Summer Sky: Learning as I go

The great backyard birdcount starts tomorrow!

We look forward to the Great Backyard Bird Count each year.  With all the hullabaloo over being snowed in, it sort of snuck up on us. Plus, there were a few other things going on this weekend--like, oh, Valentine's Day, President's Day, and both my mom's and my dad's birthdays!

I should also mention that sign up for Project FeederWatch (also run by the Cornell bird lab) ends February 28.

At some point this weekend, we will try to find the time to make bird cakes, like this one we made last year.

Another fun thing we will try is sketching birds, but using watercolor pencils like these. I love them--the kids can draw things very precisely and then go over them with a wet brush to get a completely different look.

 

Heather kindly featured our little snow tub from yesterday--it's a big thing to do at our co-op preschool, but that was the first time we tried it at home.  Spring sure feels a long way off right now!

Yippee!!

Our county fair opened today. I'm pretty sure there isn't a single farm in our county, which means there aren't any farm animals, and that's sort of contrary to what a county fair is all about for some folks. We also live in the smallest county in Virginia, so you can imagine that our fair is pretty small, too. 

Which is just fine for the little ones.

 

Occasionally a puffy cloud gave us some shade.  But mostly, it was HOT.

We slurped lemonade, but other than that, no one asked for any treats. I would have said yes.

 

 

I did, however, indulge a request to play a carnival game. The kind where "everyone gets a prize" and you are, essentially, buying your kid a toy.  So the game was rigged, perhaps a bit too much in their favor.

 

It was so good to see N nearly back to his usual self. I did push him around in the stroller, and he paid me the favor of not taking a nap, a good thing because that meant a reasonable bedtime hour.

 

We saw so many mama friends today! And we even made some new ones. A mother who just recently moved to Arlington stopped to admire my house on hill road camera strap--she recognized Erin's handiwork from a long way off.  Kit--it was nice to meet you--hope we can talk sewing some time soon!

Then it was time to see our submissions to the fair on display. E drew a special picture of our departed Clio (she was 19 years old when she went to kitty heaven, and E was 4). What do you know, she won a prize. One that wasn't rigged this time, although as her mama I wonder whether she understands the difference.

 

And guess what...I submitted a few things, too. All photographs. I fretted about which ones to enter. I wanted to discuss my choices with my husband, or a close friend, but I didn't have a lot of time, so I had pulled my own favorites together and called it a day.

I had a hard time finding my entries on the display boards. I didn't even see them all, because I couldn't figure out how the displays were set up, and I just had to guess based on other photos what the categories were. Although N (little N!) spotted some of them on his own.

Yippee! someone else enjoyed these photos too.

Honorable mention, still life digital photo. Original here .

 

Blue ribbon, close up digital photo. Original here.

 

 

As my husband likes to say, happy sigh. (yippeeee!!!!)

Sun prints.

So, E and I have been trying to make construction paper sunprints this week (we got the idea from The Crafty Crow, of course). It seems easy: lay out paper. Place objects (in our case, pretty leaves) on top of paper. Set in full morning sun.

Except (as seems to be the case if you're...oh, say, me) it is never quite as easy as it seems.  For one thing, if you're going to use something light, such as pretty Japanese maple leaves, or, I dunno, Virginia creeper, you cannot do this if there is even the slightest bit of wind. (And no, you won't catch me complaining about the breeze--it's been lovely!)

So I figured out an answer--sort of. I popped out a piece of plexiglass from an Ikea frame that's been waiting for some of E's artwork. It did the trick--kept the leaves in place. There was an unexpected side-effect--condensation. I thought it might show in the sunprints, but it didn't.

We will have to remember this one in the oppressive heat of mid-summer when the air stands still. Or else, use rocks.

Water play and roses.

Yesterday afternoon, the kids prevailed upon me to bring out the wading pool. And so we did.

 

I sat in the shade and watched them play and splash, giddy over the early start to pool season. (The water was cold but that didn't stop them.)

Meanwhile, I also enjoyed the first flowers from our climbing rose. I wish so much I could remember the variety, as I should, because I planted it myself years ago.

 

When I planted this rose, it was just a short, thorny stick. It bloomed a little bit, and grew a couple of spindly canes. But a few years ago, there was a pretty bad drought around here, and I was sure the rose was dead. I didn't have the heart to dig it up, sorry I had neglected it so. If I remember correctly, it stayed that way for nearly two years, dead (to my eye) all the way down to the roots.

 

Obviously, I was mistaken. Now it is a vibrant plant that rambles 15 18 feet in two directions along our fence.  There's a moral there, or maybe two, to that story.

Once the kids tired of the pool, we spread out towels along the front walk. I made my first (very unsuccessful) attempt at a hammered flower print. 

 

Before hammering. I learned the hard way, a ball peen hammer is not optional.

 

Then E asked for watercolors. Much better idea, honey!

 

 

 

I sat observing, occasionally providing another bit of paper for another small masterpiece.  What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

 

 

Art and cream puffs.

We had a great time at the Old Town St. Patrick's parade! I'll post pics later. First, I wanted to share some art. With dessert.

My mom always served dessert when we were growing up. One of her simple standbys was profiteroles, but we only knew them as cream puffs.

Before I get to the cream puffs, I'd promised to show the little artists' trading cards (ATCs) from the project Erin and Blair organized for over 900 children. The kids were placed in age-appropriate groups of 6. Each child painted, colored, or decorated five  2.5" x 3.5" cards and mailed them to other group members.

