; I am interested in different conversations, topics, idea. Time for some mental / emotional spring cleaning, I guess. What’s that expression about friendship? That friends are friends for “a reason, a season, or a lifetime”. It is becoming clear that some of my reasons and seasons have changed, and that those lifetime friends are so very elusive, and precious.

Here are some pics. The boys each holding a baby bunny (the litter had 3, but one did not survive—which is statistically normal for rabbits):

The babies were small, but bigger than I was expecting. Here is one in Gareth’s hands:

and the other, on the floor after Daegan set it down. Neither eyes nor ears are open and working yet:

The boys also got a chance to meet the parents. Daegan, aka nature boy, loved it, while nervous Gareth looked on.

If we get a chance to go back again in the coming weeks, I’ll post updated pics of the babies—they grow crazy fast! Many thanks to my friend for inviting us over, a real treat for my two who are very limited in possible pets (we have budgies) due to allergies of various family members.

Here’s some pics from our trip to the Bird Sanctuary last week. Gareth and his “new best girl friend” (his words) were just sitting chatting on the grass looking adorable. Neither her mother nor I quite understand it, but these two simply ‘click’, and have done so pretty much from their first meeting. She too loves dinosaurs, and brought her toy dino along for the walk.

Daegan, as always, caught several insects, like this grasshopper:

Here’s all of us (save me, the photographer). Daegan is standing beside his distant relations—they’re third cousins.

Gareth and his “new best girl friend” looking for fossils:

Heading towards the lagoon area. There was much running all afternoon.

Wood ducks.

Gareth borrowed another Mom’s camera and took some pictures:

This is the picture he took—one of the better pictures of me, in all honesty!

Digging for the joy of it…and a few insects would be nice:

Hot, tired, thirsty kids:

Mallards. We didn’t see many birds this trip: wrong time of year, and 5 kids running about! Had an awesome time anyways. I love sharing my interest in nature with kids.

The boys leaving the parking lot. Daegan on his scooter, Gareth on his tricycle, and their friend rode his bike:

We saw a deer grazing on the hillside:

We soon came to a paved pathway that led us across Fish Creek. The scenery was simply gorgeous, and several birds were heard twittering among the trees:

I was fortunate enough to spot some savannah sparrows among the grass and bushes. Note the yellow “eyebrow”, pinkish feet and bill, and deeply notched tail:

The boys abandoned their ‘vehicles’ at times to explore nature close up. Here they are tromping through the grass:

Daegan stopped often to look for bugs:

And they found a great log to climb on:

While Gareth and his friend played with the springy branches still attached to the fallen tree, Daegan again looked for bugs. At one point he picked up a fairly large black spider. (Shudder). Better him than me!

And off we headed, back to the parking lot. It’s days like this that I am so grateful for the flexibility of our homeschooling lifestyle. We’ll get to more seatwork next time it rains…or snows!

Daegan spent a lot of time playing games with other kids on the playground, and climbing UP the slide:

The boys also played an elaborate dinosaur predator/prey chase game with other some other kids, kicked around the soccer ball we brought, dug in the dirt, and generally amused themselves while I chatted with the other Moms. It was good for all of us.

Right before we left, as I helped Gareth practice riding a bike sans training wheels, I saw this critter crawling along. (See what you get in pesticide-free parks!) I called Daegan, our resident entomologist, over, and he took one look and said, “Neat! A purple-rimmed carabus! They’re only found in the major cities in Alberta, and originally came from Europe. And they’re great for your garden, because they eat slugs and other garden pests…”

Both boys took a turn holding it. Note the “hands of an entomologist” (i.e. dirty!) on Daegan:

Our excitement and me taking photos soon drew the attention of some other kids, and they played “pass the beetle”. Daegan also found one other interesting bug, the “polkadot ladybug (pink form)”, aka Calvia Quatuordecimguttata. (Daegan ID-ed it correctly; I just double-checked in our copy of Ladybugs of Alberta (Canada) (US) by John Acorn):

Visiting with friends of all ages:

Running, running, running, follow-the-leader style:

Playing quiet, make-believe games with new friends (there was some kind of bank robbing scenario where the park bits—which they put in the empty containers—were coins, and the watering cans were piggy banks):

Looking for bugs (yes, that’s Daegan):

And swinging barefoot in the sunshine.

Summer is coming!