Making honey

Over the weekend, friends invited us to their house to see how they process honey from their bee hives. It was a fascinating -- and sticky! -- experience:


What you don't get to see in this video is everyone enjoying fresh honey on fresh cornbread. Mmm!

Swimming

For the most part, this has been a pretty good summer for swimming -- hot and muggy, up until the last couple weeks. We have a membership at the pool, and we use it several times a week. Usually Starling takes the older kids for an hour or two in the afternoons during Mudpuppy's nap. Once in a while, though, we will all go down as a family, like we did last Sunday evening. I like going on Sunday evenings, because the place is virtually empty -- and we don't have to sunscreen all the kids at that hour. That knocks half an hour off our prep time.

Jaybird has taught herself to swim, through sheer dint of will, this summer.
She does what we like to call "not drowning," which is to say
 a very basic dogpaddle that will get her to the side of the pool. 

She has also taught herself a few floats, and has been experimenting
with diferent styles of strokes.

Relaxing by the pool.

Mudpuppy very cautiously explores the zero-depth portion of the pool.

Mouse enjoys jumping off the diving board in the deep end.

Playing under the "mushroom."

The evening light on the water is nice for these portraits.

Bear sat out the evening reading a good book -- but he has been enjoying
learning new strokes during his advanced swimming lessons.

All of the children, including Mudpuppy, are in swim lessons this week and next. Swimming lessons are a hassle -- as I say, it takes a good half hour to get everyone slathered in sunscreen -- but in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we like our children not to drown, so we haul them to the pool every summer for lessons. Of course it's been much hotter than usual all summer -- except for this week. On Friday we actually had lessons under cloudy skies with temps in the 60s.

Which wouldn't matter so much to me if it weren't for my being in the water with Mudpuppy for his lesson. When we signed the kids up back in March, I think my reasoning was that I'd prefer to be "playing" in the water with him over chasing him all around the pool and trying to keep him away from the restricted areas. I had envisioned a very laid-back splashing session, but as it turns out, the young instructor is something of a drill sergeant. She says she has more than six years' experience teaching kids this age, not to mention having taught all her cousins to swim, so she has Mudpuppy not only playing with toys in the zero-depth and playing ring-around-the-rosie, but also going in the deep end for front floats and back floats and jumping off the wall and hanging on the wall to kick and sitting on the wall to kick and putting your face in the water to blow bubbles and jumping off the wall and going all the way under, head and all.... Mind you, this is the kid who previously was known for screaming bloody murder when we washed his hair in the tub. Did I mention that we're the only ones in this class? (The early parent-toddler swim class has six toddlers and their parents.) So Mudpuppy does not get a break.

I have to say, though, that the aggressive approach seems to be working. He started off at the beginning of the week being VERY cautious about everything and doing a lot of head-shaking and whining; he's still doing that, but less and less, and he seems more comfortable and relaxed now. His back float is definitely looking better, and he's more relaxed doing it. He doesn't cry when he gets dunked under water -- partly because I immediately follow up by throwing him in the air, which makes him laugh. I also show him how I go under the water a few times before he does it. Unfortunately, he hasn't learned to close his mouth when he goes under. He might want to work on that.

His favorite activity in class is "motor boat" -- getting swished around the water in a front-down or backwards position by the instructor or me. He smiles and laughs and asks for "more, more."

By the end of the half hour, he is usually visibly shaking from being cold, despite wearing a swim shirt. So I scoop him up, he waves bye-bye, and then I wrap him up in a towel and lay him down on a bench to dry him off and change him into dry clothes. He just lays there, very quietly, with his eyes closed and a slight smile on his lips. And eventually, he stops shivering.

The kids were cold on Friday, too, of course. But, as I told them, outdoor swim lessons in Minnesota are 50% about learning to swim, and 50% about learning to Lower Your Expectations, because, to quote The Princess Bride: "Life is pain, Highness. Anyone who says differently is selling something." Sadly, they don't appreciate my sense of humor.

It's been a wild, wild weekend....

