Cavemomma's Adventures

inspiring young athelete

2012-02-26T17:27:00.002-08:00

Whether you are interested in gymnastics or not, this is truly an inspiring story of a 13-year-old gymnast from Washington state. She trains and competes within the USAG junior Olympic program, and is legally blind.

This video story about Lola is produced by her local tv station. I hope you enjoy it and are inspired by her story- especially you, our gymnast friends! (-:

Me and My Kindle App

2012-02-19T19:05:00.000-08:00

I don't own an e-reader, and I don't suspect that I will- being from just an old enough generation to prefer my paper books. After all, you don't need batteries to read a book!

Buut.. I do have a netbook, which does everything I want- including browsing, Photoshopping, editing movies, web designing, reading pdfs, watching videos, etc.

So yesterday, when I saw a book on Amazon that I really just had to read now, and Amazon said that I could in fact load it on my netbook, I was intrigued.

I can use my netbook as an e-reader?

Yep- there's an app for that! (-:

I loaded the free Kindle app on my netbook, and boom- I can use it as an e-reader! I can buy books, and for the first time, download some books from my library. I can download freebie books from other places too.

I bought two books on language processing difficulties (a subject I've been meaning to bone up on), an another on teaching your teen to be safe behind the wheel. The app also came with Pride and Prejudice (one of Daughter's current reads), Aesop's Fables, and Treasure Island. I found Tom Sawyer as a free download (which Son loves) and a book of Confucius sayings, also for free.

Even though it needs a battery or plug-in power source, I can see advantages of using the netbook as an e-reader. For one thing, the fold-open screen acts like a "book prop"- so I can read hands-free while my hands wrap around my warm mug of coffee or tea. I can also increase the font size, change the text format, and use the built-in dictionary on any word I highlight. I can also search Google for the highlighted word with one click. One of the best things is not needing a flashlight in the dark!

So maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks. Sort of- just so I can remain cantankerous enough to embrace the new technology on my own terms . (-:

John Slaughter on Main Street, Bisbee, Az

2012-02-19T09:44:00.001-08:00

Via Flickr:
paint can pinhole camera, 2 1/2 minute exposure, paper negative, developed in Caffenol C

John Slaughter undoubtedly looked better when he was living- because at least then he had his head! Oh well- when you don't have a viewfinder, you sometimes don't get ''em all aimed just right. (-:

Here is the life-sized historic photo of Mr. Slaughter on Main Street in Old Bisbee, Arizona, where he is on display this month, as part of the Cochise County History On The Move centennial project. My son is keeping him company on the bench to the left..

John Slaughter was born and raised in Texas, and was a Texas Ranger before relocating to Arizona in 1877. He carried a sawed-off shotgun which he called "the equalizer", and is credited for bringing much law and order to the wild Arizona Territory. He was the 4th Cochise County Sheriff, beginning with his election in 1886.

Mr. Slaughter was also a rancher on his beautiful San Bernardino Ranch near Douglas, Az. (iti s now a historical landmark, and we have enjoyed visiting it several times) He was also key in establishing the community of Douglas.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed how the city of Bisbee set up the History On The Move display- as they placed each figure somewhere along Main Street. Finding each figure is like discovering items on a treasure hunt! What fun!

As for John Slaughter's head- I'll try my best to capture it at the next location of the History On The Move Display. (-:

Thomas Jonathan Jeffords at Atalanta's Book Store, Main Street, Bisbee, Az

2012-02-19T09:35:00.001-08:00

Via Flickr:
picassocam pinhole camera, 2 1/2 minute exposure, paper negative, developed in Caffenol C

Thomas Jonathan Jeffords, toting his trusty iron, in front of Atalanta's in 2012???? I hope I fooled you! (-:

This is actually a life-sized historic photo of Mr. Jeffords, affixed in front of the store, with his biographical information. It is part of the Cochise County History On The Move Project- a display to celebrate some of Cochise County's early influential individuals.

Mr. Jeffords is known to have earned the friendship of Cochise, the last free leader of the Chiricauhua Apache.

It is noted that the talks between Jeffords and Cochise helped to secure a peace treaty in the area in the late 1870s.

My family and I thoroughly enjoyed how the city of Bisbee set up the History On The Move display- as they placed each figure somewhere along Main Street. Finding each figure is like discovering items on a treasure hunt! What fun!

image made February 18, 2012

Happy 100th Birthday, Arizona!

2012-02-17T10:06:00.001-08:00

Via Flickr:
Feburary 14th was not only Valentine's Day, but also a special statehood day for our fair state. So we made a big Arizona-shaped chocolate chip cookie in honor of the occasion.

We have chocolate kisses representing our favorite mountains, a carved-out grand canyon, as well as the Colorado and Gila rivers decked out in blue frosting. Red blotches represent cities we have frequented often, and our own fair city as well.

We are still working on eating our delicious state!

Lorna Lockwood- in the flesh??!!??

2012-02-02T06:55:00.001-08:00

Via Flickr:
homemade "picassocam" pinhole camera, paper negative, developed in caffenol C

The state of Arizona turns 100 years old in 2012, and the centennial projects and celebrations abound around here! The Cochise County History On The Move Display is one such centennial project.

This project features life-sized (or nearly so) rigid historic photographs of folks who paved the way in Cochise County, Arizona's early years. The display will travel around to different locations throughout the year.

Here is one photo-tribute: her name is Lorna Lockwood, and she lived from 1903-1977. She was Arizona's first female chief justice in a state supreme court, serving in the position in two terms.

Did I fool you into thinking this is the real Lorna Lockwood? It's actually her life-sized black and white photo, set against the backdrop of Cochise College- Sierra Vista campus. (-:

image made January 30, 2012

I hope to capture the many other honored folks in this display as it travels around the county this year.

Nellie Cashman and my daughter pal-ing around at Cochise College

2012-02-01T14:40:00.001-08:00

Via Flickr:
homemade paintcan pinhole camera, paper negative, developed in caffenol C

The state of Arizona turns 100 years old in 2012, and the centennial projects and celebrations abound around here! The Cochise County History On The Move Display is one such centennial project.

This project features life-sized (or nearly so) rigid historic photographs of folks who paved the way in Cochise County, Arizona's early years. The display will travel around to different locations throughout the year.

Here is one photo-tribute: This is Nellie Cashman (left), and she lived from 1845-1925. She was a philanthropist - the title earned from her involvement in founding many community institutions (a Catholic church, and hospitals) and for helping many persons in need in very practical ways. She was an immigrant from County Cork, Ireland, and came to the North American West during the gold rush days. She was a businesswoman who owned and ran boarding houses, restaurants, and was a prospector herself.

One of the many places she lived and worked and contributed was in the city of Tombstone.

Did I fool you into thinking this is the real Nellie Cashman? It's actually her life-sized black and white photo, set against the backdrop of Cochise College- Sierra Vista campus. (-:

She is a favorite historic figure of mine and my daughter's, so we found it fitting that she pose with Nelly.

I hope to capture the many other honored folks in this display as it travels around the county this year.

Lots more information can be found at http://www.cochise100.org/

Growing fast, college classes, gymnastic meets, and nose to the grindstone

2012-01-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

Boy howdy, did we ever hit the 2012 pavement running! Not that we weren't dragging ourselves to the finish line of 2011- we've been ragged for awhile. We are all full on activities. No more new stuff for awhile!

Son turned 16 right after New Years. He towers over me now, and is within an inch of Dad's height. I'm still the boss of him, though. (-: As excited as I am to see he and his sister grow up, I feel the aches of empty nesting on the horizon. It will still be years before it happens, but I feel it just the same. Son got his driving permit a few weeks ago, and we are off parking and three-point-turning in the empty parking lots. On top of that, he started his first course at our local community college a few weeks ago, too. It's a video production class, 3 credit hours, twice a week. He is interested in media production as a career, so I hope this gives him a little taste of the possibilities. Son also continues to work as a gymnastics coach at our gym, which rounds out his activities.

