Day Forty-Three: Planting and Poetry
Monday again! Back to work. I got up early and did my most important, time sensitive work right away. William woke up fairly early again though, and wanted to read "the oak tree book," more properly called As An Oak Tree Grows. We lay in bed and read it, and then he wanted to go plant an acorn. It being spring, it was hard to find one that wasn't rotten. We do have a huge number of oak tree sprouts in an area where we cleared some trees and exposed the forest floor to sunlight. It looks like a ground cover of oak sprouts. We dug one of those up and transplanted it near his swing set. If it survives it will be a miracle, and also inconvenient because I don't really want an oak tree there, but it was a good learning activity.
By the time we finished that, Taiya was awake. I made William leftover waffles for breakfast, and Taiya and myself oatmeal.
William was true to his word, and agreed to sit still enough for me to give him a haircut. It had grown well over his eyes. I have tried various ways of keeping him still for a haircut over the years. Giving him a popsicle was a good one, but the method I used today was letting him play PBS games while I cut. He still wiggled, but at least he sat still long enough for me to do a fairly decent job. The sharpest scissors we had were some kid-safe Fiskars, believe it or not, and I managed to get his hair mostly evenly cropped.
I needed to do more work, so I let them play more PBS games, and Taiya played some spelling and math games on the laptop. Homeschooling! It counts! Jeremy was in and out. I am happy to report he has picked up the pace on helping in the kitchen. I still make most of the meals, but he has started doing the dishes a lot more, and that helps my psyche immensely. He did chores, checked on the chicks that have grown SO much, then came in and did the dishes while I worked away at my computer.
The kids and I did some research today on dog training because Daisy has been nipping all of us in her puppy excitement. Since she is the first dog I've ever raised myself, I needed some expert advice on how to get a handle on this. We watched a couple videos of a dog trainer on YouTube and it has given us some good tips on how to catch the bad behavior right away gently but firmly, and reward good behavior. We put it into practice immediately, and I'm amazed at how fast she's learning. Within a couple hours, we were getting her to sit on command. Not consistently, but still. Progress!
I planted my garden sorrel in half of my new three by three garden, and I think I'll put my parsley in the other half. I love parsley and never have enough in my garden. I like to plant extra for swallowtail butterflies, and use large amounts at a time for parsley vinaigrette. After I was done, I lay a square of chicken wire on top of this bed to keep Daisy the Destroyer out. In a different bed she dug up a row of radish sprouts, I believe chasing a mole. I can't fault her for this, but I did take note and have protected a lot of my other plants from her exuberance.
Taiya and William played in the hose some more this afternoon. But they weren't just spraying the stump with the hose (I'm telling you, country living is one excitement after another) but were actually destroying an evil kingdom, from what I could tell from my eavesdropping.
I haven't baked anything in a while, and even had to put my sourdough starter Clementine in the fridge so I wouldn't kill her with my neglect. We are low on store-bought bread, though, so I may be motivated when that runs out. I was so excited about sourdough bread baking at the beginning, because it was truly delicious. Then the kids complained that they wanted grilled cheese on "regular" bread... and also I have gained a little weight in this quarantine situation, which I'm not one to fret about too much, but I have a feeling all those baked goods had something to do with it. It is a blessing and a curse to love to bake. One recipe I found that I do want to try as soon as I get all the ingredients is digestive biscuits. I became hooked on these when I spent a semester in Bath, England, and I am so excited to try making my own.
I made salmon cakes and mashed potatoes with sauerkraut on the side for dinner. Jeremy had taken the kids along to do evening chores, so I was able to cook and clean up after myself in peace and quiet. After dinner William and I took Daisy for a walk to the creek. It was beautiful down there in the late day light. William meandered, finding rocks and sticks to throw, playing in puddles, digging in mud. Taiya stayed at the house to have a bath, and when we got back, they settled in for their evening show, and I sat down and worked on some poems, which was a lovely way to end the day. I don't get enough time to do that, and it makes my brain so happy when I do.
By the time we finished that, Taiya was awake. I made William leftover waffles for breakfast, and Taiya and myself oatmeal.
William was true to his word, and agreed to sit still enough for me to give him a haircut. It had grown well over his eyes. I have tried various ways of keeping him still for a haircut over the years. Giving him a popsicle was a good one, but the method I used today was letting him play PBS games while I cut. He still wiggled, but at least he sat still long enough for me to do a fairly decent job. The sharpest scissors we had were some kid-safe Fiskars, believe it or not, and I managed to get his hair mostly evenly cropped.
I needed to do more work, so I let them play more PBS games, and Taiya played some spelling and math games on the laptop. Homeschooling! It counts! Jeremy was in and out. I am happy to report he has picked up the pace on helping in the kitchen. I still make most of the meals, but he has started doing the dishes a lot more, and that helps my psyche immensely. He did chores, checked on the chicks that have grown SO much, then came in and did the dishes while I worked away at my computer.
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| The ferocious beast in her natural habitat. |
The kids and I did some research today on dog training because Daisy has been nipping all of us in her puppy excitement. Since she is the first dog I've ever raised myself, I needed some expert advice on how to get a handle on this. We watched a couple videos of a dog trainer on YouTube and it has given us some good tips on how to catch the bad behavior right away gently but firmly, and reward good behavior. We put it into practice immediately, and I'm amazed at how fast she's learning. Within a couple hours, we were getting her to sit on command. Not consistently, but still. Progress!
I planted my garden sorrel in half of my new three by three garden, and I think I'll put my parsley in the other half. I love parsley and never have enough in my garden. I like to plant extra for swallowtail butterflies, and use large amounts at a time for parsley vinaigrette. After I was done, I lay a square of chicken wire on top of this bed to keep Daisy the Destroyer out. In a different bed she dug up a row of radish sprouts, I believe chasing a mole. I can't fault her for this, but I did take note and have protected a lot of my other plants from her exuberance.
Taiya and William played in the hose some more this afternoon. But they weren't just spraying the stump with the hose (I'm telling you, country living is one excitement after another) but were actually destroying an evil kingdom, from what I could tell from my eavesdropping.
I haven't baked anything in a while, and even had to put my sourdough starter Clementine in the fridge so I wouldn't kill her with my neglect. We are low on store-bought bread, though, so I may be motivated when that runs out. I was so excited about sourdough bread baking at the beginning, because it was truly delicious. Then the kids complained that they wanted grilled cheese on "regular" bread... and also I have gained a little weight in this quarantine situation, which I'm not one to fret about too much, but I have a feeling all those baked goods had something to do with it. It is a blessing and a curse to love to bake. One recipe I found that I do want to try as soon as I get all the ingredients is digestive biscuits. I became hooked on these when I spent a semester in Bath, England, and I am so excited to try making my own.
I made salmon cakes and mashed potatoes with sauerkraut on the side for dinner. Jeremy had taken the kids along to do evening chores, so I was able to cook and clean up after myself in peace and quiet. After dinner William and I took Daisy for a walk to the creek. It was beautiful down there in the late day light. William meandered, finding rocks and sticks to throw, playing in puddles, digging in mud. Taiya stayed at the house to have a bath, and when we got back, they settled in for their evening show, and I sat down and worked on some poems, which was a lovely way to end the day. I don't get enough time to do that, and it makes my brain so happy when I do.
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