Did you know you can make a kite out of just a paper grocery bag, some tape, and some twine?
I made one today because I'm going to have my cub scout den make them tonight, so I wanted to make sure I could, you know . . . make it myself. So I don't look like an idiot.
The thing flies, too, I've discovered. Yesterday would have been a great day to fly it because we had Wizard-of-Oz type winds going on that knocked out the power for over two hours, but even with just a slight breeze I got it up in the air. I'll post a picture as soon as I take one and get it on the computer.
So put away your money and dig out the scissors, folks! There's a potential kite hiding away right there in your pantry.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thursday, May 15, 2008
I Ordered Some Stuff This Morning
Okay, let me back up a few days.
Last weekend, while outside with the kids, I ventured into the usually-impenetrable-in-the-summer wooded area at the edge of our property to create some "trails." I put trails in quotes because it really isn't a huge area, so they're more like pathways. But I've been lining them with some of the larger fallen branches that were piled next to the shed and tossed along the edge of the woods, and after some fern-removal and a little raking, darned if they don't look like trails.
So since that's been going so nicely, I've been getting ambitions. You know, getting images in my head that resemble something you'd find in a magazine - rustic wooded pathways surrounded by all kinds of colorful foliage, flowers, and shrubs that I will have painstakingly (but lovingly) planted in artistically correct locations. Maybe even a little concrete bench or some old iron chairs tucked alongside the trail for those who wish to linger (and who don't mind being mosquito bait). Oh, and a string of quaint white lights draped through the trees along the pathway . . .
My kids just think it's really cool to have a place for adventures. In fact, my oldest, who is eight years old, told me this morning that it would be neat to plant some stuff all back there in the woods and then put wooden pathways up above in the trees. I told him I wasn't sure we could do that in a way that was remotely safe.
His response: "The Ewoks did it."
So anyway, I just happened to get an email yesterday from one of the mail-order plant/seed places, and there, on the front page of their buy one, get one free sale, is something called a honeyberry bush. Ever heard of it? Me neither. But wow, it looks so cool - bright-blue, oblong, edible berries on shrubs that grow from 4-8 feet tall. And, low and behold, it loves the shade! But wait, it gets better - they're originally from Siberia. First thing through my head: Upstate New York in winter will feel just like home for the thing!
Here's a picture (courtesy of ParkSeed.com):
Isn't that gorgeous?
So I ordered a couple. Well, okay . . . I ordered four. But in my defense, you need at least two of the one variety to get any berries.
I also threw in a couple of butterfly bushes, some raspberries, a couple of hydrangeas, and something else that for the life of me I can't remember right now.
I know, I know, that's a lot of stuff. But it's spring, and I'm excited to make things grow!
All I have to do over the next few (rainy) days is dig some holes, prepare some soil, clear out a wild blackberry patch, and till a strip of earth for the raspberries, all while the two-year-old is "helping" me (and for those who have had a toddler, the quotes around helping need no explanation).
Oh right, and there are the plants I'm getting this weekend from my kids' school - 48 impatiens and some herbs and vegetables for the garden. Plus a few petunias for my hanging baskets.
Oh.
I think I'll just go ahead and take some Advil right now.
Last weekend, while outside with the kids, I ventured into the usually-impenetrable-in-the-summer wooded area at the edge of our property to create some "trails." I put trails in quotes because it really isn't a huge area, so they're more like pathways. But I've been lining them with some of the larger fallen branches that were piled next to the shed and tossed along the edge of the woods, and after some fern-removal and a little raking, darned if they don't look like trails.
So since that's been going so nicely, I've been getting ambitions. You know, getting images in my head that resemble something you'd find in a magazine - rustic wooded pathways surrounded by all kinds of colorful foliage, flowers, and shrubs that I will have painstakingly (but lovingly) planted in artistically correct locations. Maybe even a little concrete bench or some old iron chairs tucked alongside the trail for those who wish to linger (and who don't mind being mosquito bait). Oh, and a string of quaint white lights draped through the trees along the pathway . . .
My kids just think it's really cool to have a place for adventures. In fact, my oldest, who is eight years old, told me this morning that it would be neat to plant some stuff all back there in the woods and then put wooden pathways up above in the trees. I told him I wasn't sure we could do that in a way that was remotely safe.
His response: "The Ewoks did it."
So anyway, I just happened to get an email yesterday from one of the mail-order plant/seed places, and there, on the front page of their buy one, get one free sale, is something called a honeyberry bush. Ever heard of it? Me neither. But wow, it looks so cool - bright-blue, oblong, edible berries on shrubs that grow from 4-8 feet tall. And, low and behold, it loves the shade! But wait, it gets better - they're originally from Siberia. First thing through my head: Upstate New York in winter will feel just like home for the thing!
Here's a picture (courtesy of ParkSeed.com):
Isn't that gorgeous?
So I ordered a couple. Well, okay . . . I ordered four. But in my defense, you need at least two of the one variety to get any berries.
I also threw in a couple of butterfly bushes, some raspberries, a couple of hydrangeas, and something else that for the life of me I can't remember right now.
I know, I know, that's a lot of stuff. But it's spring, and I'm excited to make things grow!
All I have to do over the next few (rainy) days is dig some holes, prepare some soil, clear out a wild blackberry patch, and till a strip of earth for the raspberries, all while the two-year-old is "helping" me (and for those who have had a toddler, the quotes around helping need no explanation).
Oh right, and there are the plants I'm getting this weekend from my kids' school - 48 impatiens and some herbs and vegetables for the garden. Plus a few petunias for my hanging baskets.
Oh.
I think I'll just go ahead and take some Advil right now.
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