More on mornings

Sometimes we stop to smell the daisies

And I think that Therese had my idea of a perfect morning in mind when she commented on the last post:

My favourite mornings are still the ones where I've managed to get all the others out of the house, and have a quiet breakfast all by myself.
Yes, please! That's my cup of tea also. My perfect morning is a quiet one. And I will admit to being selfish here, and say that my perfect morning is one when I wake up to a house all to myself. (Do I love my husband and children any less? No.)
I like to read while I eat breakfast: magazines, novels, the school newsletter (which I sometimes read twice or three times, if nothing else is handy). I like to listen to the news a little bit. 

Mainly, I like a morning when I don't have to provide the will forces for myself and two others to leave the house at an appointed hour. In my pre-parenting life, I would always set my alarm for at least an hour  before I had to get up, to allow ample time to drift peacefully into consciousness, then leisurely eat and read, shower, and get out the door in a relaxed and put-together way.

This is Bonting (inspired by Shirley Hughes' book called 

The Big Alfie Out of Doors Storybook), who is an unshelled macadamia nut,

nestled in his woolie bed with a soft seashell and a silver acorn.

After I read The Seven O'Clock Bedtime a few years ago (highly recommended), I realized that I had an "extreme lark." You know, as in early bird? Only extremely early. Until very recently, I could count the number of times I have risen before Jonas on one hand. 

the quilt has finished borders!

it's ready to be sandwiched with the backing and the batting!

Jonas also has inherited an ability to spring into awakeness with alacrity that I completely lack (this comes from my other half). Like, hello world, I am awake, and why not start thinking, planning, being active, being hungry immediately? As in now. Sylvan and I tend to drift gently into wakefulness, with lots of cuddling. I would prefer not to deal with immediate demands upon me upon waking. I am slow to wake and slow to fall asleep.

a diorama of a Glass Frog,

the subject of Jonas's recent (and first)

research project.

it has a see-through belly, modelled here lovingly with beeswax.

Yes, so mornings are sometimes a difficult time for this princess. Once or twice I wished for a two-hour-a-day nanny who would brisk in, deal with everyone's morning demands, feed them, nag them into their chores and clothing, and present them to me for a kiss before taking them off to school. (Wait...was I wishing for a wife?)

Sharon hatched a tiny peep,

and presented it to the rest of the flock yesterday!

Sharon had been missing for a few weeks, and I suspected she might be

in a family way.

Happily, they are both snugly sleeping in the chicken house tonight.

But you know, it was weird to be up before Jonas this morning. It just felt wrong, somehow, to see his kitchen stool, his book, his red fleece, and not him sitting there with me. He tells me he will never wake up in the afternoon like my brother has been known to. 

We'll see.

Couture Knitting...and Chickens

Morning drink of water with Mama Sharon.
...Now Mama has wandered off with a few Peeps, and these are still slaking their thirst, before realizing the panic (loud peeps, skittering fluffing, a few wing flaps on their way to catch her up) of Mama-less-ness.

It all began with the Rowan Knitting Magazine, which is full of highly stylized photo layouts, featuring knitwear designs that are tres chic (in a fashion runway-sort of way). There's something that always amuses me about this publication, perhaps the seriousness with which they seem to take themselves...and gets me creating a running commentary in my head of the circumstances by which these attractive waifs in their kilts, ball gowns, and heavy eye-makeup came to find themselves in the English countryside. Like, how came the gothic, sulky anorexic with teased hair to be draped against the manor gates? Was there a sudden wind storm that blew her in from London? (This is most fun to do when browsing with my knitting beloveds, on the shores of scenic Moosehead Lake!)

So while browsing a knitting catalog recently, I jumped on the Rowan photos. Notice below, that there are very purposeful holes created in the sweater, on the fellow's right shoulder:
The text at left reads: "Damien was resigned to the fact that, even in the rural English countryside, he was beset by besotted and admiring females who frequently rent his designer knitwear."

And here we have Bess:
The tiny little writing (size .02 Micron, my favorite precious, Mom Only please, pen) reads: "'Oh drat,' thought Bess. Her mother's penchant for designer and embellished handknits had resulted in the seafoam tank top, which featured unfortunately placed areola-like accents. One seemed to hover by her left armpit."

Happy Weekend and Happy Solstice!

A Big Week for Performance!

This week there must be something in the stars about our family in the spotlight...Monday was Sylvan's Bridge Crossing (into Summerland), today was the Grade School Assembly in which my hubby the teacher got up there with his students, as well as Jonas performing with his 3rd grade class.
Over the Bridge!