Daughter competed in her very first USAG gymnastics meet last weekend, up in two-big-cities-to-the-north. She has wanted to be on the team and compete for quite a long time now, and we are thrilled for her! She did well, and we all had a good time at this fancy, very large meet. We also got to watch an exhibition of the really good gymnasts the night before Daughter's session, and were wowed! (it was the highest-scoring level 7-10 optional teams of the meet, for those who know what I'm talking about) It was a fun, humorous event, to boot, and saw some very amazing gymnastics. My parents and aunt came out to watch Daughter compete, so that made it special, too.

If you want to see Daughter's floor routine from the meet, you can find it here.

Being brand-new to the meet experience, and not quite sure as to what we might expect, I am happy to report that it was very good- the atmosphere was relaxed and low key, even for such a big meet. The gymnasts relaxed with their coaches between events, and teamates openly supported each other. In the years working up to this experience, one thing I had wondered about is if the negative behavior that can be found in other youth sports would be found at our meets. I am glad to say there was none of it, in my experience, that day. I'm sure it happens, but am glad we didn't see it. The parents, coaches, gymnasts, and spectators all acted admirably, from what I saw. Two Olympic gymnasts were on hand to talk to and write autographs, as well as give out awards at the end. (one of these gymnasts was actually the meet director) Every gymnast got an all-around medal, and a custom leotard.

As fun as it was, it was a lot of activity for me and my introverted family. After 4 hours of all the people and happenings and noise, we were ready for a battery recharge. Lots of carbs and chocolate sounded good to us- Olive Garden was the last stop before hitting the interstate for home. (-:

Daughter's next meet is this coming weekend, one One-City-to-the-north. We're getting geared up for another meet week!

In other news, we got the winter/spring garden started this weekend. I don't always have a garden in the spring, but we opted out of our summer garden last year, because of the drought conditions. We had pulled all the garden beds out back then, and tilled the dirt to be exposed to the elements and "rest".

We have two new beds rebuilt now, and have put in the peas, bok choy, and roquette/arugula. Next month, we can put in spinach, soy beans (edamame) and green onions. I March, we'll put in carrots, parsnips, and try some casper pumpkins. My regular pumpkins have not made it the past few seasons, getting infected with borer beetle larvae. They made for good science experiments, but not for pumpkins! This casper variety is a white-skinned squash, and it can be planted earlier than regular pumpkins. I hope to avoid the beetle problem with the different variety and planting time. If they work, and we want orange jack-o-lanterns this year (or any other color!) perhaps we can spray paint a few. (-:

Happy Asian New Year! It begins tomorrow, and it is the beginning of the Year Of The Dragon. Husband and Daughter are both dragons, so they are very excited. We are making spring rolls tonight, and hope to make other Asian dishes as the week progresses, as we fit dinner into our hectic schedule. Off to shred the napa cabbage for the spring rolls.....

Fave Lights from the Season

2011-12-30T08:06:00.000-08:00

How I love the season of light at the darkest time of year! I like to think of all the holiday lights as a symbol of the light within...contemplating, reflecting, creating new ideas for the new year, and and a glowing sense of all is as it should be..

Here are my favorite photos of lights from our 2011 season.......

my family, overlooking the city lights under the holiday star up in the foothills

Our community has a very large holiday star, lit with very large bulbs, in the foothills of our closest mountain range. It's lit from the beginning of December through the first part of January. It can be seen from just about everywhere in our community.

We took a drive up to the star in early December- bouncing along carefully in 4WD in the dark, till we came upon the star....

There was a beautiful ring around the moon that night, ahead of a winter storm that gave us much-needed rain.

and now a light of a different kind...sunlight!

an "unofficial" copy of a 6-month photo of sun trails from a pinhole camera in my back yard

I participated in a remarkable photography project this year, called Time in a Can, in which 40 photographers around the world placed pinhole cameras in their own locale, aimed skywards towards the sun's path. The project's photographing period was from June 21st through December 22, 2011- from solstice to solstice.

I have just harvested the pinhole cameras, and have shipped the negatives back to Spain, where the folks of Estudio Redondo (which is sponsoring Time In A Can) will scan them, invert them in to photographs, and have a gallery exhibit.

The photo above is an "unofficial" image made from one of my solargraphs from the project. I didn't scan the negative, rather I took a picture of it with my digital camera, in the darkness of my bathroom-darkroom, with the red safelight on. I'm sure the quality of the officially scanned image will be much better! (but I'm pleased with this result- not bad for mostly- white negative, photographed in red light and darkness besides!)

Anyway, the camera was positioned on the ground, looking up at the sky. To the left is our back yard fence. Overhead are the streaks of the sun going across the sky, one streak for every day of the six-month period. The left-sided streaks were made in the summertime (the southern part of the sky) Each day, the sun tracked a little more northwards, creating the streak-tracks more and more to the right side of the photo. The rightmost streaks were made in December.

You can tell the kind of weather we had in different parts of the streaking pattern- clouds occlude the sun's light, and make darker streaks when they were present in the sky.

Solargraphy is so amazing!!!

And now, a celebration of light of a different kind.....

Although my family is not Jewish, we do light the menorah during Hanukkah. We do not adhere to any particular religious faith, but feel that learning about different faiths is important to the understanding others, as well as learning from their insights. Participating (at some level) in the traditions of others gives us a window into their experiences, while enriching our own experiences of this season of light.

We also participate in many Christmas festivities, as well as Bodhi Day earlier in December.

the last candle to go out on our menorah on the 8th day of Hanukkah

Hanukkah is a beautiful tradition to us- and if we don't have a personal connection with the miracle of the oil burning for 8 days, we think of other miraculous events in our lives, and appreciate what we have.

The only other light I am looking forward to photographing is our sparklers on New Year's Eve...but that will have to wait till tomorrow!

Happy New Year, Everyone! Keep the light of hope and contentment and creativity and inspiration burning within!!

A special camera harvest- Time In A Can!

2011-12-23T22:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Winter Solstice- though my greeting is a day late!

Today is the day that the Time In A Can solargraphy project has come to an end. I am one of the 40 lucky participants around the world, who planted 5 pinhole cameras out in the elements on June 21st- the summer solstice. All 200 cameras around the world have been recording the sun's path, as well as imaging the surroundings, for the last 6 months,, onto photographic paper inside the pinhole can-camera.

Tin Man poses with his can-camera cousins

Here is the bounty of my can-cam harvest- all 5 pinhole cameras, intact after months of baking heat, rain storms, wind, freezing temperatures, and flood.

Now it is time to open the cans under a safelight, and package the negatives to be shipped back to Spain, where there will be a gallery exhibit of the solargraph photos. Stay tuned for solargraph results!

In the meantime, here are some other solargraph photos I have made in the past.

And also in the meantime, a video from the Time In A Can project- packaging up the cameras to send out to the photographers...enjoy!

6-month solargraphy in my back yard- 2009

Great holiday video greetings

2011-12-21T12:56:00.000-08:00

There are wonderfully creative people out there making very uplifting work! Here are some of my favorite holiday greetings I have come across this season:

I really want to be involved in a flash mob like this one someday:

I was inspired to do a family video greeting this year, as was this family- enjoy their underwater Christmas greeting!

And then there's the incredibly talented Fosters, who was my source of inspiration for making our own video:

I hope you feel lightweight and happy, as I do!

Reverb #11 Day 13: Nature Connection

2011-12-16T06:51:00.000-08:00

What was your best "nature" moment this year?

Our community experienced a very large wildfire this past June and July. It engulfed much of our local mountain chain, and also blew out of the canyons into the grasslands and the community, fueled by very high winds and extremely dry conditions. It was a very scary time. Along with the hardships to those who had lost their homes and animals, there was grief over the loss of nature to the fire- and the burnt black scar left behind.

About 2 weeks after the worst part of the fire, we took Daughter's friend home after their gymnastics practice. Her friend lives in an area that had been burned, and we noticed a burned yucca plant that had come back. It's bright green leaves and brilliant white flower plume was in stark contrast to the black earth and skeleton-trees around it. It was such a hopeful moment- and a healing experience!

