Over the last several days, weeks, Samuel has taught himself how to ride a bike without training wheels. He is so excited and likes to ride around in the back yard on our patio while he listens to his books on tape. Actually, I think part of his success has been combining the two activities because when he would go out to just try and ride the bike without the training wheels, he was often so frustrated that he would stop. When he listens to Freddy the Pig, he seems to relax a bit and it has really worked out for him this time.

What have we been up to?

We went and picked some blueberries on Sauvie Island but ended up with some wild blackberries instead. And the kids had ice cream afterward from the Farm Store at Krugers.

We went to a gymnastics center and played in the foam and on the trampolines. And the kids had ice cream afterward.

We went to the Farmer's Market and then to Bug Fest at the Nature Center nearby. There were some very informed entomologists there who would identify different bugs the kids caught. We learned there are 4,000 species of bees in the United States alone. There are 20,000 bee species world wide. Wow. Eva found a tumbling flower beetle. She even saw him tumble. No ice cream afterward, but Eva had one of those yummy Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches at the market.

We went to the Arboretum today and had a lovely walk in the woods. And the kids had ice cream afterward.

Gosh, that is a lot of ice cream. It is a good thing they like it!

I started a new sweater. Afterward I made a juice in my fantastic juice machine I was given for Mother's Day. I used beets and cherry tomatoes and zucchini from my farm basket and carrots and cherry tomatoes and cucumber from the garden. I have to say that the more juice I make, the better it gets. The tomatoes and beets really go well together and I am so glad I planted so many carrots because those have turned out to be great to juice as well.

this and that

Yesterday it rained! and was significantly cooler and I got to wear my new sweater. Hooray! I am so glad I took the time to fix the measurements. It was definitely worth the time spent.

Eva called me imbetetuous while we were making hot chocolate last night and I am still unclear about its meaning, although I did get the feeling that it was a good thing, in her mind, to be imbetetuous. As in, "You're so imbetetuous".

A few days ago, Matt walked into the living room and said that it smelled like pee. This is not a new smell for any of us and Samuel called out that it must be Agnes who peed behind the TV again (which she does from time to time when she is frustrated (with me) about something, and then I am frustrated with her and then I remember she is 15 and a good friend, but still..) And Samuel told him to tell me because I am the "pee warden". Yet another title I never thought I would have. One I never even knew existed, to be honest.

study in purple cone flowers

finished sweater

Scarlet Runner beans the Hummingbirds love; Eva and Samuel with all of the babies in mid-game.

I finished up the summer sweater I have been working on. It is a raglan, long sleeve and knit from 100% organic cotton yarn made by Araucania and Patagonia. Now I just need a cooler day to try it out. Soon, soon... I am finding out that while the knitting may go smoothly, the shaping and fitting can be trying. I ripped out and redid the bottom hem and length three or four times and the sleeves twice. I also took out the neck hem to make it looser

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Sage, Hyssop, Oregano in bloom, Echinacea/Purple Cone Flowers



Intricate Playbmobil game set up.



This is a game that Samuel came up with today. It is called Space Wars and is based on Star Wars figures and is also related to WWII, which he has been learning about from Brain Pop, as told per Samuel. It is a strategy game that has a few components of chess and also uses the D20 dice from D&D to determine whether or not an attack is successful. The pieces are Lego guy, some space Lego guys, some Indiana Jones Lego guys and then Eva and I got to have Princess Leia as our main guy. You can see the giant tank thing- which is from an Indiana Jones Lego set- that is one of Samuel's guys, but of course.

Hot!

Oooo Eeee. One hundred degrees. So hot today.

Meanwhile, there are blueberries to pick and spiders to watch and flowers to plant as others have their final days in the hot hot weather. There are lots and lots of beans. I am happy to say that the Scarlet Runner Beans that the hummingbirds love so much are also quite tasty to eat. The Jacobs Cattle Beans have turned out really well too.

Samuel has fresh ideas for advertising for his dog walking business. He is also really enjoying Brain Pop these days.

Yesterday we went on a tour of an urban goat farm in Portland. It was definitely worth it and I wish I had brought my camera. There were six (or seven) goats there and the kids and some adults got to take a turn milking one of the mellower female goats. Samuel was thrilled he tried it out and really loved the experience. We all got to try out some of the fresh goat milk and I brought home a 1/2 gallon, which I think I am going to use to make soap, although I may end up making yogurt with it, depending on how quickly I move. It is the type of thing to make kefir with but I have no kefir grains. Something will come of it I am sure. The man who owns the farm will let anyone who shows up at milking time take a turn milking the goats. How fun it that?

Today we went u-picking and were pleasantly surprised to find raspberries! and marionberries (in August!!) and even a few boysenberries!

We just finished a really wonderful set of stories by Ruth Stiles Gannett called My Father's Dragon (the second and third books are Elmer and the Dragon and The Dragons of Blueland). They are so good and I can't recommend them enough. I enjoyed them at least as much as Winnie the Pooh! There are just so many good books out there and then there are some really fun ones and this is one of the really fun ones for sure!

I forgot to post that Samuel rented a violin and is now hoping to take violin lessons. His art teacher from last spring teaches violin and we are hoping to have lessons with her. She teaches suzuki violin, which seems like a good fit for Samuel, at least in theory, and he is wanting to give it a try after taking some time with the violin on his own. The place we rented it from was great and they fitted him with a violin just his size and there is a case, etc. So that is some more fun news from around here.

of interest

We read Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder and loved it as much as the other Little House books. Such inspiration!

We also enjoyed Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare. It is the story of a boy of 13 who stays behind to watch his family's new homestead in Maine while his father returns to Massachusetts to bring back his mother and sister. The boy is befriended by local Native American tribes...Really good. I wanted to read some more of her books but haven't yet. I may wait because the others seem more advanced.

...and Cricket in Time Square by George Selden...although when I tried to read the others- there is a series that follows this initial book- Samuel said it was good but not really good enough to read more of. On we go...

We are also reading the Catfish Bend series by Ben Lucien Burman, one of which I have from when I was a kid. I had to special order them from the library and am in kind of a hurry to get through them so that I can return them. I could probably get them for around $.50 each on Amazon but am hoping to finish the library ones while I can.

Samuel is designing a video game that he is hoping to sell to Lego to develop.

Eva is coming up with new stores and clubs every day...Eva's wood club, Eva's ice chopping club...and then she walks through the house announcing the grand opening and suggests everyone join her [for a small fee].

I am excited that the neighboring hummingbirds are coming to the garden because they LOVE the scarlet runner bean flowers and the borage flowers! I was just two feet from one in the garden yesterday!

Yesterday was Lammas- the day midway between Summer Solstice and the Autumn Equinox. It is a celebration of mid-summer harvest and I for one am celebrating with BLUEBERRIES and TOMATOES and ZUCCHINI!