Alive

We had a really awesome day today.  Not awesome that knocks your socks off and is filled with extroverted excitement at every turn.  But a quiet awesome day - the kind that sneaks up on you and you don't really feel it's awesomeness in the moment, but at the end of the day when you have some time to put your feet up and think about it.

After everyone had finished up their schoolwork this morning, each little one and grown up made it outside at their own pace. 

Jaelyn had decided to make a blanket and was hand-sewing patches on while sitting on the back step. 

I decided it was time for the plants we had started indoors to get acquainted with outside.  I fertilized them with some more compost tea, gave them a good dose of water, and let them bask in the glorious sunshine.  I can honestly say that they look happy after their day outside...their leaves are a little greener, they are a wee bit taller, and working on building healthy, hardy roots to stand up to our strong prairie winds.

Nicholas later emerged and we noticed that it seemed everything around us was coming to life...leaves were starting to burst forth from the trees, the rhubarb is growing in great leaps and bounds, and the asparagus has made its entrance into the world.  It seems as though the earth has exploded into life.

After lunch, Nicholas and Jaelyn proceeded to make "potions" on the front step, including a batch of food-dyed sugar water for attracting butterflies. 

And what do you see on this blog?  Pictures for the first time in a long time!  Astrin was toting around an old camera case this afternoon as we walked between our two big elms.  She showed me everything she had packed in it...including the cable that links our camera to the computer that has been missing since Jaelyn's birthday.  I had a feeling the lost would be found today!