I was moved to take a video:

There were more pretty nature moments we experienced this year, but I think this was the best one.

Dance Fever

2011-12-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Daughter danced on stage yesterday for the first time...

This was a children's holiday party, put on by the city, at our city's community center. Look for the pretty girl with the brown-haired ponytail in the red dress on the audience's left side of the stage. (-:

Happy Holidays!

Reverb #11 Day 5 and 6: What is the best science experiment/art project you did in 2011?

2011-12-10T08:43:00.000-08:00

I am trying to catch up on my reverbs in little snatchets of time! I'll be combining #5 and #6 today, as sort of a "yin-yang" post.

Science and Art are like opposite ends of the spectrum sometimes, and this is true for my kids. For them, science is like a curiosity, best taken in small doses, while art rocks the house!

The kids enjoy science if we keep the subject matter more on the superficial side, so we cover a wide range of topics in small doses. They have seen many NOVA shows, and most recently, they became completely overwhelmed by The Fabric Of The Cosmos- a great multi-episode show on quantum mechanics. I highly recommend it, but I digress...

pumpkin plants in the grow box

We do experiments of homemade design mostly, from our everyday circumstances. So this year, we have discovered things like borer larva in our pumpkin plants. We had a great gardening project, experimenting with growing pumpkin plants in a Grow Box, instead of the ground. Everything went well till the plants started looking cut off at the stem base, and were dying. Upon researching, we discovered we had insect larvae inside the main stems, munching the life out of the pumpkins. We also read that the plants can sometimes be saved if the larva are carefully cut out of the stem, and the stems are sealed with a wrapping of foil. So I, enthusiastic Cavemomma, went to work, digging out terrified larva, as the kids squirmed as they looked on. (well, they sort of half-looked...) Some plants actually survived the butchery, but their growth was stunted, and they never got beyond a small size, producing a flower now and then. This was my favorite eperiment of the year, even though the pumpkin project was halted. We learned more about the life cycle, and interaction between plants and insects.

wooly aphids under the microscope at 30X

If you ask my kids, they preferred the next insect project we took on a few months later: aphids in the neighbor's apple tree. (we were house sitting, and felt a responsibility) We talked to our favorite friendly ACE Hardware garden expert, who told us how aphids eat, grow, and spread, and the mechanics of the products we could use for getting rid of them. We even took a sampling home and looked at them under the microscope. Then, the kids choose the most fun option for ridding the tree of aphids- putting on bathing suits, and spraying the tree with soapy water. (using Dawn dishwashing liquid, the garden hose, and an insect sprayer) The results were instant and permanent!

But there was our baby bird project too, and reassembling George the skeleton, and the Happy Scientist experiments. I think the kids' all-time favorite experiment this year is the Happy Scientist's examining trick birthday candles versus regular birthday candles, and observing why the trick candles relight. When I asked them just now why this was their favorite science experiment this year, they both replied it is because we made a batch of brownies to serve as the candle holders for the experiment! That's science in our house- it's all about the treats!

Daughter's melt and pour soap on display at the county fair

On the other hand, arts and crafts projects seem to effortlessly spring out of nowhere at my house. I asked what Daughter's favorites have been this year, and she said making clothes for her Webkinz, making soap, making polymer clay jewelry, and drawing pictures for her stories- mostly about gymnasts. These are just her favorites.

one of Son's most recent videos

Son would say, hands down, his animation movies with legos is his favorite art project. I think he has made over 50 movies this year.

So there you have it; some yin-yang, science/art happenings, favorite or not , that we have engaged in this year.

You can participate in Reverb 2011 too- click on this button to participate, or read the other responses to the daily prompt:

A dvd/cd holiday greeting card template- from my computer to yours

2011-12-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

We sure had fun making a holiday dvd last weekend! Next, I designed the card portion of our holiday dvd video greeting, and have posted the template files online, for anyone who might wish to use it for their own dvd greeting card. So if your creative juices are flowing, and think you might like to make a slideshow, put together movie footage, or even share pictures on a disc, please feel free to use this card design to package your disc greeting!

The card is designed to hold a standard disc sleeve measuring 4.96 inches square (12.55 square cm) Here is the front of the card:

There are three files to this card: one page for the"outside" faces of the card, another for the "inside "faces, and another for the text greeting. The "outside" and "inside" faces are printed on opposite sides of the same piece of paper. The text greeting is cut out, and pasted to the disc sleeve on the inside of the card.

If you want to print the card exactly as it is, you can download the template as jpeg files, or as pdf files. If you want to play with the card and make changes, and/ or add your own embellishments, then download the psd (Photoshop) template files. Regular-click the appropriate link above, which will take you to to Google Docs for downloading.

Here is how you put the card together:

After downloading your fles, print them out on a paper of your choice. I used a 176 g/m² (65 lb) linen cover stock. Any card stock would be suitable, or even regular printer paper, as the cd or dvd provides a rigid structure to the card.

This is what the "outside face" of the card looks like. Print it out. Pay special attention to the orientation of the paper as it comes out of your printer. When the printed page comes out of my printer, it is flipped to the unprinted side, and upside down. So, I designed this card so I just put the paper back into the paper tray as orientated for printing on the other side. (this means that the printed side is flipped over from top to bottom)

So, as a recap, print the "outside" face of the card, and then flip over the paper from top to bottom, so the printed side is down, and the previous top edge is now the bottom edge.

Now print the "inside" face of the card on this unprinted side.

Here is what the "inside face" of the card looks like:

If done correctly, the bird tree will be on one side , and the canvas with three snowflakes will be in the same position on the other side of the paper.

Now print out the text greeting, which contains the greetings for 4 cards:

Carefully trim away the white areas of the paper.

Then, score the narrow vertical space between the front and back cover with a bone folder or a butter knife, while using a straight edge. It isn't absolutely necessary to score this fold line, but it sure helps to make a crisp fold.

Then, carefully fold the card in half along the score mark, so that the bird tree is facing out. Ta da! A card!

Now apply a paste or adhesive to the disc sleeve, in order to fix it to the card. Put your sticky material on the side you normally think of as the front side of the disc sleeve, so that the opening flap will face outward when pasted into the card. My favorite adhesive is dry adhesive tape in an ATG (adhesive transfer:) gun. The adhesive doesn't buckle the paper, it is pretty much a permanent seal, and it sticks right away- no waiting for glue to dry.

Now carefully place your glued disc sleeve onto the right inside page of the card. My technique for mounting the sleeve on straight is to carefully put the left edge of the sleeve against the fold line, while lining up the top edge. Then, carefully lower the sleeve to make contact with the entire card. Carefully rub the sleeve so your adhesive makes complete contact.

This is what the inside of the card looks like at this point. Notice that the disc sleeve's opening flap is accessible.

Lastly, paste the text greeting to the lower half of the disc sleeve, and insert your disc into the sleeve.

I tie up my cards with ribbon, gift-wrap style. Happy, Happy greeting cards!

The artwork on the card is from two different vintage holiday cards, provided by Karen at The Graphics Fairy. Karen searches high and low for historic items, and posts daily vintage images and ephemera that are free of copyright restrictions. She offers them as free downloads. Every Monday, you can visit her blog to see how folks have used the images in their own crafty projects. Thank you so much, Karen! I love to think that my use of these images are breathing life back into them- by circulating them once again. I think of the artists that made these images long ago, for Christmases long past , and wonder if they are still alive or not. I hope to honor them by bringing their work back out for people to see it this holiday season.

The canvas texture is a free download from Leslie Nicole of French Kiss Textures. Thank you, Leslie Nicole, for sharing the products of your talents, so that we may enhance our own creative processes!

Happy Holidays! If you do decide to use the card, and have any questions or difficulties, please email me.

I'm playing the link up at Graphics Fairy's "Brag Monday"- Go see what others have made with Karen's found images!

