Rain and Flowers

I have been enjoying these days of sunny mornings and rainshowers by late afternoon. The garden is growing lush and happy! The last few days have been fun. I went to Vivi's classroom to make pounded flower prints with the children. They turned out lovely. The very best of the flowers that we tried were the pansy, marigold and lobelia. We also used stamping ink and added some leaf prints from strawberry leaves, rosemary and thyme. It was such fun that I made some cards of my own today. I also had the honor of attending a wildlife field trip with the Kindergarten class and helped to add more plants to the school garden with Mia's third grade. Today we added a tomato start, basil, marigolds, zucchini and nasturtium. Their carrots, peas and radishes are coming up nicely. This is the first gardening experience for some of the children, and I am so grateful to be there to show them what wonders are to be discovered.

A book that looks like a very useful resource for future projects is called The Art and Craft of Pounding Flowers.

This morning we spotted these in the drive. And then went to the arboretum and saw the print of the raccoon (lower left)- looks like a match to me. the kids thought they looked like oppossum. I love the mysterious nature of footprints. Who was this critter and what was (s)he doing in the wee hours of the night?

what mysteries of nature have you enjoyed lately?