little bird

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ancient playground

January 17, 2012 in exploring nature, little bird, mighty, winter | 4 comments

Oh the cold!  It’s COLD.  Really, really cold.  But I’ll take it if it means crystal-clear bluebird skies.  The forecast calls for 35 below wind chills all this week.  I’m fairly certain Lola and I will just hang out inside, make granola and curl up next to the window to watch the pretty sky, she with her sock monkey, me with my book.  Not a bad life, no.

We’ve been watching a lot of movies lately, with the darkness and the cold. One can only play so many Scrabble games… so they say.  I haven’t reached my limit yet.
Another Earth: mildly depressing, but interestingly twisted and unique.
The Debt: Helen Mirren.  She is hot.  That is all.
Cowboys and Aliens: don’t laugh… it really was good! As Brian said, why can’t aliens visit any time period they like?
The Future: quirky, but my kind of movie.  And I love the talking cat (I however will not recommend The Beaver–psychotic talking puppet!).
McCabe and Mrs. Miller: recommended by a new friend, I can’t believe I lived my whole life without seeing this movie. A soundtrack by Leonard Cohen and the dark, damp mood of the Gold Rush days. Seriously good.

Perhaps I have mentioned this before, but my favorite movie of all time is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Did you know there was a sequel? I’m a little slow when it comes to all things that cable television tells people.  I didn’t know. Turns out I didn’t miss much because Blackthorn was a huge disappointment. There is really nothing like an original (and who can hold a candle to Paul Newman or Robert Redford?).

Totally unrelated except to prove that I have also spent a good amount of time not watching movies, these pictures are from a little exploration we took in the woods on Friday. Mighty was still home “sick” (though his fever broke the night before and he was dying to go climb some trees).  This was before the deep freeze, with little wind and a warm sunny, winter glow.

sensory

January 10, 2012 in exploring nature, little bird, snow, winter | 4 comments

I had a moment over the holidays where, out of nowhere, I was overtaken by the smell of a memory from my childhood.  It’s a familiar smell that returns easily, but this time it struck me that I could single out all the nuances and hints of this and that. The flavors that make up the whole.  The crunchy, dry magnolia leaves littering the sides of the walk in the backyard. The beach brought into the basement, carried in by toys, towels and the glittering mica stuck to wet feet after a barefoot walk in the sand. My grandma’s lipstick.

This moment has been with me since and I am enjoying dissecting more little memories that randomly strike.  It also has me noticing more in the present. My current experiences and the pieces that make them good or bad. It’s a fun little exploration of the senses and the ego. I like being an observer.

Lola and I went for a walk yesterday. There was very little to explore by way of smell as it was incredibly, bone-chillingly windy. The cold wind was too much and had me holding my breath for fear of the chill the air would bring to my lungs. So we both relied on our other senses to develop the adventure… and it was a beautiful day to see.

 

 

lucky

August 26, 2011 in juneau, little bird | 10 comments

It’s been so nice to have some solo time with my girl again.  She has such an assertive personality around her brothers (naturally), but when she is alone with me, a whole different attitude comes out… she acts like such a big kid!  So sweet and full of stories.

Yesterday, we went downtown to have lunch and a walk with Daddy.  We walked down Basin Road to Perseverance Trailhead, got a hot chocolate and goofed around at the old Capital School.  We rarely go into town to explore, and even though it’s a relatively small downtown, she appeared so wide-eyed and bewildered.  You’d think I took her to Manhattan.  Except that one end of town had  us along a creek in the mountains watching gold panners and the other had the capitol building and a few massive cruise ships.

She kept telling me, “I’m such a lucky girl!”  I’m such a lucky girl to get a hot chocolate! I’m such a lucky girl to be alone with you and Daddy!  I’m such a lucky girl to get a lollipop from Daddy’s office!  I’m such a lucky girl that it’s a beautiful day! I’m the lucky one, sweet Lola.  I “lud” you.