It's kind of been a very full weekend around Gracewatch. It's past my bedtime, so (once again) you're going to get the short version.

We begin with the Steamboat Days Kiddie Parade -- that's Mouse being a fish, since she was marching in the library's "Make a Splash" float. Bear also marched, but being nearly 10, did not want to be photographed in a fish hat. Jaybird sat on the sidelines and cleaned up in the candy department. "It sure took a long time to get that candy," she remarked. We stayed for the free kiddie concert and cheap hotdog lunch. The older kids stood in line for 30 minutes all by themselves to get a lousy hotdog, chips and pop for a dollar. Way to stand in line, kids!

Next up we have something nearly as exciting as a parade -- yep, backyard berries. It's that time of year, and this year, it seems like all the berries are coming at once: we've got small juicy strawberries, and big plump raspberries, and just the first few blueberries (although we expect a pint or two down the road). The kids are very, very excited about hunting for those juicy little treasures. Each of the first three blueberries (over three days) was announced, paraded around, and examined extensively before being consumed. So friday evening, we had them on vanilla ice cream.

Saturday, we celebrated Bear's tenth birthday by having lopsided lemon cake and ice cream. And he opened presents, after a great deal of anticipation. The "big" present was a new bicycle -- a 21-speed mountain bike. He had very much outgrown his old bike. He proclaimed it the "best birthday ever."

As part of the birthday celebration, we went down to the carnival. Every year we go to the carnival, and every year I am reminded of exactly how seedy and sad it is, and what a ripoff besides. But . . . the kids really enjoy the rides:

Or I should say most of the rides. Bear and Mouse went on the bumper cars and neither of them could get their cars working properly; Bear came away sulky and Mouse was openly sobbing. Nothing that the human canonball couldn't cure, though.

And then, today we went to the Steamboat Days parade -- a two-hour extravaganza that Jaybird in particular enjoyed from start to finish (especially the candy). We got some good photos and video, but here is my favorite (shot by Starling):

Yes, it's me, with Mudpuppy, in honor of Father's Day.

We also went to a picnic and a party and a play and quite a few other things, but that's all I'm going to write about, since it is now way past my bedtime.

On a more serious note . . . my father was hospitalized over the weekend after falling over backwards in the garden. He is in more pain than the morphine can adequately address, since he broke several ribs and fractured a couple vertebrae; he also had a collapsed lung. Amazingly, Fairview Southdale sent him home twice -- even though he was screaming in pain the second time -- without diagnosing any of this. Fortunately, he is now under much better care at a competent hospital. Prayers are appreciated.

Visiting the Science Museum

We visited the Science Museum of Minnesota in downtown St. Paul this past weekend. Jackrabbit wanted to do some special summer outing with the kids, since we were up for a three day weekend, and we hadn't been there in years. Plus, they have an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls (the real scraps are there, along with tons of pottery and historical goods from the era!) which Starling wanted to see. Starling enjoyed the Dead Sea Scrolls (Mudpuppy not so much), and the kids loved the museum. Bear in particular got into the experiments--he inherited the logical gift in our family. It really is an impressive museum, and we bought a family membership to explore it better this year (since we're up in the Cities regularly anyway, and the membership pays for itself after two visits. Besides, Jackrabbit wants to see the Dead Sea Scrolls too--but the display is a bit intellectual for the kids. So I'll watch them next time!).

Mill Street Neighborhood Party

Last weekend was the Mill Street Neighborhood Party, which we helped organize. Last year (the first year we did this), we had drizzle and temperature in the upper 50s; this year, it was humid and about 90 -- AND we did it two weeks earlier than before! Go figure.

One of the highlights was that Park and Recreation sent a youth worker over to organize activities with the kids -- you can see in the video that his shirt is starting to get soaked with sweat!