E was very excited and set to work.

 

 

Here's a sample of the 5 cards she painted. As her mama, I can't decide between the forest or the haunted house.

 

Fox & Squirrel, Fox in a Forest, Haunted House.

Here are some of the cards she received in return. It was so exciting for E (and for me) to get these jewels in the mail:

 

I love the title of the one with concentric squares: Entrance to a Mine.

But what about the cream puffs!?  We received our South Mountain Creamery delivery yesterday, and I had sprung for farm-fresh eggs and whipping cream:

 

D had surprised me with flowers, so as I was preparing supper, I thought, what can I quickly make to surprise him? My mom's cream puffs sprang to mind. I used the pate a choux (cream puff!) recipe from Nick Malgieri's How to Bake, but cut it down to 1/4 because it was just D and I.

 

Cream Puffs (Profiteroles or Pate a Choux Dough) for 2

1/4 cup water

1 T plus 1 1/2 tsp unsalted butter

pinch of salt

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 egg

 

Place the water, butter, and salt in a pan; stir; set the burner for medium heat; bring to a boil.

Remove from heat when the mixture begins to boil. Use a sifter to add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth. Return the pan to the stove and cook, stirring all the while, until the dough begins to leave the pan, like this:

 

 

I can remember my mother cooking the dough on the stove.

 

Put the paste in a bowl and stir with the spoon for a minute so it cools down a little. Then add your egg. I used a whisk and a little muscle to beat the egg into the dough; at first you might think it won't come together, but keep going, it will.

 

 

 

Then put it in a pastry bag. At this point, you could chill it for a few minutes--the result will be a higher pouf. If you're fresh out of pastry bags, do the plastic-bag-with-the-corner-cut-off trick:

 

 

Then pipe it onto a cookie sheet with parchment paper or other lining:

 

Try to pile it higher than this to get a taller pouf. Fix mistakes with a water-moistened finger.

 

Then bake for 20 minutes (check at 15 minutes; you want them golden-brown); and out they come:

 

 

When cooled, slice puffs with a serrated knife to open.  I used sweetened whipped cream as a filling, or you could use ice cream. (You could make pastry cream [think eclairs], but it must be cooked and chilled before using, i.e., advanced planning.)

 

 

Then top with your favorite chocolate sauce. Here's mine:

 

Chocolate Sauce for Cream Puffs (or Ice Cream)

Serves 2.

Melt 1 oz. good-quality semi-sweet chocolate over low heat.

Stir in a small dab of unsalted butter until melted.

Stir in 1/8 cup of heavy cream (for a thick sauce like the first photo) or whole milk. (I use skim milk in a pinch, it's just runnier.) The sauce will be a lighter grayish color now, with bits of congealing chocolate, until you complete the next step.

Bring to a *brief* low boil to re-melt the small chocolate bits, whisking all the while, until the cream or milk is well-blended. Immediately remove from the stove to avoid burning. Spoon over filled puffs.

 

Cream puffs are quick to make, and really should be eaten as soon as they're made. Enjoy!

 

 

Sharing artsy fun.

I was excited to open my inbox this morning to see an e-mail from Erin (house on hill road) and Blair (Wise Craft) about the kids' artist trading card (ATC) swap. E is participating with 5 other kids who are also 5 years old. I think it's 4 girls and one boy but it's a little hard to tell from their names. :) (Edited to add: there are over 900 kids in the swap, set up in groups of 6! Sorry if I wasn't clear on that.)

I already have some thick watercolor paper on hand to cut up so we're all set. This is such a fun idea all the way around because the kids get to make something special for someone else (always fun) and then they get to receive little gems in the mail from their peers. What's not to love?

 

I will be sure and post E's work, and might post what we receive if we have the little artists' permission.

On a different topic, yesterday was incredibly warm, and today is even warmer. I have been enjoying this winter, cold, ice, snow, and all (which I cannot wrap my head around--I usually hate winter with every fiber of my being--but I'm going with it), so I'm a tiny bit disappointed by the warmth, but rest assured we aren't letting it go to waste.

 

Here you see E drawing with chalk on oilcloth. As usual, I can't recall where the idea came from first. It's entirely possible I came up with it on my own while perusing oilcloth to use as a drop cloth for kid artwork. But I like to give credit where it's due, so if you thought of it first, why, I cribbed it from you.

Now you ask (if I didn't crib it from you), why have your kid draw with chalk on oilcloth when a sidewalk works perfectly fine and takes up no extra space? As you can see, our little path is not smooth (they do use it, but it's hard to draw larger figures). We don't have a sidewalk, and our asphalt street has cars zooming around the corner zip zip. Plus, the oil cloth can go inside or on the porch on rainy days. I think I bought mine here.  So, I wish--I'd prefer--that we had a driveway to draw on, but our oilcloth square will simply have to do.

While we're on the topic of art, and kids, I just want to share a couple of N's paintings. This is not really about the paintings per se (although as a mama I enjoy the use of white space), but about the fun that comes when a child is old enough to describe their painting. I love the little titles.

Here is "Alligator and a Fly"

this is "A Spiky Bird Sitting on a Branch"

 

And this is "A Strange Machine."

 

I know, art doesn't have to be representational, but I still dig the titles.