Snow at last

Snow, and the beginning of civilization in America. There is precious little out there for looking into the hunter gatherer period in America, so though we've only just finished researching human migration into that sphere, I find that we are already plunging into the rise of human populations there. We'll do a little looking at the Mayan and Incan worlds, then we'll bring our focus to the nations of North America and stick around there for a while.

All that will be on hold for about a week now, though. We have the auto show on Saturday, for which we'll make another  and a big trip next week so I thought not to start anything new before we left. We watched two videos about the Mayan culture today, one a National Geographic, the other a Nova, but they fell into the "okay but not too thrilling" category. I did get a fun book from the library about the Mayan code with activities and crafts that sounds good, so we might look at that tomorrow, between packing and laundry, and all else that comes our way (more snow, perhaps? And a Gymboree sale at the local resale shop).

Just one day

We made a list in this morning of things we wanted to accomplish. We make lists a lot of mornings. Today there were so many things on our list that I think we were busy crossing things off from then until dinner, and even then we hadn't finished.

We both started with journal writing, then on to the piano, and finally we colored some Prehistoric Beasts.

Today was the last fall story time at the library and while we were there we searched for some books on early humans and cave painting. We found surprisingly little, but brought home what they had. Thankfully we already had one fantastic book on hand—First Painter, by Kathryn Lasky—that my mom had kindly checked out from her library for us (which we finally got to around bedtime).

Then, as we drove into the garage the sun came out, so we put on our warm things to head out for a walk and some nature collecting. We have been looking at the lessons in BFSU (B-2 and B-3) that deal with classification of things, recognizing the attributes of living things, and identifying the living as belonging to either the plant or animal kingdoms, so a hike with discussions of this kind was on our list.

When we got home we drank tomato soup from mugs and ate cheese and apples slices while we watched the second episode of Nova's Becoming Human. This is a series we stumbled upon thanks to Netflix recommendations and we've really enjoyed it. Lunchtime today was our third viewing :)

After lunch a little more piano, a little math, some geography worksheets, some Legos, some BFSU list making, some more fall leaf decoration making, and even some playing in the snow (snow!). Then finally some dinner making. Well, for me some dinner making, for Calvin some Highlights reading, since his new issue came in the mail today.

And even though we didn't get to everything on our list (more a problem with being over ambitious than with being lazy), we enjoyed what we did do so we'll count that a productive and successful day.

Fighting the fever

It's too early for spring fever. And it was really too cold for puddle splashing today, too, but with fresh snow lurking just around the corner what's a mother to do? I'm dying to get out, he's dying to get out...so after a morning at the library out we went. Snow is a little hard for Calvin to manage on his bike, which I'm sure would be true anyhow but the more I watch at him riding that thing the more I'm seeing images of clowns on tiny toy two-wheelers being followed by yappy little dogs in neck cones. I think it's time for a new one.

In actuality it was definitely too cold for puddle splashing today, but that's what we have heat and hot tea for when we get home, right? And who am I to curb his enthusiasm? I'm just mighty pleased the boots still fit.

This is the most rewarding time of year to bird watch. Many of our birds are still around or are heading back, and without leaves in the trees they are much easier to spot. Calvin found this cardinal for us, and I spotted the very shy junco.

Okay, now how about some hot tea and scones from under a warm blanket while reading a good book? Sounds perfect. I'm not sure but I might like these days better than the warmer ones.

Just a glimpse

I'm glad we hiked the fields yesterday because at fifty degrees today it would have been too slushy to maneuver. We made good use of the new clear sidewalks, though, and biked to the mailbox for the first time since early November.

We also took to the walking paths. This was Calvin's first Downy Woodpecker sighting. We watched him peck away at the tree for about ten minutes.

We spent some time catching up with neighbors who have also been hibernating for the past few months. We fed the birds and watched them congregate on the feeders right after. We found evidence of both rabbits and deer in our yard. I can't measure in words how much I've missed the comfort of being outdoors: the fresh air, the warming sun, the signs of life all around. When it snows next week I think this will be just enough of a glimpse to keep me smiling until spring.

Tracking

The sun has been out for days, for longer than it seems we've seen it all winter in fact. The Himalayas in our front yard are starting to look more like the rolling landscape of Vermont. My Panda is increasingly disappointed by his habitat loss. The best thing about this weather, aside from the warm sun flooding our front room every evening and Jon getting home before dark, is the hiking situation; with compacted snow covering what will soon be muddy fields there are animal tracks to be found everywhere, and it's warm enough to go looking for them. There's rain lurking around the corner and with rain the opportunity will be lost, so we struck out into the fields today to look for signs of four legged neighbors.

We've been tracking before. Calvin's pretty familiar with the tracks of humans, dogs, and deer and he found lots of deer tracks today.

Deer path through the stream.

And a new treat, raccoon tracks.

And we listened for birds.

Chickadees (we heard all three calls)

And a tufted titmouse.

So now we're ready for the rain threatening the rest of the week, and maybe for a return of the rain boots.