Reverb #11 Uncovered Talent

2011-12-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

Did you discover that someone in your family has a talent that had previously gone unnoticed?

Why yes! Daughter, the gymnast, has discovered joy in dancing this year. When she started working out with the team this past spring, she began their weekly dance lessons as part of the gymnastics training. A local dance company has an instructor come in and teach the girls ballet, lyrical and jazz.

One of Daughter's strengths in gymnastics is her pretty form, but we hadn't explored dance till this year. I'm very glad she's had this opportunity to dance and discover her joy in doing it! She'll be in the dance company's holiday recital with the other gymnasts next week. Maybe I can post some photos or video of the performance.

You can participate in Reverb 2011 too- click on this button to participate, or read the other responses to the daily prompt:

Happy Bodhi Day

2011-12-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

December 8th is one day chosen for many Buddhists to celebrate the day that Siddhartha Gautama achieved enlightenment, after spending 8 days in deep meditation, sitting under a Bodhi tree. (a kind of ficus tree) This was in 596 BCE, and it is said that with his enlightenment, came his conception of the Law of Karma, The 4 Noble Truths, and the The Noble Eightfold Path. From that time on, he referred to himself as a "Buddha", meaning in his language, "an awakened one". He then began his traveling and teaching, which occupied his life till his death.

Bodhi Day is observed by many Buddhists- especially of the Pure Land and Zen traditions, in China, Korea, Japan, and in the West. Activities included in the observation often include practicing mindfulness, reading the Dharma, meditation, and performing acts of kindness . There is a website here, which suggests some activities to do with children.

Like other traditions, Buddhism has adapted to regional, cultural, spiritual and religious traditions, wherever it may be practiced, and many sources I have read have pointed out that Bodhi Day seems to fit in nicely with the Holiday season. I think this makes sense. It is a season of light, and celebrating inner illumination adds depth and compliments what other traditions are observing and celebrating this time of year. From a practical perspective, in this season of shopping and rushing to and from so many activities, taking moments to be mindful and still can firmly root us back into our authentic selves, and help us realize the most important things.

Today, the kids and I will listen to a Dharma talk, and look for opportunities to do kind things for others. My favorite Buddhist teacher is Thich Nhat Hanh, and below is a talk he gave to children last summer.

True Presence - Children's Talk from Plum Village Online Monastery on Vimeo.

Happy Bodhi Day!

Season's Greetings from my family to yours- via our holiday "video card"

2011-12-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

We had a blast yesterday, filming a video holiday greeting at our city park. We just might be making a tradition out of making a video greeting to send to friends and family. Last year, we made a slideshow of the lovely fall foilage in a nearby canyon, set to music. This year, we did a silly lip-sync to "We Wish You A Merry Christmas- John Denver and the Muppets-style.

The lip sync idea was completely inspired by a family video greeting I saw last year on Vimeo. This family does a first-rate, professional, ultra-creative video production- and I bet you might thoroughly enjoy their holiday videos, even if you don't know them! Go visit Melancholy Smile- it's her family that does the videos, and take your pick of great videos to view-from the right sidebar of the blog.

In order to have the key prop for our video, we had to make a figgy pudding! We used the recipe from this NPR article on the history and making of figgy pudding. Ours turned out great- really an "old world" taste. I like the taste much better than the packaged Christmas puddings we tried in England a few years ago. Even though we didn't use the alcohol, our rum and fruit extract substitutions really made for a nice flavor.

The video was a real challenge- I really enjoy making videos, but aligning a video track with a separate audio track proved to be really difficult! We took the music track out to the park with us, and sang/moved along to it in our individual segments. That helped a lot with synching up the music with our mouths.

We are pleased with how it came out! We hope you enjoy!

Have a very enjoyable holiday season!

Reverb #11: Day Two: Best New Resource

2011-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Reverb #11, Day Two:
What was the best new resource that you found in 2011? Book, website, local support group, or other? How did it help in your homeschooling journey?

There are several new resources we have found to be invaluable to us this year, but I think The Happy Scientist has captured our hearts as being our pick of 2011. This wonderful website is the creation of Robert Kramph, science educator. The website consists of science experiments, demonstration videos, daily science photos with provoking questions, and even some entire curriculum units. The material is categorized by life science, physical science, and chemical science topics- truly providing an exposure to a very wide range of science.

Mr. Kramph has a real ability to convey material in clear, creative ways, and his program has served as a great introduction to many areas in science. My kids, who have an artsy bent, usually have to be really encouraged to excited about science, but the creative presentations, and the good dose of silly humor of the Happy Scientist, draws them in, and beyond to exploring the material more deeply.

Our own home video of a simple homemade laser microscope, used to look at pond water organisms, as made according to The Happy Scientist video demonstration .

There are many free materials available on the website, but the $20 subscription, which makes the entire site available, is so very well-worth the investment.

Please go check out The Happy Scientist!

You can participate in Reverb 2011 too- click on this button to participate, or read the other responses to the daily prompt:

Reverb #11 Day one: "Turning Point"

2011-12-01T10:52:00.000-08:00

I am participating in Rebel Homeschool's December blogging prompts, called "Reverb". Theresa of Rebel Homeschool took it upon herself this year to invent her own blogging prompts for each day of December. I'll try to use the daily prompts for blogging as many days as possible this month, beginning with this first prompt:

Day One: Turning Point
Did you have a turning point in 2011? A point where homeschooling became easier, or conversely, more difficult?

2011 has definitely been a pivotal year in our homeschooling and overall lifestyle. We are all experiencing growing "pains" and "joys" and "anxieties" this year.

As a mother, I sensed the turning point in my children's growing older, accepting more responsibility, and changing relationships with the outer world. It's felt equal parts excitement, pride, and, (honestly,) dread to me. Hoping that I guide them and handle this period ok is not a new concern, but now our lifestyle seems to have more real and outer world outcomes than when they were younger. The kids seem perched on the nest now, and I feel I must scramble to get ready for their adventures into the world without me. I can't tell you how much I look forward to seeing them becoming more of themselves, yet how I also feel compelled to taking up an addictive coping habit at the same time! Here are the specifics of what has been going on this year:

Son went from assistant coaching on a limited, volunteer basis to having a real job of coaching his own gymnastics classes. He is also preparing to get his driver's license, and gearing up to take his first college course in January. As his mother, I hope and wonder if we have prepared him enough for thriving in this outer world. Does he have the basic academics he needs for his new outer world? Does he have enough self-confidence and communication skills to continue learning and growing effectively outside of my immediate supervision? Will he be safe? Will he be harmed? Will he enjoy life? Will he handle problems and overwhelm in a healthy way? How much will I continue to need to help him with that, and in what ways?

Then, Daughter began training with the team in gymnastics this year, requiring much more time, physical and mental effort, and dedication. She is also being exposed to more complicated friend and classmate dynamics issues, and the wider world of girl issues- cultural standards- especially lookism, popularity, body image, and where that fits into her life. She is gaining more skills in gymnastics, crafting, and communication, which requires her to brush up on other skills to help her. Her self-confidence and determination are developing. She has entered puberty this year, and is grappling with the normal issues surrounding it. As her mother, I wonder how well she is handling the wider world in her inner life, and is she doing so in a healthy way. Will she maintain her sense of self through adolescence, without succumbing too much to cultural standards? Is she being pushed/pushing herself too hard? Will she become perfectionistic, and miserable because of it? How do I best support her dreams, while helping her maintain an healthy outlook?

The kids also have these mixed feelings in their own way, and are excited and sometimes overwhelmed by the changes in their lives. They are also foreseeing what academic preparation they are still needing to meet their goals. This is generally so, for sometimes they also do not see the point of our studying certain subjects. Through a teen and pre-teen lens, this can be frustrating for them.

So is homeschooling harder this year? Yes, in that there is more structure to our studies, and more complicated schedules to work around. The turning point seems to do more in our family's life stage, rather than with the homeschooling itself. In a way, this stage makes homeschooling easier as well, in that it is much clearer to see what we need to work on, and when, in order for the kids to continue their pursuits of their chosen interests and ever-expanding goals.