And while they were busy with their Assembly today, I was in my professional role as library assistant, presenting at the 12th annual Public Library Directors Conference (for Maine library directors) about some of the creative programming we have been doing at the library in Rockport. (And while I was sad to miss my two bigs boys on stage, I was delighted to miss the 8 hours of socializing that usually follows this event!) I spoke about the very successful Out of Bounds Altered Books Exhibit that we sponsored last November, as well as the chronology of our ATC Make-and-Swap group which you have all been reading about here. I had a lovely PowerPoint show with some of the great images from both groups. The hardest part was only having 15 minutes to cover all of this great stuff! I was able to plug Robinsunne's upcoming book about ATC groups in your library---how to do it and what to do, as well as the consultation services she is offering to libraries! It was really a pleasure to be at the conference sharing these ideas with other librarians in Maine, and I am so honored to have been invited!

"The Pit" by Paul Campbell (a high school student), from the Out of Bounds Altered Books Exhibit

In other performance news...
This Saturday I will be singing with a chorus of 110 singers, The Midcoast Community Chorus, at a concert that will benefit a local nonprofit agency, the Midcoast HealthNet. These folks offer clinic hours to members of our community that have little or no healthcare. The music is inspiring and uplifting, spirited and spiritual, and under the direction of Mimi Bornstein we are singing from our hearts for our community. We'll be at the Strom Auditorium in Camden at 7 p.m. on June 14th. Read more about how to get tickets here...Buy them soon, we expect to sell out!

Peep Report: MORE News Coming Soon
Are you wondering how our Peeps are? It's been a little crazy, can you tell? But I promise to have some new photos of them very soon. They are happy and well, getting their bottoms and necks now, plus lots of feathers. Last night Jake couldn't find them when he went to shut them inside. Sharon had them in the little-used Upstairs Nesting Box (we have two apple crates mounted on the wall for our boxes, the chickens prefer Downstairs); this means all of the Peeps managed to fly up there!

Goodnight, Peeps.

He Graduated

Big balloons, above, thundering around in the wind....

My brother graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design this weekend! Hooray! He is a painter and illustrator, website to be developed soon. We were in Providence, a lovely little city. The graduates augmented their caps and gowns in many interesting ways; I made sure that Jonas understood that the usual way was to be boring in plain hat and gown. There were many apparel students who had created interesting garments with the gowns, some nice hats too. My favorite was a red mushroom on top, and the girl was also wearing a red and white polka-dotted dress---it made me think of Erna! Below, waiting for the graduation to begin with Jonas:

My brother's apartment was this swank loft right downtown, in the Alice Building (perhaps Baby Alice might like to visit there someday?):Sylvan and Nana wait for the car to be brought around the block:
A lovely chair in a storefront, making me think of my fabric-loving friends near and far:
Peep Report
Well, you can imagine my state of mind, leaving the babies! They were in the loving care of Joanie and Forrester---phew. We think that Motherhood may not be easy for Sharon. She goes into the henhouse at night, regardless of whether or not all babies come inside with her, and continues to ignore their LOUD peeps of panic...While we were away, one small fellow spent the night at Joanie's house in a little warm box. Last night, there were two left outside and I helped both of them in, where Sharon seemed very happy to see them again.

Getting feathers!

I have seen one chicken peck at a Peep! But mostly the big chickens seem kind and tolerant. Yesterday, one Peep was outside the chicken wire fence, while Sharon and siblings were inside. The outsider tried to hop through the wire, as it has been able to, and found it was stuck---wings on one side, fat bottom on the other. Of course Sharon was perturbed at me while I was trying to help push the bottom through, and the Peep was panicking! Then I tried pulling the fence a little and somehow the hole must have changed shape just enough that the bottom could wiggle free!
Look at the one in back, stretching those new wings out!
Under the shade of the apple trees that are near the chicken pen. Note the size of the chicks compared to the size of the dandelion!
And the Winners are...
Yes, I picked winners for my ATC Giveaway! Ravenhill, Mosey, and Carrie will be getting cards in the mail soon, as will Rickie and Hannah! I couldn't stop at just four names, so I drew an extra one. Now the hard part: which card will go to which person?

We Thought We Could

Proud Mama and a few Peeps, above


I am so relieved to report that the Peeps and their mom, Sharon, are safe inside the henhouse this evening. Yes, we did it! We weighed the risks of both sides of the question: predators in the big world versus Sharon's innate sense of doing things her own way and potential Big Chicken Meanness inside the coop.

After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to move them alone again, I finally enlisted Jonas's help and ingenuity in a carefully calculated SWAT Team-like maneuver. It was like we were in the movie The Matrix, in our skin-tight leather suits and black duster jackets, with Techno music thumping....Oh, no wait. It was more like me with my fly-away hair in blue clogs and favorite jean skirt and Jonas in the same tie-dye tee shirt he wore yesterday---a little bit sweaty and feeling pretty nervous. I took a tall laundry basket and laid it on its side, putting the open end flush up to the side of the house on one side of where the family was trying to hide in the irises in the front garden. Jonas was on the other side of the irises with a piece of plywood. With only minimal shooing, the family soon trundled into the basket! We closed the end with the plywood and transported the whole thing to the henhouse. We kept them shut in for the remainder of the afternoon, with the amenities of food, water, and a nice box to nest in on the ground. Sharon, ever the independent-minded chicken, chose instead to make her bed in the opposite corner in the poopiest part of the coop.