I also really love our little downtown. Isn’t it pretty?

fish creek

June 8, 2011 in drawing, exploring nature, little bird, summer | 4 comments

Fishing season is here again. Us girls tagged along with the boys to the creek, but not to cast a line… we chose to frolic in the wildflowers, do a little creating, and watch the clouds move across the sky.

I’ll be heading into the wild with Jonah and about 100 other boys for Boy Scout camp over the next three days.  We are staying in cabins close to a perfect beach and having meals made for us. Kind of sounds like a vacation. Except for maybe the mass amount of energy that I imagine will be sparking in the air with all those boys.  Wish me luck!

post 8 o’clock walk

May 12, 2011 in family, little bird, spring | 6 comments

The sun came out at bedtime. We went to check the mail in our jammies and ended up at the beach.

We came home with pockets of sea glass.  And the boys said they figured we got distracted by shiny things.

tuesday

March 8, 2011 in exploring nature, little bird, mighty | 4 comments

I’m home with a sick boy today. Mighty’s running a fever but he seems to be generally feeling ok, just a little worn out. We’ve been snuggled in bed watching movies together and I am loving being all alone with him. It so rarely happens.

On Sunday, we had a pod of orcas right outside on our little beach. It was breathtaking to see so close!

Yesterday afternoon, I found Bird with a pair of scissors and a pile of her hair that she had cut off. I thought it was going to be terrible… but I was able to somewhat pull off a very short bob which partially covers the bald spot on the side of her head. Yikes. It’s been one of those weeks where I’m realizing that parenting is such a comedy of errors. You can’t help but laugh, really.

before… i’ll post after pics soon

Brian and I watched 180° South last night (it’s on Netflix instant play right now). It was beautifully done, inspiring and had a great soundtrack. It’s definitely worth a watch. Made me wanna get outside and climb a mountain. Soon enough! It really feels like spring is in the air here.

one spring day in january

January 7, 2011 in exploring nature, hiking, little bird | 18 comments

Today kind of blew my socks off. Sunny. Warm (relatively speaking). And my best girl to walk with me. Now it is 3:30 and the sun is setting outside my living room window, bouncing shades of purple off the snowy mountains onto my white walls and shooting hot pink cloud ribbons through the sky. Now that the darkness is settling in, I can come inside and change my tune to dinner prep… fajitas. Gotta make some corn tortillas.

Somebody didn’t want to walk anymore, sunny or not.

my kids. sigh.

December 29, 2010 in j, little bird, mighty, parenting | 11 comments

I’m in a bit of a parenting quandary lately. As my kids are growing, their interests seem to be diverging and their personalities are certainly nothing alike. For the most part, this isn’t really a problem. They get along and they look out for each other (with the exception of the boys and their brotherly “affection”).  But lately, it just seems I’m having such a hard time making our days flow. Everyone wants to do something different. Different food, different activities, different whatever. It’s not a matter of a personal conflict between them, it’s just a matter of their own very strong wills.

My kids were all easy babies. We haven’t really faced any major challenges and Brian and I both have kind of just gone with the flow. But now that they are growing… ugh. I’m having to work!  How does one parent effectively when there is so much dissension among the ranks? It’s conflicting in so many ways and reflects on so many levels. I’m too mentally lazy to be challenged like this!

The other day, I had to pick up Mighty early from school and as I was walking down the hallway with him, I heard some older boys jokingly say to each other, “watch out for that boy, he’ll kick ya in the shins!” And that’s about Mighty’s personality. He’s funny, cute, loving, incredibly sensitive… but he’s got spunk and he’s so not afraid to kick ya in the shins. Think Dennis the Menace. For real. Exasperating.

J is challenging in more cerebral ways. He is a man with a plan and doesn’t really like to deviate from it, even if turns out to be a really.bad.plan. I have learned with him that it is best just to try to steer him in a good direction, and then let him go. He does have common sense though and that makes me a little relieved. Then again, sometimes this common sense translates into fear so I am really trying to encourage him to fight that. I see a lot of the same timidness from my younger years in him and it stinks to know that his self confidence gets crushed like mine did. That’s so hard… watching your kids develop the same unhealthy habits that you had to push to overcome. Bums me out. However, Jonah does have the biggest heart. He has always gravitated toward people who need help: younger people, elderly people, disabled people… and he usually just knows what they need. I love him for it.