Thank you, Theresa, for orchestrating the Reverb 2011! Having a prompt really helps get me blogging - especially when I don't think I have something to say!

You can participate in Reverb 2011 too- click on this button to participate, or read the other responses to the daily prompt:

A pause before it begins...

2011-11-27T20:49:00.000-08:00

It's Sunday night of Thanksgiving weekend. It's back to the schedule tomorrow, after about a week of holiday relaxation and illness recovery. (the first good cold of the year)

I take a deep, refreshing breath, before putting my head into the wind of the December holiday season. Regular schoolwork. Holiday decorating, baking, and visiting. A dance recital. An exhibition gymnastics meet, and the preparations beforehand, of which my whole family is involved in some way. Holiday concerts, the city's Christmas parade, and learning three-part harmony to the Lester Family's Christmas carols album. Making homemade 2012 calendars. Trying to finish the 2011 family video. Christmas cards? Maybe not this year, but ideas of a dvd card are floating around. The grand finale is holiday traveling to see family 2 big cities to the north.

So I am enjoying my quiet pause, as the dog snores in regular rhythm from the kitchen, children laugh in the back of the house, and carols play softly over internet radio. Tomorrow will begin the busy collage. I vow to make time for many such pauses throughout December, and stay in the present moment as much as possible.

May you have a beautiful, mindful holiday season!

Mama arts and crafts

2011-11-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone who is celebrating today!

I have a moment between turkey and sides prep to blog. Here's a peek at my newest artsy project. I like having my own "Mama projects" to feed my own creativity and sense of self-expression. I also believe in the notion that it is good for my kids to see me engaged in my own projects- to witness my own enjoyment, frustrations, puzzlements, satisfaction, struggles, determination, concentration, etc. I hope I am as positive of a role model as I can be..on most days.

Anyway, I have decided to make 2012 calendars this year for some special friends- using my pinhole photography, and my fledgling bookbinding skills. It will be a softcover mini-calender to carry in a purse or pack. Here are the front and back covers:

and the back cover:

I have been figuring out, and making, the layout in Photoshop. I have it set up so that four pages (front and back) fit on the front and back sides of a sheet of 8.5x11 -inch paper, so I can print the calender at home. To make sense of the mindboggling task of knowing which pages go on any one sheet of paper, I made a little mock-up book with regular copy paper first:

and labeled the pages front and back....

So all I had to do is separate this mock book to see the proper layout.

The layout truly seems haphazard! Photos of one month are paired up with calendars of other months. It comes out right in the end, though....

I am indebted to several individuals who have helped me to make this project a lot easier! These folks offer up items of their talents for free, and here is my shout out to them:

Photography Blography has some great free Photoshop calender template options to download- thank you so much, Photography Blography!

Kim Klassen makes spectacular textures and backgrounds- and offers a free texture every week to subscribers. I used one of her textures for the cover pages. I am grateful to you, Kim!

I downloaded some free fancy, scallop-doo-dad clip art to add some nice decorative touches from about dot com's clip art site. Thank you, Folks!

When I have completed the print/binding phase of this project, I would like to offer my little calendar in pdf form for free download to anyone who wants one, for their desktops/portable devices. It's just a little artsy gift from me....continuing the sharing, giving and gratitude to you friends, and those who helped make the project so much nicer!

In order to do that, I need to complete a dvd workshop on making pdf multimedia projects, which is taught by Brooks Jensen of Lenswork. I'm looking forward to making this my first pdf!

Happy Thanksgiving!

How to make a scene

2011-11-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

This ranks as one of my favorite TED talks- it really launched me out of a funk the other day- laughter is truly wonderful medicine!

Son is getting interested in the theater, and along with his video production interests, I thought he would like this talk about improvisation in public places...

Enjoy! (I think you will!)

Check out Charlie Todd's website: improveverywhere.com.

A gymnastics post: Hello, Good-Bye(?) and lots of new anticipation...

2011-11-12T14:00:00.000-08:00

Some gymnastics doings on 11-11-11:

Son is thinking about stopping his own gymnastics classes, and moving on to other things. However, he wants to try some new skills before he makes that decision.

He has always wanted to do a giant on the high bar. (swinging all the way around the bar) One way to practice doing giants is to use a rotating device and strap-in equipment (for safety) while mastering the skill. Last night, he was determined to make it all the way around! Thank you, "Coach C", for helping him! Here is a video that Son made with the raw video footage- of his giant, and some tumbling and vaulting he did last night:

And........

Daughter is preparing to compete- her first meet is in January. The team's new competition leotards came in the other day, and Daughter and I had a little portrait session yesterday. Here is one picture that we both like:

Look at that anticipation in her eyes!

So smug about my skeleton....

2011-11-02T09:36:00.000-07:00

For the past year, I have been shopping for a skeleton. We want to study anatomy you see, but a good, scientific skeleton at a grassroots homeschooling family's price is hard to come by.

So I got smug, and figured that around Halloween time, I could just get a decoration skeleton that would suit our needs fine enough.

So here I present "George" to you:

He looked just fine for our needs. The $35 price was right. He even glows in the dark, making for spooky folly when we turn the lights out for the night. He has a skull hook for hanging. His joints can lock in place for posing.

We love him! He's just a bit taller than Daughter. We began studying the bones. We got stretchy, exercise theraband to make muscles, and figured out their attachments and actions on the bones.

But then one day....I noticed something peculiar....

Wait a minute.....those fibulas are on the inside of the lower legs- they should be on the outside!!!

and shouldn't the radius be on the thumb side of the hand, and the ulna on the pinky side?

George's lower legs and arms were put on backwards!!!!!

Aaaahhhhhhhhhhh!

So that's what a $35 skeleton will buy you! Oh well, no matter- we just took him apart, and fixed him.....

A pair of pliers and a screwdriver did the trick......

..and one of Dad's files to sand down the articular surfaces of the knees- because his knees wouldn't straighten when attached to his femurs on the correct side....

Oh yes- we soon discovered that our fix presented us with another problem- now his feet were on backwards! We took him apart at the ankle joints too, and switched his feet.

There...all fixed up!

Now George is pigeon-toed, and weak in the knees, but we love him anyway.

The fix-up also helped the kids to learn the alignment of the lower leg and forearm bones too. Radius/ulna, tibia/fibula identification can be tricky. All Halloween season, they checked every decorative skeleton we saw, to make sure the bones were put on/drawn properly.

(-:

Happy Halloween!

update on the baby birds

2011-10-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

Aww...aren't they sweet little things?

Below is a video that Daughter took from our indoor "hide", that we set up through the living room window. She shot this video through the binoculars. I like the ethereal effect of distorted imagery and color she got with this technique!

They're gone now- they fledged two days ago. It was funny- I looked in on them through the binoculars around 2pm, and when I checked again about 15 minutes later, the nest was empty. There was no feathers around or other signs of struggle, so we presume the neighborhood cats didn't get to them, and they both flew off. Usually we see our little fledgelings around here and there for a few weeks after, but we haven't seen this dove family since.

We came upon these doves last week, when they were discovered on the ground while pruning our tree . We used the hanging pot as a make-shift nest, and put the babies in it, near where the limb with their nest was. We are so glad the parents found them, and continued to care for them! We loved observing them while they were with us.

I love happy endings/beginnings!

A casuality with hope on the other side

2011-10-14T07:05:00.000-07:00

We had our sycamore tree pruned back yesterday, and unfortunately, there was an active dove nest that went undetected, till the babies were found on the ground at clean-up.

So I scooped their little plops of bodies into a hanging pot, and Husband hung it on a limb of the tree, near where they were found . I could feel their little legs moving in my hands, but one of the birds didn't seem to have as much muscle tone as the other, and it's wing was sticking out. We are just hoping for the best.

When I looked out the window this morning, I was much relieved and happy....