We'll see how it goes tomorrow with the big chickens! Tonight, I am resting easy...And you know, trusting my instinct worked pretty well. When I returned home this evening there was a cat sniffing around the porch! Had we not moved the family this afternoon, who knows!

Below, a Peep taking a little tiny nap. They are so busy all day long: playing tug of war with a worm, drinking and eating, learning to scratch the ground to dig up little edibles, stretching their wings, tripping and falling over, but they nap when they can, usually just a few seconds!

Look how sweet they are, posing for the photo:

Below is a chick in motion! S/He is hustling along, maybe thinking: "Oh No! Where'd everyone go?!"
ATC Make and Swap Report
We had a wonderful ATC evening on Wednesday and carved some beautiful rubber stamps. I will post a picture soon of the stamps that Jonas and I created. One mom who wasn't able to be there reported that her son, very uncharacteristically, broke into loud screams of frustration when he learned that he wasn't going to join us! Everyone was safe with the sharp tools and it seemed like everyone was satisfied and had fun. Two participants unknowingly carved the same design in opposite (one carved away the parts that her neighbor did not) and the result of the two stamps together was a very cool surprise!

Below, an ATC from The Universe to YOU, sent via Thought Mail Telegram, with the postmark Love Everywhere:
And this one is called "Thinking of Joanie:"On Sunday, I will draw four names for the ATC Giveaway! You still have time to leave a comment! Hmmm, and then to pick which cards go to which folks!

Peeping the Peeps!

Well. I could have called this post, "Holy Cuteness, Batman!" I raced home from work today to find that Sharon and babies were out from under the porch, taking in some warm sun in the front-porch garden (mostly full of mint!) that belongs to Jonas. She was quite willing to let me observe the family from the porch and I took many photos! There is lots of peeping and nibbling and fluffing and wobbling about.

Below, the white circle at left is a juice jar lid, just for a size comparison:

In the Minty Jungle, below, the mint is about 8-10" tall:

Now the problem is...How to entice her to move her family down to the hen house so I can sleep peacefully at night? I am afraid if I scoop her up the babies will scatter, due to the in-bred reflex to self-preserve against marauders. Anyone have any great ideas?

All six peeps and their proud mom:
Don't forget, a few days left to leave a comment on the blog! I will draw 4 lucky winners on June 1st and send out a special ATC to each winner! If you are a first-time visitor, that's OK, you can still say hello! Read more about it here.

Hatching!

Grandma Trudy's Memorial Azalea, above


Oh My! Our little Sharon, the tiny game bird sized chicken has six of the tiniest most adorable chicks, hatched right underneath our front porch! We only discovered them yesterday; see here for a post about our discovery of the nest. I was digging a hole for a lovely dwarf azalea to be planted in honor of Jake's grandma who died, when I heard some tiny peeps...At first I wondered if it was just more bird song, then followed the sound and laid right down on the porch to get a good listen. Sure enough! We don't know when the first one hatched, but we surmise it may have been 3 days ago. Here is Sharon and one little Peep, just to the left of her head:

She hasn't left the nest since Thursday. We began to wonder if she was getting hungry and thirsty, and have utilized the creative minds at this address to contrive a watering set-up: a PlayMobil trough that is lowered to her on an orange piece of yarn, then filled by a turkey baster. (A big concern of mine is chicks who are too new to know not to drown in their water!) Here's a photo that includes a chick, a mama, and the improvised watering trough:

You can see in the pictures that Sharon and family are just visible between the edge of the porch and the side of the house; when it rains, Sharon gets damp but the babies are toasty-warm beneath her. It's hard to get photos because of this unique nest location, but we'll keep trying. Peeps are usually blurry in photos because they don't stay still much! Here is Sharon, fluffed up and a little annoyed with the paparazzi:

While it's hard to get much done with all of this peeping happening, I do want to tell you that we'll be carving our own rubber stamps this week at the Rockport Library on our Wednesday night ATC group! We'll start with a little demo at 6 and everyone will go home with a piece of cardstock with all of each other's stamps on it! This month I will be facilitating, as Robinsunne will be absent (and sorely missed). Come prepared with your ATC supplies and, if you have them, bring carving tools (linoleum carving sets work well, as do fine woodworking tools). Check out what you can do with a simple hand-carved stamp. Below is a background paper, followed by an ATC that I made using it:
"The silver rain, the shining sun, the fields where scarlet poppies run" (above) is a line from a verse used for before-meal Grace. I don't have the author just now.

Interested in some wild pictures of colorful sea slugs? Click here! Thanks, Carrie. My favorite is the white-ish one with black stripes, with a little peplum on his/her bottom!