Beaver wetlands

I've been taking Cookie on a walk in the morning down to the wetland area near where I live.  We call it the beaver walk because when we first moved here 8 years ago there was a family of beaver who lived there.  I haven't seen them in a while, but the name stuck.

It is so beautiful this time of year, before bugs and weeds are plentiful.

The birds love it there and in a quick walk I saw a kingfisher, a heron, red winged blackbirds.  I heard a song sparrow and a common yellowthroat.

I never got down here last year, with my back in such bad shape, so it is really wonderful to be able to walk down here without dreading the climb back up to the car.

Today, I sat down on some dry pine needles by the water's edge and Cookie watched the squirrels run between the trees.  There was a noise and I looked up to see two gorgeous large female does.  One spotted us nervously and lept away, but the other seemed perplexed by us, she moved her head from side to side (which deer do because they lack a UV filter in their eyes which gives them less detailed vision) (at least that's what this guy said http://www.northcountrywhitetails.com/articles/whatdodeersee.htm) and she stepped closer.  It was a sweet and magnificent feeling to sit there and look at her while she looked at us; stepping closer on her delicate hooves.  Several minutes went by and I was amazed Cookie didn't have a fit, but she seemed confused and curious, too.  I breathed and let myself take in her large eyes and tall frame, her large wet nose. Then a squirrel jumped and she turned and fled, flashing her white tail.

It changes the woods to know that they're in there, walking quietly through the brush and sleeping in grass nests at night.

The Jack-in-the-Pulpits are everywhere this year.
This is a particularly nice specimen.
They apparently smell of fungus and attract fungus gnats who are duped into pollinating the flower with no reward for themselves. 
http://www.nybg.org/plant-talk/2013/06/science/jack-in-the-pulpit-pollination-by-deception/

They are Georgia's favorite wildflower this spring and I love the brown stripes inside the flower.

Painted Turtle

Rob found in the garage.  He heard something clumping about in the corner and went to investigate.  This has been a spring filled with turtles!

Braiding

Lena braided Nooni and my hair at work.
It is one of Lena's many gifts.
It has been busy, so it was fun to have a moment to play.
I felt like a schoolgirl.
I slept on it that night and the girl's were very puzzled in the morning.
"Who did that?"

My dear friend and co-worker Nooni is the one that instigated the activity, because her hair was finally long enough to braid.

Angelica archangelica

My beautiful Angelica plant is towering over me this year.  I planted it at the threshold to the house and it is thriving.


This plant is special in many ways, one of them is that it creates two totally different essential oils with different properties; one from the seeds and one from the root.  The essential oils are too difficult for me to extract, but I am going to make a flower essence from the big blooming flower.

The flower essence of Angelica helps to open and connect to the spiritual world, especially the angels;
http://www.anandaapothecary.com/fes-north-american-flower-essences/angelica-flower-essence.html

I like having it at the entrance to my house, surrounded by its own little halo of gnats and buzzy bugs.

Clarinet concert

Lily after her band concert.  She plays the clarinet; she did great and had fun.
See the flowers.
Remember what I said about precedent.

The Sweet Place

If our violin lesson goes well, we head to The Sweet Place in Brattleboro.
The people who run it are really nice and the girls have the protocol down by now. (Use a glove and put the lid on the nearby jar while you dig around looking for the perfect gummy.)

As you can see, they are very excited and goofy when they get there.

(Last week they were closed, which was a tragedy to Georgia.)

It can be serious business, choosing the perfect candy.

Georgia as a bear in a leapord hat

She had her final performance for the year.
She was a caged bear in a quirky rendition of Hansel and Gretel.
She was nervous, but she did well. (No lines this time, so the pressure was less intense than last time, when she practiced her lines for weeks.)
We got her flowers, which we will regret because now we have set a precedent...