The warmer months offer us so many opportunities to enjoy the world outside our home.
We are blessed with a big yard on a somewhat quiet street that lends itself nicely for lots of outdoor play. Our yard is lined on one side with tall oak trees and lots of vines and brush (hopefully our spraying against the poison ivy is working). The children have claimed certain trees for their own and call them their forts. They have plans to build real forts later in the summer.
This past spring we finally put up a bird feeder. It is close enough to the house to observe from the big window with binoculars, and just far enough from the porch that if we sit outside (relatively) quietly we can watch the birds from there.
Vince treated us to a new patio set for the front, so now we can sit there and relax (yes, that is Nate wearing a winter hat in June, I’ve stopped asking questions) with our field guide in hand as we try to identify the different birds by their calls and appearance. We just need to get the pesky squirrels to leave it alone!
We’ve spent the last few weeks prettying up the front of the house by pruning back a lot of the overgrown bushes and replaced some of them with lots of colored perennials. I was careful to choose flowers that would attract hummingbirds and butterflies.We planted some milkweed too hoping that this year we’ll have a chance to raise and release Monarch butterflies like we did a couple of years ago.
Our other great draw outside is our garden.
We do square foot gardening in raised beds and we all pitch in. I am the main gardener, but Vince helps with the heavy stuff like turning my compost and building the boxes and putting out all the mulch! The kids all work the gardens too. Nate does a LOT of digging and Mikaela does her share too. The girls have a 3’x4′ bed that they share. This year they’ve planted tons of radishes, beets, carrots, and flowers.I added green beans to their squares that hadn’t been seeded yet.
The boys share their own 3’x4′ bed as well. Andrew has planted beets and Evan planted carrots (has already harvested some!) and they are also growing peanuts and popcorn. This is our second try at peanuts. We grew a bunch last year but some how never got to eat the harvest. Popcorn is new to us, especially in the raised beds. They’re excited to see what happens.
These are just the things we get to do together in our own backyard!
A walk around the neighborhood adds even more adventure. Trips to the nearby duck pond or nature center are added bonuses.
Maryland summers tend to be hot and very humid, so sticking close to home for the welcome break of air-conditioning is necessary on some most days.
Thanks for joining us for week 2 of the Family Connections {for Summer} series, be sure to visit Missional Mama, Our Good Life, Walking in High Cotton, and The Daisyhead to see how their families celebrate Nature Connections. Please join in the hop by linking your post about summertime family connections or nature connections! Please include the button or link-back to this site (you can grab the button code from my side-bar).
Join us next week for Summer Reading/Book Connections
Your backyard sounds heavenly! I think I need to come for a visit. 😉
Yes, you should visit. 😉 It’s our comfy little spot!
It all looks like great fun! That is one creative squirrel.
My father in law grows his own peanuts and makes the BEST sugar-coated peanuts EVER. I ate them by the jarful when I was pregnant. 🙂
Oh yum! That gives me more motivation to make sure these grow well!
What a fun idea for your kids to have plots to plant in themselves. What great lessons they will learn with that!
Amy
Yes, one thing they learned is that they have to spread the seeds out. LOL, they planted the radishes and beets so close together they didn’t have much room to grow. It does help them be a little more adventurous to try new veggies!
I had to laugh at the squirrel picture! My Dad finally greased the pole so that the squirrels couldn’t get a good grip. It brought back some good memories 🙂
My husband brought home vaseline this past weekend! We’ll see what our squirrels think of that! Unfortunately the ants I tried to deter from our hummingbird feeders don’t seem to mind it much. :/
I totally enjoyed reading this.. I love hearing about your amazing garden every year. You did a great job sis (but what else is new) 😉
I look forward to hearing about the popcorn and peanuts.lol.. btw I had to steal the pic of Nate & Mikaela.. they were just too cute.. love you all. stay cool and tell the kiddies I said good job with their gardens
xoxo
Thanks Gee. You should come visit, you can take all the pics you want of them that way. 😉
You have adorable children. I am sure that they love being outside in the garden. The squirrel picture is so funny. I just plan for the pesky squirrels.
So far it seems the greased pole is keeping them at bay. 😉 The kids take turns at chasing them off too.
Hee hee, I laughed out loud seeing the squirrel! Love your garden!
The squirrels provide us lots of entertainment! Thanks for the garden compliment. We’re pretty excited about our little homesteading attempts.
LOL. I had to laugh at the picture of your son in the hat in June. My son still puts on his fur coat every morning. For a while, he wore his giant fur hat around too!