A Trip to the Beach

The other day I had the urge to go see some birds. I figured the beach would be a great place to go. Of course, the nearest beach isn't what most people might envision. We'll get to that in a moment.

Hundreds of mallards like hanging out near this beach, but they took off as I approached.

The Canada geese were quick to follow. It didn't help that I had Henry with me and he likes to chase birds.

I also had the kids with me, but they were content to start the hike to the beach with a snack. Desert Boy had packed everything in a big ziploc bag.

The geese on the other side of the pond were still hanging out.

Then it was time to hike. Desert Girl had some difficulty navigating the willows.

She made it, though.

That's when I noticed she still had a juice pouch in her hand. No wonder it was so hard to get over the branches.

Desert Boy was looking forward to this adventure with a lot of enthusiasm.

We were almost to the beach!

Can you see what's coming?

Desert Girl wanted to get to the other side.

Oops, maybe not this time.

Time to try again. Obviously Henry wasn't so shy about getting wet.

Those black boots were just the right footwear for this day.

If Desert Boy was on the other side, Desert Girl had to go too.

Henry was in heaven.

He did a lot of running.

Meanwhile Desert Girl was showing me her muddy hands. She seemed a little perturbed.

But then she went back to playing on the beach. Apparently a little mud was okay.

But a little more mud was worrisome.

Or maybe not.

What's better than a late afternoon on a muddy beach? Alas, it couldn't go on forever...

Eventually that mud got a little too cold.

Well, at least we had some time at the beach! Some day maybe we'll try for a different kind of beach!

Closeups

 I got a new lens for my camera (50 mm), and decided to experiment a little with it. First subjects: Desert Boy and Desert Girl, of course! The one above ended up being a little fuzzy.

 I decided to change subjects. Desert Girl can be so expressive.

 I sure wish I had all her energy.

 You can just see that she's an imp. She is still in her Emzilla stage (a.k.a rearrange continuously a.k.a. mass destruction). Our house is not pretty. At all. The last few days I've given up and we are living in total chaos. Well, a bunch of teenage boys would probably be worse. Like when my husband was a teenager. He seems to like chaos quite a bit, at least if that means he doesn't have to pick up.

 She has managed to perfect the "Who, me?" look.

 She has her sad moments. And when she says, "I so sad," you can't help but smile and give her a hug.

I also found out that a 50mm lens can get you close enough to see more than you probably want to see on a gritty little desert face. Like her eyebrow look?

Most of the time the kids get along well, which is a real blessing. We've been trying to spend more time outside.

Here are the signs of spring we've seen/heard/experienced so far:
-side-blotched lizards scurrying out of the way of our bikes
-mourning cloak butterflies sweeping down to the rocks
-American robins and western meadowlarks singing their mating songs
-Tiny bits of green grass pushing up in the lawn (but no flowers yet)
-Killdeer and spotted towhees making noise
-The need for an allergy pill due to something in the air
-plenty of mud to track into the house, van, and anywhere else we go

What signs are you seeing/hearing/experiencing?

Preschool Games

 It seems like I have taken a lot of photos at preschool but don't get around to posting them very often. Here are some scenes from a couple (few?) weeks ago. The kids were really intrigued by this game where they put the shapes into spaces, then set the timer and wait for it to pop up.

The little girls cooperated for a bit with a puzzle. I like how they are both holding other things with their non-puzzle hand.

In other news, we did a major clean up of one of our sheds today. I didn't manage to take any photos, but we did manage to throw away tons of stuff. Well maybe not tons, but I did get a good workout. My husband also leveled the building so it doesn't have one corner a foot lower than the other. That's quite nice. We found three little chalk boards, so we decided that the shed is now going to become our own little school. Desert Boy can't wait to get started. We'll have to find some chalk first, but hey, why sweat the little details?!

Moon Answers

So in my last post, I asked where three things are on the moon:
1. Copernicus Crater
2. Mare Tranquillitas
3. Oceanus Procellarum

Kudos to John for getting Mare Tranquillitas!

Here are the answers:

 I found the answers on this website. I liked it because it was fairly simple. There are lots more features to learn on the moon!

A bit more info:
Copernicus Crater is one of many craters on the moon caused by meteorites crashing into it. It's estimated to be about 800 million years old.

Mare and Oceanus mean Sea and Ocean. They really aren't filled with water (hopefully you know this!) They are covered by lava, though, that's what makes them look dark.

Mare Tranquillitas means Sea of Tranquility in Latin, and as John pointed out in his comment on the last post, it's where Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.

Oceanus Procellarum means Ocean of Storms and it's the largest of the lunar marias (seas and oceans). Several lunar probes landed here, as well as Apollo 12. Crater Copernicus is near its eastern edge.

So go take a good look at the moon and see what you can find. There are mountains up to 5 km (3 miles) high on the moon, lots more craters, maria, and other fun stuff. And if you're really lucky, maybe you will even see a cow jump over the moon!

Cows and the Moon

 Last night we happened to be outside as the nearly full moon was rising. The heifers were nearby, so we went out to visit and enjoy the peaceful high desert evening.

 The colors are muted in winter, with no leaves to cover the brown branches of the trees, no verdant grasses emerging from the ground, nary a wildflower peeking from a pile of manure. But it is still so beautiful.

The kids wanted to say hi to the cows. The cows were willing to entertain a distraction--from a certain distance.


Then it was time for a different distraction--some snow. I love how Desert Girl is checking out her big brother.

Tonight is the full moon. It seemed to take forever to rise, but by the time I came out of a meeting, it was obvious. While we were waiting for the full moon, we could see four bright objects in the sky: to the west were Venus (the brighter light) and Jupiter. They are getting closer together every night for the next few nights. To the east was Mars, with its reddish tinge. And to the south was Sirius, the dog star in the constellation Canis Major. Before long the stars making up Orion were twinkling at us. It was fun showing the kids a few objects in the sky.

One of the things I want to learn next is about the moon. So here are three things to look for in the photo above (and I must say it's a much better photo than some of my recent attempts!).
Where is?
1. Copernicus Crater
2. Mare Tranquillitas
3. Oceanus Procellarum

Answers coming soon!