Everyday Learning

Yesterday was a busy day.  We impulsively (not so impulsively?  Is it impulsive if you've been planning on it for the last five years?) started ripping our bed of ferns out of the ground.  Dave's not a fan of them and I'm indifferent.  But having the ground cleared of all those pesky ferns will leave a giant spot in which we can replant our Philodendron.  Oh, Philodendron, what a trooper you are.  Surviving happily in a pot even though I know you'd love to grow into a tree...in the ground.  Patience.

Dave also did some major tree trimming.  He cut a trunk into several pieces, giving us an inside view of the rings.  We brought one piece over to the front porch for the kids to explore.

Natalie counted the rings.  We discussed possible reasons why the tree appeared to have grown more on one side and less on the other side.  I also helped the kids to notice that some of the rings were fatter than the others.  Why?  With a little guidance, they came to the conclusion that the amount of sun and rain the tree gets will affect how well it grows.  I pointed out that this tree was in a spot that received a whole lot of shade on one side and a whole lot of sun on the other.  

While ripping out all those awful ferns, I found this:

 Butterfly cocoon, maybe?  I need to do a little research.  But it was cool enough that I didn't want to just toss it to the side.  I would love for the kids to be able to watch this little guy emerge (if it is, indeed, a butterfly).

We ended the day with our first sprinkler fun of the season.  Long live summer!

(Notice the ginormous pile of ferns in the background.  Yeah, we're not done yet.)

Always a superhero...

New things to explore!

She was dancing in the water.  It makes my heart glad to see them so happy.

Rinsing off. 

I think this little guy approves!

Thanks for reading!