Monday, March 25, 2013

Bird Watching at Severson Dells...

We needed to get out of the house today.  BADLY.  After lunch we headed south to Severson Dells Forest Preserve on a hunt for signs of spring!

Unfortunately, the only sign of spring we found was the creek, which, as Emma pointed out, is a sign of spring because it is not frozen completely over...  We stumbled upon a couple of deer having an afternoon snack of tree bark.  They allowed us to gawk from a nice, safe distance.
Before heading home, we stopped in the visitor's center.  The nice ladies who work there were anxious to have the kids try their experiment:  They've been feeding the birds out of a sombrero atop of a scarecrow.
 The goal is to get the birds so used to eating out of the hat, that anyone can sit down next to the scarecrow, put the hat on, and have the birds eat right off the top of their heads!  Danny went first:  no luck.  Holly went second:  one little chickadee landed on her lap, but nothing on her head.  (It's a wonder she sat long enough for anything to come close!)  Emma went third and seems to be the natural birder of the family:  she had 5 birds try out her hat-feeder!!!
  Drew went last and had two land, but by the time he tried it, I think the birds had wised up to what was going on.  Then, being the good kids they are, the boys helped the lady from Severson Dells get the hat situated back on top of the scarecrow and re-filled with seed. 
What a fun way to spend an afternoon!  And more proof that you just never know what will happen next!!!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

What's on YOUR kitchen window sill?

I feel like I spend a great deal of time standing in front of my kitchen window (waiting for the snow to melt), which just so happens to be over my kitchen sink, which is ALWAYS full of dishes.  I kid-you-not:  if I spend 20 minutes cleaning up the kitchen/sink/counters and then walk away for 2 minutes, another dirty dish will appear--out of nowhere!!! It's really weird...

Anyway, my kitchen window sill is my catch-all for all sorts of junk.

Current contents: 
  • 5 lost teeth from 3 different kids
  • a glow-in-the-dark yellow alien guy
  • a black Sharpie
  • a potato that didn't make it into the pot for last night's mashed potatoes
  • green vampire teeth (from the fun fair at school)
  • a coffee mug that my grandma brought me last week because she "didn't want it anymore, but knew I could use it!"
  • a purple springy cord thing that fell of a fun fair whistle (Side note: this whistle in question is on it's way to whistle heaven.)
  • a 35 year old recipe card from "Aunt Frieda" written in my mom's handwriting
Seriously, where does all this junk come from?  Why don't I clean this mess up?  What would my mother-in-law think if she saw this mess?  (Just kidding; I don't think my wonderful mother-in-law would judge me too harshly... she's very nice.)

And so it goes:  You just never know what you'll find next!