Secular Charlotte Mason

Yesterday was so darn hot that we knew we were going to have to spend the afternoon outside so we headed out to Hornings Hideout--a favorite hangout of our family.  The kids have practically grown up there and Bassman always enjoys running into his friends that live and/or work there. I was hoping for an afternoon of nature studies but it was too darn hot for focused attention.  Luckily, it was a great time and place for some masterly inactivity lol. The kids love the play structures and space to run around.  And of course, there are the full scale naval battles. (Okay, really just water guns with paddle boats on the pond but great fun none-the-less on a hot summer day. I don't think we could have gotten wetter if we had fallen into the pond lol.)  I was even able to sneak away for some quiet time of my own and did a smidge of nature sketching. And yes, I have finally learned how to upload images.  Now I just have to figure my camera out more so that I get better photos. I am so glad the photo of the deer came out as it was just one of those perfect life moments.

Of course we had to say hi to the peacocks. They have dozens of them. Pretty soon we will be able to go collect peacock tail feathers for crafts and such.  The males, except for the white one, were in full display even though the females weren't giving them the time of day.Silly boys.

Here is the nature sketch.  Unfortunately you can't see the details or read some of the words but you can get the general idea (that I am not an artist lol). It was quite a pleasant way to spend an hour or two. KodyGirl flitted through occasionally to check on my progress and offer her observations. I spent far more time observing than I did actually sketching.  I also had no eraser so that was interesting and a good art exercise. Luckily, I was just trying to capture the essence of the place and season. I had read Jim Arnosky's Sketching in the Summer the previous day and therefore was "prpoerly" inspired.

Here is a photo of the actual location.  Unfortunately it was not possible for me to really get a photo from where I was sitting while I was sketching (too close for my camera skills).  If you look to the middle left of the photo you will see a bag, water bottle and/or sketchbook.  That is where I was sitting sketching what I could see directly across from me. The creek itself had hundreds of waterboatmen and dozens of butterflies and moths.Isn't it just the image of cool  tranquility???

And just before we left we saw this lovely image of a deer enveloped in the trees and  sunlight. The imagery was quite powerful and a wonderful way to end the day!