One of the parents was feeding them, and both babes were fluttering their wings...

Oh happy day! They've been found by Mom and Dad, and are being fed!

I took these pictures through the blinds from inside the house, but hope to get some more outside later. I used my 75-300mm telephoto lens...

Let's hope the neighborhood cats don't discover them........

Let's have cheer for a healthy fledging!

Excellent , heartfelt advice from Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

As a homeschooling parent, I can think of no better encouragement and advice for my children and myself, than what Steve Jobs gave at this commencement ceremony. Please enjoy this speech, especially if you are needing to muster courage or feel inspired:

Thank you, Steve.

naming our "homeschool"

2011-09-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Our state fair offers discounts and free admission to school groups and homeschoolers. Many of the attractions this year hit on some of our interests, like a drumming group, a butterfly tent, and the body exhibit. So earlier this week, I found myself sitting in front of the state fair's application to receive our field trip tickets.

The application has a blank for the name of the school. I had recently read Ann Zeise's article, "Naming Your Homeschool" over at A to Z Home's Cool website. Ann gives two reasons for naming your educational activities as a school- to receive discounts from suppliers, and to give your kids an entity to belong to.

Well, I could have just written "homeschool" in that blank. However, my family loves to name things, so we took it upon ourselves to come up with something fun and creative.

First, I asked Daughter, Cavemomma's youngest. Being the proud cave kid that she is , she came up with, "Cave Kid Imaginative School" She really liked how it was like an acronym- "CKIS" (sort of like "kiss") Is that inventive spelling, or what???

Then I asked Son, the oldest, and a teenager, who prefers to keep his affectionate cave kid status within the family. He came up with the acronym, "HOBO", and tried to fill in the words. He got "home" in there, and then left the task to go to bed.

The next day, Cavedad emailed home a solution for "HOBO"- "Humans Observing Beneficial Open Societies" Hmm....very positive, but perhaps a bit vague for an application of this sort.

I tried my hand at it. I decided to pick a close geographical landmark for naming our "school". Our street name isn't particularly impressive-sounding, but we have many pretty places nearby to name after. I started with, "Garden Canyon Homeschool". Nice, but a bit too benign. I wanted to add some educational bulk to that name. I ditched the word, "homeschool" for the word "academy". Now we have "Garden Canyon Academy". But that sounds too schooly for me, and doesn't really describe our relaxed, somewhat child-led, yet also somewhat academically-directed style.

So then I wrote, "Garden Canyon Academy of Semi-Self-Directed Learning".

There.

What did I ultimately write on the application? "Garden Canyon Homeschool".
It filled the bill, I suppose. (-:

Have you named your homeschool? If you were to name yours, what name would you choose?

National Gymnastics Day- the year of the handstand

2011-09-17T11:38:00.000-07:00

In celebration of National Gymnastics Day, USA Gymnastics held an event to break a record of the most gymnasts doing a handstand at the same moment. Doing our part, gymnasts in our gym held a handstand at 1pm EST. We added 17 handstanders to the count, and we hope we help to break the record today. Woo hoo!

Above is a slideshow of handstand photos taken by gymnastics clubs around the US at 1pm EST today, September 17, 2011. Look for the photo from our gym- Desert Thunder Gymnastics. (they are presented in alphabetical order- look for the "Ds") Yours truly had to do some gymnastics of my own in climbing up to a high place to take the photo. (-:

Update:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Gymnasts nationwide went upside-down to break world record for simultaneous handstands

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 17, 2011 – 20, 478 gymnasts and fans from more than 100 gymnastics clubs nationwide joined together today to break the world record for most handstands performed simultaneously and bring the title back to the United States.

At precisely 1 p.m. ET, 20,478 of participants throughout the country kicked up into a handstand to break the existing record of 2,402, set by Australian gymnasts in Melbourne to promote the 2005 World Gymnastics Championships.

“We originally set the record of 1,072, here in Indianapolis, in July 2005 as part of the run-up to the 2005 Visa Championships,” said Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics. “Bringing the title back to the USA is a great way to celebrate National Gymnastics Day across the U.S. and help build awareness and support for gymnastics.”

Each year, USA Gymnastics celebrates National Gymnastics Day to build awareness of the sport and support Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. Money raised will benefit Children's Miracle Network Hospitals in each club’s local community. Since 2001, gymnastics clubs across the country have raised more than $1.4 million for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. The clubs have until Nov. 9 to raise and submit their funds for this year.

Along with the support of the individual gymnastics clubs, the Governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana,Nevada and Texas proclaimed today, September 17, 2011, as Gymnastics Day in their respective state.

And here is the photo from our gym's participation:

monsterous marketing and media

2011-09-07T08:16:00.000-07:00

photo source

My family was in a Target store this past weekend, and we found these in the toy aisle. Gloom Beach dolls, apparently a line of toys of the Monster High flavor. If Barbie and Bratz set a strong standard for lookism before, then we are definitely in trouble now. Any girl who will absorb this standard for how to look will die in the effort. More likely, girls will half-consciously absorb yet another message that you have to be very thin to fit in.

My daughter and I commented on the anorexic look and sexualized dressing style, and how it might affect girls' perception of themselves. Will some feel pressured to emulate this look- starving, sickly and "undead"?

((Shudder)). Keep talking to your girls and boys. Fight back against aggressive marketing and media influence.

4th of July on Labor Day Weekend

2011-09-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

It felt a little like the 4th of July....

Our city did not hold it's annual fireworks show this year, being only a week after our community's fire, and extreme drought conditions. We were to have the show later in the summer, but we did not get enough rain this summer to make it safe.

So it was the city of Bisbee to our rescue this Labor Day weekend! Bisbee lies 30 miles to the east from us, and also postponed it's 4th of July fireworks due to extremely dry conditions. However, they rescheduled their show for Labor Day-Saturday, and we went to see the show, with a full picnic to boot!

It was our first- ever Bisbee fireworks show. They shoot them off from up high, on the mine tailings...

If you wiggle your camera while taking the picture of fireworks, you get some pretty light pictures:

Here are some closeups of the launch site high above us:

pretty firework feathers

Thank you Bisbee, for lifting our summertime spirits with this great show!!!

studying water microbes with a laser pointer

2011-09-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

We recently bought a subscription to The Happy Scientist, and have been greatly enjoying the scientific experiments on video. We did one this week that I think is really out of this world! Actually, it is in this world- in the microscopic world.

Here is a video of our following the laser microscope experiment:

We did see microbes, but overall, had difficulty in seeing enough detail to tell apart cillates, protists, and amoebas, etc. We'll make some changes to see if we can improve our results.

As a photographer, the idea of the drop of water acting as lens, revealing the contents inside itself at about 1,000X (according to Arbor Scientific) is just amazing! I'm a kid in a candy store!!

I linked this post up to Learning All The Time's Favorite Resource blog hop- check out other great discoveries!

Score!!! (on rainfall)

2011-09-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

1.15 inches yesterday! Now that's what I'm talking about! A decent rain! Look how much dirt got flung into the gauge, too! We weren't home at the time, but from where the leftover debris stands, it flooded nearly to the door.

source: US Drought Monitor

We're still in the "extreme" drought category, where we have been since March. One new fire started in a mountain range to the east of us this week, caused by lightning. No new fires close to home though, thank goodness.

Please accept my injection of hope, all of you out there enduring extreme heat and exceptional drought conditions! I hope the Fall and Winter bring us all moisture!

A Tale of Two Books

2011-08-29T12:11:00.000-07:00

I'm almost always reading more than one book at a time. Here are my two current reads:

One is a hoot, one is quite serious. I really need both!

A Long Way From Chicago- Richard Peck

Richard Peck's books are my family's favorite read-alouds. They take place in the nineteenth and earlier twentieth centuries, and are full of nostalgia. (also history!) Many of them are very funny, while others are mysterious. All are engaging.

This is our second time reading this book aloud- the first of three in the "Grandma Dowdel" series.

