The weather.....has been raining with some thunderstorms for the most part. Looks like more of the same for the majority of this week.
Right now I am....hoping that it is dries out a bit so I can mow the lawn and plant the gardens before this Friday.
Thinking....how much fun I had this past this past Thursday and Friday with Sophia and Olivia as well as two other families from our 4-H club.
We went camping in a yurt at Afton State Park.
It was different from the camper cabins that we've stayed at in the past. In concept, it's like a tent, except with more structure. There's a wood floor, wood stove, windows, and a door. The lattice work on the sides and wood poles on the ceiling hold the yurt's water-proof fabric in place.
We went on three hikes: one to the St. Croix River.
One through a forest behind the yurts...
and the third through a restored prairie that once was farmland.
We enjoyed making dinner and breakfast around the campfire. Thanks to the other families there, we learned how to use the grill to cook food in a pot and on a griddle. This opens up a lot of new possibilities for us now.
Reading....just started reading The Bishop's Daughter by Wanda Brunstetter yesterday.
Favorite blog post last week....Closet Cooking had a recipe for Corn and Cotija Guacamole that we made while camping.
It was so good. The entire batch was gone by the end of dinner - all the families liked it. We already made another recipe once we got back home it was that good. We made the version that had the tomatoes and bacon in it.
The deer was very close to the yurt so there were lots of twigs snapping and crunching under each loud footstep. It stayed for quite a while near the yurt, went off for a while, and then came back.
Here's what deer sound like when they are alarmed and notifying others that something is amiss in their world:
As you listen to these videos, might I suggest that you close your eyes, imagine it's pitch black outside, and there's only yurt fabric and lattice work between you and the animal making this sound:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EWzg4eiJnM
Listen to: 0:28 – 0:40.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjqDaEYTIgc
Listen to 0:46 to the end
Surprised by the sound that deer can make? I sure was. In fact, the sound was so unusual that I ended up calling the police since I had Sophia and Olivia with me; and essentially nothing to protect us from whatever was lurking outside the yurt.
After more than 20 years of camping and living in the country, I have never been more terrified...well, except when I had a close encounter with a bear in the middle of the night while camping. But, that's a different story.
Now that I know what an alarmed buck or doe sounds like, I'll be more prepared next time and not scared.
On the menu for this week....haven't thought about meals for the week yet. Will be doing that later today since I'll be going to town this afternoon.
On my to do list....
This week, in addition to homeschooling, there are these activities:
Monday - chiropractic appointments (Sophia and Olivia), volunteer at the humane society (Sophia and Ann), graduation rehearsal (Sophia is playing the piano and harp), take Olivia to gymnastics, grocery shopping while Olivia is at gymnastics, and take Sophia to a three-hour recording session for her CD.
Tuesday - podiatrist appointment (me) to determine what type of soft tissue injury I have with the my foot as a result of falling down some stairs in March; and take Sophia to the graduation ceremony where she provides the prelude and postlude music as well as plays Pomp and Circumstance; and a song while the graduates exit the ceremony.
Wednesday - Mary B. here in the afternoon. Take Cooper and Aspen into the vet. Go to Fare for All.
Thursday - Doctor appointment (me).
Friday - Olivia's last speech therapy session for the school year; and then gymnastics lesson. Evening is the Twins game with a relative visiting from out of town.
Saturday - Visit with relative from out of town and out to dinner.
Sunday - Maybe a visit to two state parks that we haven't been to yet. There are spring wildflowers blooming at both of them that I'd like to see.
In the craft basket....started working on making a pair of socks using a knitting loom. The pins on the loom are so close together so it's kind of challenging. It will be a sense of accomplishment if I can complete one pair of socks.
Looking forward to this week....getting the gardens planted and having the yard mowed. I want to see things looking more orderly, tended, and colorful. It also will be nice to have the vegetables, fruit, and herbs growing. This year we have to put fencing around the vegetable and fruit gardens since there are a lot of rabbits.
Looking around the house....I'm so pleased with how the windows look. Had a company come in to do the outside and inside of all the windows. The second level we can't reach, so they've never been cleaned since they've been installed. What a difference! Even though rain and snow "wash" them, it's not the same thing. I can understand now why my Mom was so excited when the windows were cleaned for her.
From the camera...we made fruit pizza while we were camping. Each slice of watermelon has strawberry slices, kiwi slices, blueberries, and peach slices on it.
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4 comments:
Camping in the yurt actually looks kind of fun even to this non-camping type. Sorry you were scared by the deer, my husband hunts them so I did actually know they make noises. However, I would be scared to hear them in the middle of the night. Watermelon dessert pizza sounds delicious! Hope you have a fabulous week ahead.
YURTS are so much fun. Glad you had such a fun and even educational trip. When we were in Oregon there was a place nearby that sold YURTS and some of them were quite elaborate, even multi YURTS connected together and would have made fun homes with all the windows for natural light.
Have a GREAT week.
That yurt looks so cool! I think I'd feel better in something a bit more structural than a tent too. But the deer sounds are crazy!!
And I love guac anything - so cool to think of a variety of ways to shake it up! Yummy!! And I had pinned a watermelon pizza on my pinterest - so nice to hear someone that tried it and liked it.
Hope you have a blessed week ahead Ann! xoxo
That yurt looked absolutely amazing! What fun! Except for the deer. Good lord! I have never heard that before, either. I would have no idea it was a deer. They sound like an odd dog with a sore throat. Goodness! That would be an awful sound in the dead of night. I'm glad I know now, too. Thanks. :)
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