Wordless Wednesday: Hay Maze

 

 

Odkrywają

pronounced Ohd-kriv-ayom

 

They are discovering

 

 

 

Na razie...

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn at the Farm

Sisters and Best Friends...

I figured out where my Krasnoludki dissappear to everyday when they are supposed to be washing my dishes and folding my laundry...

I wish there was some way to share with you the mouth watering real pickle smell in this jar...  Note the lack of yellow food dye.

I recognize that I am holding a cheap point-and-shoot.  If any camera companies feel like contributing so that I can take better pictures of chickens, flowers and our trips to Poland, I would very gladly accept.

Na razie...

Marcal Small Steps Giveaway and Our Week So Far

Last week, we started the Marcal Small Steps Giveaway.  I used random.org to generate a random winner number. 

"True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:14"

#14 is Hyacynth of Undercover Mother.  Congratulations!

I am the classroom mom this year for my older daughter's classroom and their Halloween party is coming up so we have spent the last few days getting ready, shopping, cutting out countless circles, triangles, and squares for their Halloween themed crafts.

Did you know that Halloween is a holiday specific to the USA? It's not very popular in Poland but is slowly gaining momentum. After all, Poles love Autumn and the harvest as well. And children the world over enjoy dressing up and eating candy.
We also tagged along for their field trip to a local farm.  I will be sharing pictures tomorrow.

The coyotes, deer and flock birds have been out in full force this week.  We even watched a red tailed Hawk be harassed by a pair of crows this morning.   Thankfully, our friendly neighbor skunk has stopped using an area of our house against a wall for a toilet although it would be nice to catch a peek of him/her out of our window out of spraying reach while walking so that I could photograph him/her.

But every time we spot the wildlife, either in our yard or while on a walk or driving, I never seem to have my camera at close reach.  I hope to have some photos of them to share with you with week.

I also recorded Lake Michigan during a "Tropic Storm Force Warning" that covered our region a couple of days ago and will be sharing that this week.  Around this time every year, Lake Michigan changes from a tranquil clear clean blue (with fierce and silent undertow) to a tumultuous and dangerous gray unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life.  It's beautiful but fierce.

It has been a busy week for sure.  What have you been doing this week so far?  Are you getting ready for Halloween?

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn on the Prairie

Autumn, no matter where you are, involves certain things.  Pumpkins, falling leaves, apple harvest season, seasonal vegetables, animals preparing for winter...

Just north of me is Wisconsin.  Until I moved here, I didn't realize that Wisconsin and Illinois are the Pumpkin Capital of the USA.  This year was a tough year for growing pumpkins and I was unable to find the massive pumpkin fields this year stretching as far as the eye could see on the flat prairie covered with orange dots everywhere. 

Our older daughter's school gave out free pumpkins in the school parking lot. 

Did you know that pumpkins are not grown typically in Poland but that the trend is changing?  My Babcia until recently would grow pumpkins in her little garden in Wroclaw to make pumpkin butter with.  But she was always very progressive.  You can't help but love that woman.

Mr. Braveheart of Stiles Vegetable Farm and Greenhouse happily ate more corn from our hands this week.  We got glimpses of the baby ducks who had hatched a few short weeks ago.  They will be grown by the time winter hits.

Leaves keep sticking to our sweaters as the wind blows and as the children chase each other at school pickup every day attempting to toss leaves on one another.  Listening to their giggles, watching their smiles, that is why I get out of our car everyday for pickup instead of sitting in my car and not interact with other parents.

My latest haul from the local farm, Stiles.  Pictured are a Sunflower head to dry, carrots, an extra large zucchini (I baked a whole wheat zucchini chocolate chip bread with added flax seed and wheat germ for the class to enjoy for snack time), a head of cabbage, a butternut squash, a bag of apples, potatoes, a bunch of beets, radishes, a turnip and a rutabaga (they are two different vegetables).  All grown locally, 100% of the money I spent to buy them went to the local farmer and local economy.  There was less impact on the environment by trucking each item in from various places around the world.  The produce is fresher and, therefor, packed with more nutrients.  And I could see which fields each grew in.  That's why I buy local...

There are several types of squirrels here.  In Maryland, the black squirrel died off many years ago when there was a blight that devastated the local chestnut trees.  I learned this at Jerusalem Mill.  In Poland, the squirrels are red with cute little ear tufts or are the European ground squirrel which is coming back from the brink of extinction.

Here is a video of a Polish Red Squirrel just because squirrels are so darn cute...

I wold love to have this sign hanging in my house.  It is from a local apple orchard that sells apples and fresh unpasteurized apple cider in this small building on the side of the road.  You can literally walk in, meet the farmer's wife and see the man in the other room washing and pressing the apples.  100% of the money I spent on the apples and apple cider went to the farmer and, again, no trucking it in from various areas around the world.

What is going on in your area of the woods?





A side note:  Apple cider should be enjoyed right away.  Shake up the container, then pour.  Young children, the elderly, and those with compromised immune systems should not drink unpasteurized apple cider.  However, you can heat up the apple cider (with a stick of cinnamon in the pan, if you like for added flavor) before drinking as a great cold weather drink and to kill any pathogens you might be concerned about.

Wordless Wednesday: An Autumn Day Stroll

We went for a walk in Old School Forest Preserve...

I wonder what Poland looks like right now. 

Na razie...

Wordless Wednesday: Farewell to Summer

It's the middle of August.  In Maryland, I would have had another month until it was time to say farewell to Summer.  But then, I also didn't have children in school yet.

So, it's time to say farewell to Summer.

This week, geese have begun gathering in large flocks and flying overheard.

Black birds have begun gathering in wild flower fields, eating seeds, flapping wings together in a black mass and moving over a few feet to gorge themselves on more seeds, gathering strength for winter.

The squirrels have been ravaging our bird feeder this week.

A skunk has begun digging a hole against the side of my house and using another area as his or her toilet.

School is about to begin and with it, a new harried schedule.  And another missed chance at seeing my Babcia this year.

So, farewell Summer and all the wonders you bring.


A pregnant spider on our little "pond"...

Fossil hunting on the beach...

Swimming into the lake to grab plants for the simple joy (we released them back into the lake before going home)...

Wild flowers...

Snakes (Garter snakes are not poisonous and are an important part of the ecosystem)...

And dirty bare feet...

What will you miss with Summer's departure?