Archive for April, 2006
Over at Lapaz Farm, Theresa has been sharing some stunning pages from her nature journal. Truly an inspiration!
Jane has recently rediscovered her own journal—it’s hard not to be wooed by the out-o’-doors this time of year, and to want to bring a bit of it inside—and I’m thoroughly enjoying her handiwork on pages like these (click photos to enlarge):
More nature journal links:
Theresa’s page with book recommendations. (The Claire Walker Leslie
books are a favorite of mine as well—see this post.)
Gorgeous images at Mudpies and Mozart, plus practical suggestions. I’ve linked to this page before, but it’s worth revisiting.
Artist Rebecca Latham’s nature paintings and sketches page.
Dawn’s nature notes.
And, of course, Cottage Garden, one of Alice‘s brilliant ideas: an online nature journal with contributions from the whole family.
April 25, 2006 @ 8:43 am | Filed under:
Carnivals This week it is hosted by one of my favorite blogs: The Common Room. Enjoy!
April 25, 2006 @ 8:17 am | Filed under:
Science It is possible that I and everyone I know have been peeling bananas from the more difficult end all these years. Monkeys, it seems, peel from what we humans call the bottom end. This article by an economist tackles the issue. (Calling it an “issue” tickles me just as much as the article did.)
An excerpt:
Petal’s method is counterintuitive and thus instantly appealing to economists, who love nothing more than to overturn conventional wisdom. Multiple experiments (well, two experiments, actually, since we only had two bananas) quickly convinced a majority of the department that Petal’s way is—surprisingly—easier than the traditional method, though the econometricians thought you’d need to test at least 30 bananas to report that result with confidence. The labor economists immediately resolved to apply for a grant.
So what are you: a Top-Endian or a Bottom-Endian?
Tags: bananas
Did you know rabble was the collective noun pertaining to butterflies? According to this site, swarm also applies. Neither one quite fits, if you ask me. Hmm…a blessing of butterflies? A rustle of butterflies?
Whatever you call it, Cindy’s got it. She found some forty-odd monarch butterfly chrysalises (and correspondingly bare milkweed plants) outside her home yesterday. Neat pictures, especially the last one.
“Don’t use the white grape juice container in the fridge,” what he means is: “Don’t use the white grape juice container in the fridge.” NOT: “Pour two ounces of homemade mint syrup (which I am storing in an old juice bottle) into Wonderboy’s fruit yogurt smoothie before you realize you are in fact pouring mint syrup and not white grape juice.”
Plain yogurt + fruit juice + mint syrup = UGH, in my book. Wonderboy didn’t seem to mind, though.
George Eliot on marriage:
Marriage, which has been the bourne of so many narratives, is still a great beginning, as it was to Adam and Eve, who kept their honeymoon in Eden, but had their first little one among the thorns and thistles of the wilderness. It is still the beginning of the home epic—the gradual conquest or irremediable loss of that complete union which makes the advancing years a climax, and age the harvest of sweet memories in common.
—Middlemarch, chapter 87, by George Eliot
April 25, 2006 @ 2:23 am | Filed under:
Clippings 
As Jewel, you are slightly stubborn and a tad head-strong, but you are valiant, brave and daring. Admired for your free spirit and adventurism, you are the subject of much respect.
HT: Alice
More More More Said the Baby
by Vera B. Williams. In this Caldecott winner, a trio of toddlers get loved to pieces by the adults in their lives. A friend gave us this delightful picture book when Rose was born, and we literally read it to pieces. Even with the cover half gone and the pages in tatters, it’s a book that calls to us from the shelf…we can’t resist the fun of seeing these little ones get tickled, twirled, and smothered with kisses. “More, more, more!” shout the babies, and “Again!” cries Beanie. Be prepared to pounce on your own little one after you close the book: some merry wrestling or tossing in the air will be expected.
Tags: children’s literature, kidlit, children’s books, books, picture books, babies.
I missed a couple during my first week of babymoon…
63rd Carnival of Education at Education Wonks
Carnival of Homeschooling
And a fun addition: Carnival of Kid Comedy (HT: Bruggie Tales)
The next Carnival of Children’s Literature will take place right here at Bonny Glen in mid-May. (Submission details here.) If you’d like to host a future edition, drop me a note!
