The girl went back to school today!
I asked her what she wants to be when she grows up. She started with fire lady, then considered a career as a babysitter. Ultimately she’s committed to staying a kid! I know she’ll always be my little girl! I hope she remembers…
England (red) vs. Spain (blue)
The girl’s first soccer game was on Saturday. It was quite the experience. The girl had a terrific time, though to say she played soccer may be an exaggeration. I’m not sure what was going through her head, but maybe it was something like this…
this zombie warm up is awesome! I’m a terrific zombie
here is my ball. Are we playing with mine or yours?
What? We are playing with a real ball?
I know the coach is talking to us, but I have a great idea! We should make sure everyone knows we are on the RED TEAM!!!!
RED TEAM!!!
ok, blue team is after the ball, so I’m going to go this other direction!
I think I’ll try to kick the ball now
now it’s time to remind everyone that I’m on the RED TEAM!!!!
oh, yeah! The red team is awesome!!!
soccer is so much fun!!! I love this sport!!!
The girl’s winning attitude is all the victory we need. (A good thing since it was 8-1, Spain)
Love this smile!
The girl loves being outdoors and learning about plants and animals. This mom is so happy that her girl is interested in all things that fly, creep, crawl, and hop.
We had a terrific outdoor weekend with friends and family.
This girl isn’t afraid of any challenge. We had the opportunity to go to a crossfire ministry sporting event. This ministry provides opportunities for young people to learn outdoor sports like fishing and archery. She was determined to try to shoot a bow.
She could be a pretty good shot in a year or two!
Fishing was her real passion (and talent). Here is her first fish!
With a little coaching and encouragement, the girl was fishing in no time! She was casting…
…and reeling them in…
She even learned to safely handle the fish (a grown up removed the hook)
This was a catch and release event!
Everyone had a great time and caught a lot of fish!
The fish were great, but the swing was amazing!!!
This was the perfect celebration of summer !
Such a fun summer weekend!!!
Next week will be the first week in 2.5 years (with the exception of time at the science station or vacation) that we will not go to Milestones for PT or OT (or both). The girl graduated from OT last week. We will really miss Ms. L! She’s always so encouraging and fun to play with! I know we will stay in touch!
Thanks Ms. L! and thanks Milestones!
You may ask yourself, “what will the girl’s mom do with all that extra time?”
Piano Lessons!
The girl had her first piano lesson yesterday. She LOVES it!
Ms. B is a great teacher and the girl loves her. Today was our first day to have 2 instruments to practice, and the girl did it with no hesitation. She practiced for an hour between cello and piano. I hope I can do this! I know she can!!!
The portrait for week 34 captures one of my favorite expressions – Healthy skepticism!
If I had to describe Peru with one word, it would have to be VIVID! (Amazing comes to mind, but vivid is probably more descriptive). Moyobamba is so colorful! It is known as the city of Orchids, but I think it should be the city of colors…because, as you will see, the birds really add a lot to the scenery! Here are some of my favorite colors from my trip.
This macaw was a permanent resident at Tingana – one hour by car + one hour by boat from Moyobamba.
This golden-tailed sapphire entertained me at the orchid farm in Moyobamba.
I love the orange “hairdo” of the Roufous-crested Coquette
So many shades of green!
In my host’s backyard!
Blue-headed parrots that live with my hosts.
Rio Mayo
Very cool fungi…and arthropod! Look at the white feet and “knees”
El Morro de Calzada
Amazing Orchids
peek-a-boo
Colorful Murals in Lamas
Even silhouettes are vivid!
The girl and I both love being barefoot! Often I try to encourage her to put her shoes on, but she always replies “where are yours?” I can’t blame her. I love feeling the earth under my feet.
Tonight we were sitting on the front porch with our bare toes in the grass. Suddenly, the girl exclaims “Oh no! We are going to get poison ivory!” I asked her why she thought that and she pointed to this plant:
I said “that’s not poison ivy, that’s clover”. To which she replied “but it has 3 leaves!”
I’m always amazed at what she remembers! We talked about poison ivy while we were in South Dakota. She certainly remembers “leaves of three leave it be”. At some point I will teach her the difference between leaves and leaflets…but not today.
When I was an undergrad biology major and falling in love with ecology, the Amazon rainforest was being cut at a rate of 2400 sq miles/year. That’s close to the size of Delaware! The rate increased until 1995, then started a slow decline. In 2011, the rate was back to 2400 sq miles. Protecting the Amazon was The Cause of the 90s. Last week I got to visit the rainforest…not directly on the Amazon, but the Rio Mayo is a tributary of the great river. Being in this amazing place helped that young ecologist resurface and rekindled a passion to take care of this place. Look at how amazing this place is!
Conservation efforts look different all over the world, but one model that I see over and over combines ecotourism with sustainable use of ecosystem resources. I travelled to Tingana with two of my students.
Our guides live in the forest, farm in tree fall gaps, gather honey, and teach visitors about this spectacular place. Tito was our guide and he was amazing with his bird and monkey calls! He could tell that I was having a great time and pointed out everything – big and small!!
The squirrel monkeys were a lot of fun to watch:
The sloth (lazy bear) was hiding in plain sight:
The birds were incredible! I’ve never seen anything like these cream colored woodpeckers.
The collared trogon was beautiful, and it was extra special to see her nest!
The kingfishers and flycatchers were abundant.
The littlest creatures were the most colorful. So many treasures!!!
This is an awesome place! I hope that the new generation of ecologists can continue to encourage conservation of the rainforest…this teacher is going to do her part in encouraging her students to work towards that goal!