The Power of Butterflies

A few weeks back I volunteered to chaperone my son's field trip to the science museum.   I love this museum, but going with 50 7th graders was a bit daunting.  I could hear them from about two floors away- a lot of energy in those kids.  It was amazing to see how everyone slowed down, quieted down, mellowed out when we walked in to the butterfly tent.  As there were butterflies everywhere- even on the ground, the behavior of the kids morphed dramatically.  They walked slowly, watching their feet.  The spoke in near-whispers, letting out gasps and giggles as the butterflies settled on hands, heads, faces.  If one landed on a 7th grader, the beam that spread across the face was fabulous.  This reaction was universal.  It was lovely.  I will chaperone that trip again.  In fact, I'd be willing to pay to go along.

52

The Sage-Martinsons have no officially visited 52 different state parks.  This number does not count a few we went to before we became passport holders, as well as many many repeat trips to favorite parks. 52 official visits that have been documented by a stamp in the kids' park passports. In order to feel ok about the stamping, we have declared that we must eat a meal, sleep a night, or go on a hike or a swim in order to earn the stamp. It has been quite a journey.  I get a sense of the scope of our travels when I think that it would take us visiting a park every single weekend for an entire year to repeat this.  There are about 72 parks and counting- new ones keep getting created.  We have ambitious plans to hit the northwest corner this summer.  One state park is on an island, 20+ miles out into Lake of the Woods.  We will get there.  We've gone on the vast majority of these jaunts with our good pals the L-Gs.  I love the decade-long quest and hope it continues for at least a decade more.  We have told the kids that we will buy the RV down the road here a bit, as long as they promise to come home in the summers and drive the old foagies around to a park or two.

Too much of a good thing

This past summer season we joined a different CSA.  This one was run by one of my former students, which was cool.  As fall rolled around, she sent out a flyer for both her own fall share, as well as a winter share at a different CSA.  Her email pointed out how these work well together, as her farm's fall share will just be winding down as the other winter share fires up.

Not so.

It might have been our weird crazy freezing first week of November that made plans change.  Or maybe I just misread her email.  Or maybe she lied.  But one day in early November we were charged with picking up both a fall and a winter box of veggies.  The winter one was over 50 pounds.  Suddenly we were faced with about 70 pounds of veggies, some of them needing to eaten right away, others thankfully storage crops.  It was daunting.   New recipes were tried. All family gatherings were accompanied by something made out of potatoes.  Luckily my boys love themselves some baked squash filled with more baked winter veggies.  We have made a dent.  But squash still litter the counter tops, bags of potatoes are stacked up downstairs, and our fridge will never ever be turnip-free again, I fear.  But we are eating well, eating deliciously in fact.

Leaf Bagging

You might not realize that it's a competitive sport.  And we all have our methods, our secrets.  So quit your googling, Mr. Man in the white minivan.  Driving by so slowly, like you've never seen a middle aged woman take a flying leap on to a bag of leaves before.  Sheesh.  Best way to achieve maximum leaf bag de-volumination.  I can assure you.

Hiking with some of my favorite teens

The annual MEA break fell over the most spectacular combination of weather and scenery this past fall.  I celebrated our release from school with a trip down to a state park.  We grabbed a couple friends of the boys and headed out for a picnic lunch, a hike, a visit to the small town where I went to college and a quick sojourn around Carleton's campus.  The highlight for me was when Siena casually pointed to a spot on an island in a little lake and said, "That is the place where my dad's rap career started."  I chuckled for days thinking of Tim as a rap star.  Thanks for that tidbit, Siena.