Spring is here

It's hard to believe that just a little over two weeks ago, the kids were ice skating in full winter gear -- snow pants, coats, mittens, hats, etc. And today, they were playing on the shores of that very lake in short sleeves and shorts! In fact, EVERYONE was outside today. Call it our Minnesota Mardi Gras: instead of dressing up funny and partying all night, everyone goes outside all at once to soak up the sun. The paths around the lake were congested worse than a Manhattan rush hour -- we even passed a guy in an electric wheelchair. "Ain't this fine?" he asked as we passed.

Bear and Jaybird in shorts and short sleeves checking out the snow and ice on the lake.

Bear quizzes the Bishop on football and other details

The family went to an ecumenical prayer service for life today, this near-anniversary of Roe v. Wade. It was at our town (and diocesan) Cathedral, and the local Bishop was presiding.

Afterward, as we had some cookies and juice, Bear went up to the Bishop (who he doesn't know, FYI) and asked him if he was a Vikings fan or a Saints fan--being a bishop and all. He replied he was a beleagured Detriot fan, but he'll root for the Vikes today.

It didn't help. In the great heritage of Minnesota, the Vikes came really really really close to winning the NFC championship and lost in OT, 31-28. Darn it. Bear was bummed. I have to admit, so was I.

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Other than that, it has been a week with continued adjustments to me (Starling) working at school while Mudpuppy turns his nose up to the bottle. Poor Jackrabbit.

Jaybird has had strep (sad girl), and Mouse had her rite of election at church this morning--she's getting ready for First Communion.

The weather has been unseasonably warm (mid-upper thirties)...but that's a mixed blessing, with all the snow on the ground. The sidewalks and streets have suddenly become moats. Bring out the gondolas!

An end of summer party

Well, summer has "officially" come to a close -- although, frankly, it's been consistently warmer the past week than for most of the summer. Blame it on El Nino, apparently.

We brought summer to a close on Labor Day weekend by attending a huge Celebration of Life party that a friend of ours threw to celebrate the end of his chemotherapy for stage 4 colon cancer. It was a grueling six-month ordeal, and he wanted to thank his very wide circle of supporters. The celebration was out on his parents' farm, tucked away in one of the pretty little valleys across the river about half an hour from here. The farm is actually the oldest in that valley, and is featured in First Farm in the Valley, the first of the popular series by Anne Pelowski. It was absolutely gorgeous: green sloping up and away all around us, with a small river (really more like a large creek) flowing through the valley. About 200 people attended this party, including a number of kids. Ben tried fishing in the pond, and all of the kids tried their hand at boating. Maria took out a small inflatable lifeboat and got stuck in the middle of the pond when she couldn't figure out how to row back. (She was completely calm about it.) Ben tried out the paddleboat, which Julia hopped a ride in as well. Being in control of their own watercraft was a new and exciting experience.

They had a number of kids games, too, including a three-legged race and a gunny sack race and a kiddie tractor pull. Ben won second place in the three-legged race, teamed up with a girl from Iowa. Pretty good, considering they were running against teens and adults, too. They received a trophy (an old golf trophy with a new plaque on it) and were told to draw straws for who got to keep it. Boy, they both really wanted that trophy. The girl's mother made her give it to Ben, who didn't object. But then I came in and suggested -- somewhat strongly -- that the grown-up thing to do would be to let the girl have it. It took him about twenty minutes, but he eventually gave it to her. But boy, did he struggle about that -- and later, he really regretted his decision, along the lines of, "I've never won anything before." That made me regret pushing the issue with him. But we printed out a picture of him with the trophy, and framed it, and now it occupies a proud place on his dresser.

Here are Ben and Julia in the tractor pull:

Kiddie Parade

For Steamboat Days, the kids watched the Grand Parade (and B went to the fireworks, too) -- and they also marched in the Kiddie Parade, as part of a very impromptu Mill Street neighborhood float. The girls were butterflies; B sat out. Here they are:

Little J was absolutely quivering with excitement for the Grande Parade -- jumping up and down, shouting out her favorite "princess" (beauty queen) or horse, mouth agape at the towering hot air balloon flame -- and always on the mark for the next wave of candy thrown her way. It rained off and on, but we stayed for two and a half hours -- about three quarters of the parade -- before calling it quits.