The Olentangy

The same post appears on Cool Columbus Blog

Another beautiful day. Another morning spent on a river: the Olentangy, this time, at Highbanks Metro Park.



I know, it's embarrassing how long it took us to finally get here. Many people have mentioned this park to us. Many of them very trust-worthy. Molly, for instance, brings her children here, so I know it would be worth the drive from our home in the far Southeast corner of Columbus (to the far Northwest corner)... I know... it's not that far. But I do everything I can to avoid the concrete-ness of the highways.



And yes. It was worth it. It was worth it especially with some friends in tow.



The children spent hours catching and releasing crawdads, fish, and clams. They didn't seem to mind the small amount of water left in the river due from this season's drought. If anything, it was the perfect amount of water for their creeking adventure.

Chilling out, second grade style

The last block of the kids' second grade year, their school work focuses on 'healthy living'. They learn about eating good, healthy foods; they also learn about how to be physically healthy. So for three weeks, twice a week, all the second graders (and their parents are invited), bring mats or towels, and practice yoga for 20 minutes, first thing in the morning out on the front lawn of their school.

Sounds good eh? And we didn't even have to move back to California!

Jim and I joined them a few times to stretch out like "monkeys", "snakes", or "giraffes". The instructor has a clever way to direct the otherwise fidgety children through the poses.

We are missing the last week of it... but get this... we will be able to have our own yoga sessions... on some of our favorite beaches... a couple of thousand miles from this grassy lawn.

Chilling, we will be.

The Natural Scientist

There are, according to the little scientist, precisely 26 science experiments happening at the moment, inside this little house of ours. If you were interested, he would give you a tour of each one, with elaborate descriptions. You might even get the Latin name of certain species. Or maybe not.



So what if we have less glasses and plates to use...



Or a lot of salt crystals to step on...



There is definitely more dirt (well, soil) in the house...



And many pleas for vegetable parts (seeds, roots, tops, you name it)...



I am just thankful that he loves the wonders and miracles of nature. He is teaching himself about life, and how it works (at least for now it's the Plant Kingdom. Phew).



Those of us who know him well have no doubt in our minds that he is a budding scientist. Only time will tell, yes, but so do these 26 experiments and many more to come!

The hunt for tadpoles

Because we don't have enough pets around here, we felt a need to add a couple more living things to the mix. Tadpoles. Bullfrog tadpoles, to be precise.



The hunt was not really a hunt - that would be a dis-service to the description of what a real hunt should be. This was more like a quick find, and a quick scoop, and there we are, two tadpoles to bring home.



They are only spending a couple of nights with us, don't worry. We have tried to 'raise' tadpoles before (according to the in-house naturalist), back in Boston when we lived in an apartment, no less. We (umm...I) even boiled some lettuce as per the instructions of the said naturalist. Supposed to be good food for the little critters. Hmmm...wonder if it was the wrong kind of lettuce...



But it was a beautiful day, at the beautiful Franklin Park Conservatory. The kids were joyous and fulfilled. What else could you ask for?

Slate Run

Oh summer. It's a bitter-sweet time, really. On the one hand, life is more fluid: children get to sleep in, and have free play in and around (and in and around many more times) the house. We are loving the garden, and the animals that are thriving along with the vegetation.  We love eating most of our meals outdoors, next to the fire pit that does not only act as an insect repellent, but the perfect dessert cooking station for the kids. There are also still trips to take, memories to make, and the bags that get packed and unpacked many times over. We all love the adventurous side of summer, truly.



Then there is also a lot of time in the summer. Time to cherish, but also time to fill with the little ones who are always hungry for more. What are we doing today? is a popular question around here, especially when the calendar is wide open, not filled with camp activities or itinerary to places far beyond.



This week is one of those that I had to draft a general plan of attack (knowing full well that I won't get much of anything else done). We made a list of places we would like to visit, activities we would like to pursue, and then we were free to change it however we wanted, down to the last minute.



Today, instead of going fishing at a metro park nearby, we decided to visit another of our favorite metro park. It's summer after all...who needs to stick to a plan?



Slate Run Farm is everything you would want a 'park' to be. It's a 1880's living historic farm with fields of corn, a lush garden, a pasture with chickens, ducks and geese. The farm house stays the way it used to be, with old-fashioned toys, old fashioned sewing machines, artifacts and antiques everywhere you look. They also have several animals that work on the farm, a wonderful attraction for children and adults alike. All of their farm equipment stays true to the time period. You definitely feel transported back in time when people were busy with chores and outdoor life with no flat screens or gadgets to distract them by.

I overheard a young man, no younger than 13, telling his brother in that crackling in-between growing phase voice: "Hey, I forgot how much I like it here!"



We visited the animals, noticed several swallow nests with baby birds' beaks poking out chirping away. We walked through the barns and petted baby turkeys and remarked on how big the piglets had gotten since we were there last. My favorite part of all is the 'summer kitchen' - a room outside of the main farmhouse where they cook during the hotter months. A batch of cinnamon and sugar cookie was cooking in the wood-fired stove when we entered. The aroma was enough to want me to live there forever.



