Still More May ~*

May is such a wonderful month. Peepers and baby birds and ducklings and bright new green shoots breaking through the old brown earth at every turn. There's excitement and newness all around. Of course there's plenty of needed rain too. After one particularly gray and gloomy school day, one of our afterschool girls was feeling particularly gray and gloomy, so we went out for a misty walk into the newly greening woods. I happen to love gray, misty days in the woods; the scents are pungent and the sounds are especially clear, so I was more than happy to have good reason to go off alone with one who needed alone time. How can you stay down in such beauty? You can't! And she couldn't either -hurray! It didn't take long before we discovered our first ladyslippers and then 16 more and more trillium than I can remember.

The next morning I eagerly took the morning group out to recount those lovely wildflowers. They too, appreciate the wonderful month of May.

~*Grace

Busy Spring

Spring on the Farm is busy indeed. Caleb took the past two weeks to focus on getting the garden planted. He made a lot of progress - and still has lots more to do. But now I have the privilege of having two weeks to try to rest my back which has not responded well to chiropractry or physical therapy. Summer is just around the corner and I really want, and need to be in full form. We have trails to clear, gardens to weed and pens to build among many other things that require strong backs. Now my daughter-in-law is trying cranial sacral therapy on me - it should cause the fluid around the spinal column to function at it's best, which should really help my entire body. I hope!






So, although I've been doing some work from home, I have two weeks away from the usual busy routine and it amazes me how much I miss those kids! I thought I'd love this break, and actually I do, but it's all I can do, to keep myself from visiting them, maybe have lunch or go for a hike after school! I won't do it though, because I know myself, and 1/2 hour will turn into 1 hour and then 2 and 3 and aw heck, I might as well stay all day, and then I'll be sorry because I really do need to take advantage of the opportunity to get better.





One thing I've been doing is working on our Summer and Fall Schedules. Our roster has filled right up. We are working on a waiting list now, except for a few part time openings. It's so encouraging to know that parents value the outdoor farm environment. Children are healthier, happier and smarter the more they are exposed to the natural world. Check the blog and website we follow, The Children and Nature Network. It is full of information that supports the benefits of the outdoor world. Anyone who is concerned about all the troubles that children are having with ADD and ADHD and overuse of video games and other screen activities should check it out. Oftentimes the simpler way is the better way ; )


~* In Simplicity,

Grace

Important Work To Do

As most of us are all too well aware of, the December Ice Storm left us with quite a lot of clean up to do. It's difficult for us to walk leisurely through the woods these days. We're learning a lot about bushwacking! Fortunately, at Ebenezer Farm, we've got plenty of strong and capable hands. We load up with our bug deterrent and head out to tackle the branches that block our trails. It's a very satisfying feeling to untangle the mess covering our "playground" and make it beautiful and spacious again.

Our hardworkers come in all shapes and sizes. This is a great job with the marvelous benefit of the most fragrant scent of pine and the background choir of peepers, chickadees, robins and cardinals.

We are more than ready for a hearty snack break on one of the best seats in the place!

New Ducks

Baby Ducklings have come to Ebenezer Farm! They are just the cutest and most fun little creatures. We decided to start with 4 Khaki Campbell Ducks. They are supposed to be excellent egg layers and we're curious to try eating duck eggs, but mostly we need ducks to complete our pond atmosphere. We so enjoyed visiting the Mallards who stopped by in the early spring, that it seemed like a good idea to bring in some who would stay. At this point they are living in a nice pen with a plastic pool during the day, and put to bed in the barn at night. I keep singing "La la la la lei" as the duck master in the story of Ping, but so far they're not running toward me like I'm their Mama. ??? I should probably make sure the neighbors know the story and why I'm singing my way over to my ducklings, or they'll think I'm a little quacked!

