Scrap Art Zoo

The mall near here has an art exhibit called Scrapel Hill Art. Area artists created pieces out of recyclable and non-recyclable materials. In the spirit of Scrapel Hill, we decided to make our own Scrap Art Zoo.



Here are all the animals. There are two giraffes, an elephant, a bear and a mouse.



Mary made the giraffes. Most of the parts she needed were in the recycling bin, but she had to dig through the bathroom garbage for a toilet paper roll.



Audrey made the elephant. The can lid is the tail, the milk container is the trunk, and two plastic lids from salad containers are the big ears.



I made the little mouse.



Mary didn't think the zoo had enough animals, so she used whatever was left to make this bear. Lucky for our zoo I forgot to put the recycling bins out last week. We'll save our zoo critters for a while, but everything else gets put out tonight for tomorrow's pick-up.

Bean Teepee

We planted a bean teepee! First we tied six 6-foot stakes together. Luckily I knew where to find the twine!




The girls planted two different kinds of pole bean seeds. If they grow, we'll have an nice, beany hide-out this summer.

Mary's day at work

Scott has a scheduling conflict with the official Take Your Kid to Work Day, so he took Mary to work last Wednesday. She made her own video game. In the morning, she came up with the concept and did the artwork, and in the afternoon, Scott showed her how to program it. She's got it up on her blog. Check it out!

Audrey's new trick

Audrey has learned to skip!

Duke Gardens

Here are some pictures from our visit today to the Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University.

Legend of the Dogwood

Mom sent me this poem:

The Legend of the Dogwood Tree

When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew
To a towering size with a lovely hue
Its branches were strong and interwoven
And for Christ’s cross its timbers were chosen
Being distressed at the use of this wood
Christ made a promise that still holds good:
"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow
To be large enough for a tree, and so
Slender and twisted it shall always be
With cross-shaped blossoms for all to see
The petals shall have bloodstains marked in brown
And in the blossoms center a thorny crown
"All who see it will think of me,
Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.
Protected and cherished this tree shall be
A reflection to all of my agony.

Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida)

Now that spring is really here, every scrawny twig in the woody corner of our yard has turned out to be a dogwood, and every bush is an azalea. We have a pair of dogwoods next to the front walk, and this one by the creek, besides all the little ones in the corner.

They also come in pink.



We don't have any pink ones in our yard. This photo was from our visit to the Duke Gardens.

According to mom, the dogwood represents the Easter story. The bracts are in a cross shape, and the cluster of flowers inside represents the crown of thorns.

1. Poison ivy
2. Virginia creeper
3. Wild blackberry
4. Lamb's Ear
5. Great laurel
6. Fireworks Goldenrod
7. Orange Jewelweed
8. Blue Anise Sage
9. Sage
10. Greek oregano
11. Rosemary
12. Azalea
13. Stilt grass
14. Crocus
15. Daffodil
16. Hyacinth
17. Camellia
18. Little Sweet Betsy
19. Tulip
20. Andromeda
21. Redbud
22. Dogwood

Redbud (Cercis canadensis)

I can see the redbud trees in my yard from the window next to my bathroom mirror. The trees up the hill bloomed several weeks before ours, and I watched and waited for spring to come down the hill. At first, I had to look really hard to see the first touch of pink. When they finally bloomed, they were a treat to look at each morning when I woke up. Now, they have put out their leaves and there are only a few blooms left on the trunk.

1. Poison ivy
2. Virginia creeper
3. Wild blackberry
4. Lamb's Ear
5. Great laurel
6. Fireworks Goldenrod
7. Orange Jewelweed
8. Blue Anise Sage
9. Sage
10. Greek oregano
11. Rosemary
12. Azalea
13. Stilt grass
14. Crocus
15. Daffodil
16. Hyacinth
17. Camellia
18. Little Sweet Betsy
19. Tulip
20. Andromeda
21. Redbud

Andromeda (Pieris japonica)

The bees and hummingbirds love this one. I was watching the fat, furry bumblebees hover around the andromeda while I talked to Dad for his birthday (April 2), when a hummingbird zoomed up for a taste. My first hummingbird sighting of the season.

Andromeda is also called Lily of the Valley Shrub, Japanese Pieris, and probably a few other common names I haven't come across. The tags at the local plant store called it Andromeda, so that's what I'll call it.

1. Poison ivy
2. Virginia creeper
3. Wild blackberry
4. Lamb's Ear
5. Great laurel
6. Fireworks Goldenrod
7. Orange Jewelweed
8. Blue Anise Sage
9. Sage
10. Greek oregano
11. Rosemary
12. Azalea
13. Stilt grass
14. Crocus
15. Daffodil
16. Hyacinth
17. Camellia
18. Little Sweet Betsy
19. Tulip
20. Andromeda

Easter pics

Easter morning was pretty chilly, but by the time we got home from church, it was warm enough in the sun to snap a few pictures without coats on. Don't the azaleas look beautiful? By mid-afternoon, it was really gorgeous. My stuffed cabbage turned out well. I added some liquid about half an hour before it was done, even though it still had liquid in it. The last couple years, when I made it the day before, it was dry for Easter, even though there had been enough liquid at the end of the cooking. This time, it was still moist and there was enough juice to soak up with bread when we ate it.

Danny brought his lacrosse gear over. He kept finding Easter eggs before the little kids got them, and then he'd re-hide them up in the gutters where only he could reach them, the stinker. There were plenty of eggs, though, so nobody got shortchanged. Of course, the kids ended up in the creek in their pretty dresses. It hasn't rained in a while, so they didn't get too wet and muddy. Mostly chocolatey.