Love Me Some Nature!

There are a a lot of parts of our usual school routine that have softened for the summer. But Nature Study isn't one of them. We've been outside more this summer than any before. I probably haven't been outside this much since I was a little kid. It's fantastic. And I don't feel at all bad about "neglecting" our books: soon enough winter will return, and going out will be much more difficult. And when it gets below 0F, I'm just not interested. So we're savoring summer while it lasts! 

And it's been such a lovely summer already!

I saw these Sandhill Cranes closer than I ever have before. I was driving when I saw them, and couldn't linger, but I did pull over and watch for just a minute. Apparently, there was something tasty in those weeds; the cranes were pretty intent. 

The water lilies at "our" preserve are blooming. They're so beautiful! We've enjoyed them for several weeks now. The buds, which I'd never noticed before, are pretty cool looking. Our pond has been just so pretty the past little while. This is its best time of year. 

At home, my gardens are less neglected than usual, though there's still plenty they could have done. I made my first-ever lavender harvest, and felt a little silly for ever being intimidated by doing it. It's easy and they make such pretty little bundles. I've got them drying now, which will give me longer to figure out what I'm going to do with them. I've got some peppermint and lemon balm from the garden as well, which is fun. If I get organized, I want to pick some plantain and dandelion and dehydrate them as well. Messing around in the garden is tons of fun.

Near the end of last summer, one of my girlfriends gave us a huge bubble maker. She'd made one for her kids, and whipped one up for us too, because she's awesome like that. We stashed it for the winter, and Hero remembered it the other day, so we finally got it out while my sister and her kids were over. It was a hit! I didn't take very many pictures, just this one of a smallish bubble, right before my nephew ran through it. They probably spent an hour messing with the bubbles. There's been regular bubbles all week, well. 

So many good things going on, and we're just soaking it all up! Hope your summer is as lovely as ours is so far!