Bird… oh how do I write about her? She is such a girl. I’m not used to dealing with girls. I have totally had to rewire my brain and try to parent a whole new way with her. She is very intent but also very mellow and sweet. I must underestimate her at times and then she says something that just blows me out of the water. She seems very keen on knowing how a person will respond to her and acts appropriately. Unless she is throwing the biggest fit ever. Then she doesn’t care about what other people think, especially me.

With all these labels I place on my kids, I am trying to constantly be open to them deviating from their standard. I do not want to paint this picture of who they are and make them feel like that’s who they need to be, good or bad. I adore their little minds and the way they think.

Good grief.

Anyway, just about the only thing that has been our saving grace lately is the great outdoors. And even then, it’s been a little too cold for Bird so we can’t stay out long. We took a walk to catch the sunset yesterday on our little beach. It was the first time I’d been out there since it has snowed (which is obviously my problem–I’m not getting enough beach time in). I know it’s only a few days past solstice, but it already seemed to stay light out just a little later. Hurray!

If anyone can clue me into how I might deal with such sibling conflicts, I would really love it. I just have such hard time knowing that I can’t make everyone happy all of the time.

the beginning of a major snowball war

mighty’s surprise attack right in the mug!

at least there were apologies afterward (prodded by a promise of pie)

little icebergs

October 20, 2010 in alaska, autumn, exploring nature, juneau, little bird | 10 comments

My girl and I explored the West Glacier beach at Mendenhall Lake yesterday. There are so many brilliant blue icebergs on the lake right now. I actually really love to experience the glacier area when it is dark and stormy out because the ice really pops in the ominous lighting. It’s really quite spectacular and makes for a striking scene with all the contrast. And check out all the snow creeping down the mountains! It’s quickly moving from autumn to winter. Can’t you feel the chill in these pictures?

Snow-Capped Bullard Mountain Reflection

The Medenhall Glacier is fed by the Juneau Icefield (which also feeds some of the other glaciers you’ve seen here, like Herbert Glacier). You can think of the glaciers like frozen rivers, always slowly flowing and moving down between the mountains. Sadly, most of the glaciers from the icefield are retreating faster than they are advancing, due to global warming, and soon they will disappear from view. We have photos taken of this glacier from when we moved here originally in 1997 and it looks completely and frighteningly different. These small lake icebergs are formed when the glacier calves and pushes ice out in to the lake. I feel like I wrote about this before… but I can’t remember so forgive me if I’m being redundant :)

Natural Ice Sculpture (do you see the bird taking off in flight?)

The reflections in the lake were amazing. The grey sky is really beautiful in it’s own right. I mean, who wants blue sky all the time? It would make my moods so predictable.

Bird asked me to wade in the water with my big rubber boots to pull some ice to shore for us to see. They are so crystal clear and come in the most beautiful, organic forms.

Ice and glacial silt clouds in the water. Silt is apparently really good for mud baths (see below!).

At the end of our icy adventure, we came upon this bald eagle. He was such a ham for the camera–too bad I had on my 50mm lens, because he was so close to us! He was also so extremely covered in mud… a real dirty bird. I am guessing he must have been bathing in the mineral-rich mud around the lake.

He was super chatty, which kind of unnerved me. I got the sense he was sending out some kind of warning. Then he startled and took off. It made me feel like we were being watched by a big scary bear or wolf, a feeling I don’t often get… time to leave!

Bird and I had lots of fun. The sun is making a rare appearance here today. Time to get back outside! Until next time!

the sixth of october

October 6, 2010 in birthdays, little bird | 7 comments

Happy third Birthday, Little Bird! My, how time has flown… wow. Seems like all those false labors were just yesterday.

You were born on a night full of family reunions, chicken wings and football; how appropriate for my little Texan. I’ll always be reminded of the warm Austin fall on your special day. You bring me joy, sweet girl!

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