But summer is still young, indeed. There is still a lot more time and a lot more things to do. I am glad that Slate Run was part of this summery day I got to spend with the kids, as part of our 'doing' today.

Black Raspberries

It's become a tradition of sort in our family: black raspberry hunting in Western Michigan. We won't tell you where exactly because, you see, it's our private territory. Once fourth of July comes around, we won't let anyone know where we go to find these black jewels!



I am saving you, in many ways, from an incredible amount of mosquitoes that take up residence in the said territory once the weather is warm and humidity is high. They are big, vicious, and numerous. It's better if you don't venture into their home because you will most likely be eaten alive.



But our kids love this tradition. And so do we. So when we were back up there last weekend, we put on our mosquito-brave faces and out we went.



There was enough for a tub full of black raspberries. This time I think they are going to be turned into scrumptious sorbet, hand cranked the old-fashioned way in an ice cream maker. I know...that is a story in itself.



You will have to come here again (to this blog) to find out what that is all about! I can tell you it will be worth a visit back (but you will have to wait a few days)!

When the yard gives you violets...

You make cake, of course!



What cake? There is only one cake that is oh so appropriate for these newly sugared violets. It is Molly's Yogurt-Lemon cake, our favorite around here.



Many months ago, in the middle of winter, when the kids flipped through their Nature Craft for Kids book, they begged me to make these candied violets. I agreed, with one contingency: we had to wait for the ground to be rid of snow, and ice, and then maybe we can start dreaming about sprinkling sugar onto violets.



That was before we knew about these little gems that happen to pop up all over our front yard!

Candied Violets

Pick a handful of violets, with stems attached. Rinse well, and dry on paper towel. In a bowl, separate egg white, and with a small brush, cover each violet with the egg white. Sprinkle white sugar all over, and set to dry. Decorate on whichever cake you desire!

Our own Christopher

As in, Christopher Robin, the little boy whose best friend is Winnie-the-pooh. In this case, Pooh is his sister. (Wouldn't it be wonderful if all those characters really were to exist? I would like to be a good friend of Piglet's myself).

It rained here yesterday. Wait, no, it poured here yesterday...a good drenching April shower that hopefully will help grow the May flowers.



Our children, both of them, wanted nothing to do with the indoors. They came home from school, ran right back outside with umbrellas, boots, cups and bowls. They even brought books with them, to read under their 'protected fort'.



They were enjoying the rain the way children are meant to. And despite the mud and the water that came back into the house with them, I would be silly to complain.

Homemade Yogurt

Though we don't have the results to prove that we indeed made yogurt, at home, we have photos to prove that we did make an attempt at it.

The setting of yogurt, you see, takes hours. So there is a lot of patience involved, which is the most difficult part of the process!

We didn't make just any regular yogurt...we attempted at making Greek yogurt! If you have had it, you will know that Greek yogurt is superior to regular yogurt. It is thicker, smoother, more flavorful.

If our batch turns out to be anywhere near success, we will let you know, and will spell out what we did so that you, too, can make yogurt, in the comfort of your own kitchen!

We made butter!

It was 8:30pm. Bed time for most seven year-olds in the world, on a school night.

We were having one of the last chit-chats of the day on the couch.



I was re-telling the story about our missed-opportunity to attend a butter-making class over the weekend. And how our friend down the street, Linda, had taken her kids. And how she was telling me the simplicity and speediness of butter-making.  She even went through the steps with me. It sounded almost too easy.




"She said it only takes about 7-8 minutes of agitating the cream!" I told the family. Their eyes widened.


"That's all? Can we do it now, Mommy? Do we have cream? Can we do it NOW?" Inquired both children.


"Yes, we have cream! And yes! Let's try it!" Who was I kidding? I was as excited about trying it as they were.

And just like that, we were all in the kitchen putting cream in a glass container. With the lid closed, we began to shake.



And we shook, and we shook, until there was nothing more to shake (the cream had solidified. It didn't quite look like butter yet, but something more like cream-cheese. We were a little puzzled, so what did we do? We googled.

That was when we learned that one can also make butter in a food processor. And that the cream will go through different stages...until, poof!, butter and buttermilk separates.

So, leaving the cream-cheese that we made earlier, we gave the more modern method a try.

Before 9pm rolled around, we had made butter. And those little sleepy hands rolled some into balls.



Why had we not done this before? Who knows! We had our own homemade butter with toasts this morning.  "This tastes like real butter!" The happy children exclaimed.

Up next... cheese and yogurt. If butter is this easy... those can't be that hard, right?

Snow!

A finch, seen from our office window

As I write, our children are enjoying the snow outside. They have been out there about an hour now, and I don't think we will see them until their stomachs grumble with hunger for mid-day food needs.



It was raining when we woke up, and as the morning grew, and the sun lit up more of the cloudy sky, the rain slowly turned into snow. And just like that, we are now having our first real winter snowfall.



Just in time for us to have a little fun before heading to the tropics! Thank goodness for the magic of international flights!



I can't say I will miss this white stuff, but the kids might! Or maybe they will be so happy to be living in their swimsuits for three weeks they will forget about it for a while...