The story is told from young Joey's point of view, as he and his younger sister, Mary Alice, visit their Grandma Dowdel in rural Illinois every summer. Each chapter is a story from each yearly visit, from 1929-1935. The Great War is over. The Great Depression is on. Grandma's town is full of characters- just like Mayberry- with Grandma being the biggest character of all. Grandma is shocking, unconventional, clever, and really does have a heart of gold, as the readers discover. You won't find straight-delivered morals here, but as the schemes play out, usually the right thing is done in the end. Grandma Dowdell is my hero.

This book is a Newberry Honor book. Richard Peck's books are written for children, (about age 9-10 on up) and are equally enjoyed by adults too.

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls- Mary Pipher, PH.D

I really find this book very effective in describing the objectification and diminishing of the true self that happens in adolescence, as kids become more involved in the adolescent social systems, and absorb more of the "junk culture" values. This book focuses on girls, though it seems to happen to boys to a different degree.

As I read it, I remember my own adolescent pain, and appreciate Mary Pipher's insights into the social patterns that set girls up to be less authentic, and then mourn the loss of this authenticity, as they assimilate into the broader culture. This culture was harsh when I was in school, and is much worse now- with reducing a person down to their looks and possessions, not to mention sex appeal, at earlier and earlier ages. According to Pipher, harassment, violence, and the incidence of having sex is now down into the middle school years. (keep in mind that this book was written in the 1990s)

Not having children in the school system, I don't have direct access to knowing how things are today. I hear the parents of middle school girls muse over whether their girls are kissing their boyfriends or not. According to Pipher, much more than that is happening, (as she has witnessed with her clients as a psychologist) so I wonder what the norm is, if there is one.

Anyway, helping Daughter make it through adolescence with her self intact is one of my biggest concerns now, as she enters puberty. I want to understand the pressures the girls face today, and understand how she may react. I want to help prepare her for the changes ahead. I want to protect her from dangerous situations and unhealthy attitudes, even as she needs to move away from me into a wider sphere. (I also want to do the same for Son, who is older, and am looking for more material that addresses boys)

I've found this book the most helpful so far- more so than "Cinderella Ate My Daughter" and "So Sexy So Soon", both of which I have read recently.

...and thank goodness for Grandma Dowdel, to inspire me, and act as a counterweight to my serious reading!

a "batty" experience at the hummingbird feeder...

2011-08-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

A group of bats have been feeding at our hummingbird feeders this past week. Here is video footage from our camcorder on infrared setting, beginning at around 9pm.

The footage includes close-up shots (you can see the bats' mouths open as they feed) as well as shots that are panned out to see the bats flying in to feed.

If you rather see a quick video of the most active footage, go here.

Arizona has 3 nectar-feeding species of bats, and this could be the lesser long-nosed bat. They are here from August to October, on their way back down to their winter home in southern Mexico. The lesser long-nosed bat has one young per year.

You might ask, how do you suspect that you have bats coming in at night? Well, your full feeder is mysteriously empty in the morning. Hmmmm! After that happened to us a few times, we decided to investigate into the darkness with this video. We were rewarded with this great show above.

Planting agaves in the desert

2011-08-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

We were 4 of over 100 volunteers, and National Parks Service staff, that planted 1100 agaves at Coronado National Memorial, (in southeastern Arizona) on Saturday. (-:

The planting occurred to replace agave plants destroyed in the Monument Fire of June, 2011, and by making the international border fence earlier. (we live quite close to the US-Mexico border)

The video includes discussion on the lesser long-nosed bat, which feeds on the nectar of the agaves, and distributes it's seeds. Footage of planting the agaves is also included.

Please enjoy- this is a video made from our personal footage. There is good information handy to know in the video, too!

We had a great time, and learned a lot about agaves, and the lesser long-nosed bat. It feels good to be able to give to our community as it recovers from this fire, and I hope we have more opportunities to do so.

Reviving a rusty camera!

2011-08-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

A friend gave me this rusty, wet, grimy little beauty last night- a vintage Kodak Duaflex camera!

This camera was made from 1947-1959 in The States. It has a focusable lens, 3 aperture settings, and takes 620 film.

I opened the camera in total darkness to see if there was any film inside, but their wasn't.....(wouldn't it be cool to find a roll in there?)

Boy howdy, that's rusty! The shutter is stuck, and the film advance knob is, too...

This is the viewfinder- full of rust, too. I'll have to take the whole camera apart to clean it out.

I cleaned up the accessible surfaces with my homemade cleaner, and am soaking the screws and nooks and crannies in oil, in hopes to ease everything loose for a complete cleaning, and then see if it will still work!

********************************************************

In other news......

We've been to the doctor about Daughter's morphea, and we are about to try a new treatment regimen. Instead of a local vitamin D-based ointment applied locally on the skin (which we have been doing for several months) we will be trying an oral course of doxycycline, an antibiotic in the tetracycline family. The usual duration of treatment for morphea is one year. (very good , sometimes permanent results, have been obtained) This seems a ghastly long time to be on an antibiotic, and we are doing a three-month-long trial (still long, but much more manageable to us) to see if Daughter's skin shows a favorable response, and measure it's effect on her general health. (the goal for this time period is softening of the lesions, and no development of new ones)

We've started her on a probiotic supplement, and can pick up her prescription today. We'll continue following Andrew Weil's anti-inflammatory diet. (come see my food blog, A Curious Epicure) to see some recipes I concoct to help follow this diet) We'll monitor her reaction to the antibiotic over time, and do what we can to help her digestive system adjust. Though she is older that the cutoff guidelines suggest, we'll also make sure she is still growing, and watch her teeth.

I'm glad that Daughter has had very very little antibiotics in her lifetime so far, and hope this course doesn't affect her immunity, and antibiotic effectiveness in general, if she should truly need one to help fight an infection. Her doctor says studies show that for this class of antibiotics, immunity/resistance problems are low. This is an antibiotic commonly used to treat acne conditions, and curiously, is also used as an anti-malarial medication, and anthrax treatment.

I think think of the hardest issues I have mulled over in parenting so far, has been what, how, and when to treat medical ailments. Luckily, my kids haven't had any real life-threatening conditions, but the balance of benefits to side effects, and whether a standard medical treatment is truly beneficial or potentially harmful in the long run, is something I grapple with long and hard. So far, I think we have made fairly good decisions. I hope guidance, information, gut intuition, good advice, and common sense still be good tools, with Daughter's condition, especially with this new-to-us treatment regimen.

Do you have experience, or know of anyone who has experienced morphea before? If you have information you are willing to share, I would appreciate it! Thank you!

Your laugh of the day...ready??

2011-08-08T16:00:00.001-07:00

Southwest Wings!

2011-08-05T08:35:00.000-07:00

mountain short horned lizard

It's here! Our local annual nature festival, Southwest Wings is going on over at Cochise College this week. There are many free talks on biology (individual families and species). botany, archeology, entomology, birding, watershed studies, etc. There are also exhibits and displays, and some live animals and buggy critters. We look forward to the festival each year.

rattlesnake head

Yesterday we attended a talk by Vincent Pinto called "Stingers, Thorns and Fangs", regarding all of the poky, sharp, poisonous and venomous things in our corner here in southeastern Arizona. (many regard Cochise County as the most venomous county in North America!) It is good to be educated about what is dangerous, what is not, what is safe to touch, what is not, what natural remedies can be found to help, and what to do for first aid.

desert hairy scorpion

It was an excellent presentation, followed by a field trip with Vincent to go find some plants, bugs, and animals out in the desert afterwords. (we didn't go on this part)
If you ever have the opportunity to attend of of Vincent's talks, I'd highly recommend it.

We also attended a talk/film showing of Charles Melton's documentary of hummingbirds of the Americas. It was good information on different hummingbird species, their behaviors, special adaptations,and their habitats.