The first day I put them into their little plastic swimming pool, I got really nervous because they kept diving under the water - they obviously had no Mother to teach them, and I was worried that they were gulping too much and would drown themselves! They were absolutely ecstatic to be in this new environment- it was so much fun to watch. They zoomed like little torpedoes criss-crossing each other through the water. They barely came up to breath!

Their beady little eyes were bulging open as their little webbed feet paddled speedily and their tiny little wings flapped as hard as they could. It was the most delightful experience to witness. Ah, my little baby ducklings...

~* Mama Duck,
AKA Grace

Rising Star Award

Caleb and I have worked very hard for the past couple of years to get Ebenezer Farm up and running and just a little bit after our first year of operation, we were invited to attend the 2009 Eleventh Annual Celebration for Early Childhood Professionals sponsored by the State of NH Child Development Bureau.

The event was held on April 21st in Concord NH. At the ceremony we received the "Rising Star Award", because we are "professionals who excel in creating a quality environment for children and families." and we "offer a unique program that gives children the opportunity to experience the world through nature."

We are very pleased of course, but especially in light of the fact that we are well aware that our program is really testing the limits of the acceptable regulations ordered by the state, and here they are enthusiastically supporting our work!

The speaker, who shared her knowledge of us and our Farm, as well as other members of the administration that we spoke with, were abounding in praise and agreement of our philosophy, structure and activities. Wow! We can't ask for more than that! Here we are feeling that we're being a bit revolutionary - only because of the astounding reports of typical Child Care environments throughout the country and the world actually, and they award us. As Caleb told the audience, what we would like to see, is many more Child Care facilities like ours.

There was a write up about us in the Celebration program. In it they quoted both Caleb and myself from some things that we had written for them about our Child Care. I'll share what they printed, just to give a feel for what they appreciated.

From me, "Caleb and I have a passion to expose our children to the 'wonder-filled' world that exists within this nature and farm centered environment. We want them to discover the peace and contentment and goodness that is within their grasp. So, we spend all of our time with them, encouraging them by our example to explore life away from television and pressure, and find joy in simple things." "It all boils down to us just sharing what we treasure. And treasuring those we share it with."

And from Caleb, "It is when a child arrives upset that the effect of the environment we offer is most striking. I cannot claim any credit for the beauty of the sky and trees, or the antics of farm animals. I can only say that, when a child has been exposed to something upsetting, often the antidote is to expose them to something beautiful. It allows them a time in a sort of sanctuary, and allows a healing which I don't fully understand to occur. Just as we ourselves usually feel a lot better after a day at the beach, I've seen chldren healed by an afternoon among sunny pines."

In closing I remind you, as Caleb said and has said many times - we're really not doing anything special - it's the woods and the wind and the sun shining down on us - it's so simple and so perfect. I hope you make time to experience that too.

~*Grace

May Day

Today we talked about the custom of collecting wildflowers to place on a neighbor's door on the first of May. It wasn't practical for us to do this, but we were able to set out on a hike through the woods to search for flowers to bring home. We had seen buds two days prior, so we hoped to find blossoms. It was a gray and misty day, so flowers were shut tightly. Still we did find dandilions, wild mustard flowers, strawberry and cherry blossoms. Plenty to fill the baskets we had made before heading out.



There's such a mysterious aura in the forest. We found clues throughout of someone else having been there before us. It's fun to try to guess who it might be. Upon nearly every tree stump, we found the remains of pine cones that have been torn apart in search of the little seeds that taste so good to someone. We call it the squirrel's dinner table. Every new stump we come upon, is as thrilling as the one before - it never seems to get old. We also search the upper part of the trees for holes made by pileated woodpeckers or others and we hope to get glimpses of someone peeking out at us. Today we discovered a very interesting home, low in the tree. There was all sorts of shredded wood and droppings on the ground.



We took our turns guessing just who it might be. When we returned to the Farm, Mr. Shaw suggested it might be a flying squirrel.
It sure would be wonderful to catch him soaring through midair. Unfortunately they only come out at night - and we're all tucked in by then!

~* Grace