Also at the festival was Arizona Hummingbird Disaster Relief, which was distributing free hummingbird feeders and nectar for folks to hang up at their residences. Because the Monument Fire of our area, (and other wildfires that occurred in Arizona earlier this summer) much of the habitats for animals (including our migrating and resident hummingbirds) have been burnt, and therefore, unavailable for at least this season. (and for perhaps several seasons to come).

We put our feeder on the front porch, and it is being visited already this morning. (-:

Today: watershed and mammal talks!

As Mediterraneans stop following their diet, obesity creeps in

2011-07-31T14:27:00.000-07:00

Have a listen....this is a very interesting report!

The economical part of the problem fascinates me: meat and sugar are now considered "cheap", and historically "cheap peasant foods" are now expensive. As a world market, we are abandoning the healthy for the less expensive fast foods. What is expensive and "cheap" have traded places.

my hip blue nails, and broader concerns about media, consumerism, and my kids

2011-07-29T15:27:00.000-07:00

I've never been "hip" in my entire life, but my daughter just might make me more fashionable in the years ahead. Notice that my nails exactly match my shirt! I think that is why she chose this color when she asked to paint my nails the other day.

Daughter is 11, and she is far more fashion-aware and fashion-enthusiastic than I ever was at any age. She also loves to sew clothes for her webkinz, and consistently picks out Brides magazine at the library. We have a subscription to Kiki Magazine, which she devours for the crafts and design ideas. She has always raided my closet for dress-up, and could easily walk in my scant collection of heels from the time she was three. She is a great shopper, and can find just the right gift for someone.

Often it is a hard balance between supporting her interests and creativity, when much of her interests dwell in an expanding consumerist culture. You know what I mean? I happen to be one of those mommas who tend to consider, protect and shield the kids from things that I don't consider necessary for them to know about yet. (I am "Cavemomma", after all) I think that developing a sense of who one is from the inside is very difficult, when one is bathed in a culture where "outside packaging" is valued as so very important.

This isn't new of course. I surely remember the need to have the right clothes, things, to be "pretty and popular" and have a boyfriend, to feel like I was a success in life. Even as adults, we still do this. For me, it most often happens when I am in a new group of people, and I anticipate having to talk about myself. I find myself automatically sizing up my family's "package". (the kids' activities, "academics", mine and my husbands' activities, our lifestyle, the condition of our home, etc) I could really do without this making myself and family into an "object"- myself looking at myself and family from the outside, as how someone might perceive us. That isn't authentic. I want us to know ourselves from the inside, and have that be the main focus of each of us. I believe it is from this inside authentic place that we grow our own interests and happiness.

If kids concentrate so much on how they are "packaged" at ever-earlier ages, when will they develop their authentic interests and senses of themselves? Perhaps most kids aren't bathed in celebrity role models and aggressive media consumerism to the exclusion of all else, but it does seem like some kids are more influenced by these sources than other kids are.

So as Daughter's teen years approach, how will we handle all this? I guess we will just keep on talking together. We'll point out what we like and don't like about any movie, toy, celebrity, and notice how any certain advertising motivates people to buy it, how it motivates us to want to buy it. Setting limits is important of course. Continuing to be interested in what my kids find interesting, and being able to talk about these things. Continue encouraging them to follow their own unique interests is key, of course. Continuing to be involved in the community is important. Finding role models in our community- real people doing good, inspiring things is also important I feel, to inspire real human endeavors, and counteract what the media portrays. CAn you think of anything else?

So even though she won't be allowed to pierce her ears till she is 12, I have allowed nail polish in the house. She so much wants to share her fashion passion with me, and I want to be interested and involved. I really like my blue nails! They catch me off guard- they distract me and lure me into their beautiful color throughout the day. It's a pleasant phenomenon. Maybe there is something to a little bit of fashion and style, after all.....

Daughter's portrait of Kate Middleton, from her own memory.

singin' in the rain....

2011-07-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

Tropical storm moisture brought a birdbath-ful of rain....

Son forgot that neighbor's cat (whom he is taking care of while they vacation) was still outside...

so the rainy search was on.......

She showed up later...completely dry. I can't say that for my crew...

Oh but the rain is magical in our desert home....

filled with watery jewels...

and quiet contentment on the porch

riaprian sounds

2011-07-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

Whenever asked which sense I would choose to keep, when the choice is between hearing and seeing, I say I'd like to keep my hearing. Even though I am a photographer, I say this. If I weren't such a visual person, and couldn't see vivid pictures in my head, I might choose otherwise.

But to not hear my children's voices or music, or nature sounds, would be very hard on me. I think I would go crazy in a silent world.

So here in my forties, when I am noticing decline in both senses, I make lots of pictures, and record lots of sounds. Perhaps this stockpile will be even more meaningful to me later than now, if I should loose either sense in the future.

We visited our local riparian area yesterday, where the San Pedro River winds northwards through the desert from Mexico to the Santa Cruz River in Arizona.
Cottonwood trees are plentiful, as well as many species of migrating and local birds,
beaver, bobcat, coyote, snakes (venomous and otherwise) and other reptiles and bugs. Here are a few sound recordings. Please enjoy, and close your eyes if you like. Do you know any of these birds by ear?

I placed our audio recorder at the base of a hummingbird feeder, next to a gentle giant cottonwood tree, whom we have named "Steve".

Here is another recording a few feet away, right under Steve's enormous network of branches...

We will be attending a birding and nature festival next week, and I hope we will know more of the birds in these audio recordings after a "birding by ear" class.

How about you? Which sense would you be more inclined to preserve, your hearing or your sight, if given the choice?

The ease of rain, and a microscopic peak

2011-07-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

How about the microscopic peak first?

These are wooly aphids, growing on our neighbor's apple tree this summer. Son has been watering the plants while they take their summer-long vacation, and we discovered the white sticky stuff in the leaves. We took a leaf sample to our ACE Hardware, where our very knowledgeable garden representative identified them for us.

Before the kids took the hose and dishwashing liquid to the aphids, (water fun!! Yippee!) we took a sample home. Daughter took this photo of some aphids with our little digital camera, through the microscope, at 30x.

The white sticky stuff is produced by their bodies, and acts as protection. Cool, ay?

We have some video of the poor little guys struggling with upturned wiggling legs, too. (at 30x) I will get that up sometime soon.

In the meantime, here is a video we made 2 years ago, of the aphids at our own house. We shot the video through the microscope to view the aphids on our sunflowers. Son composed and performed the apocalyptic music at the end. Enjoy!!!!

The ease of rain....

.85 of an inch in the rain gauge this morning! I had to silently shout, as it was only 7am.

We desert dwellers have a hungering, pleading relationship with rain most of the time. It seems to take great effort for the rain to fall. We need just the right time of year with just the right weather patterns, and just the right moisture and daily heating, along with a mountain range to stir the air up, before rain will fall. Even then, it's the luck of the draw as to where the little thunderstorm will float to- maybe it will float over you? Many times it floats over some other lucky area.

Now we have tropical storm moisture coming up from Baja California, and it is raining with much less effort. I am amazed at the numerous swirls of clouds forming around the mountain early in the morning! I am marveling at the ease of rain formation yesterday and today. All we needed was moisture. How about that! The ease of rain can be....easy!

If you live in Arizona, and have a rain gauge, you can help the public effort in recording rainfall in your neighborhood. Go to rainlog.org to register, record your results, and see which lucky people got the thunderstorm today!

Welcome!- an introduction to my new blog-sweet-blog

2011-07-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my new place! My kids call me "Cavemomma" when I am thinking, tired, or scheming up something. These are times when I am very focused, and talk in monosyllables. I even have a fuzzy, pink webkinz version of my Cavemomma-self. (which the kids gave to me) She will be my avatar in here.

We have homeschooled from the get-go, and tend to be on the relaxed side. We have reached the teen years. We like to be out in the community, learning all the time. We are spiritual, but not religious. We believe in the journey of exploring different cultures and beliefs, and choosing what, if any, feel right personally for each one of us. We love to share what we have learned, we like to learn from others, and this is why I love blogging so much.

That's all for now! Hope to connect with you soon!

Cavemomma