It's Hot and No Pool

It is hot out.

Two of the days that I look after the little one there is a neighbourhood wading pool that we go to but today wasn't one of the days.

So what do you do to stay cool?

Play with the hose and fill whatever size tub you can find.

Her mom had done this last week and I was quite happy to do it again.

She didn't start in the tub. She started by watering the garden.

And exploring how the water came out of the nozzle, how it feels to slap her hand against it and how it felt when the water ran through her fingers.

By this time she took a closer look at what she was watering and we talked about if the strawberry was ripe enough to pick and eat.

Then she noticed the water running off the side of the concrete.

Dripping down below.

We sang' "drip, drip, drip".

 Looking for more things to water we decided to take care of some that are in pots.

These are mom's herbs that they planted together after Mother's Day.

This is Dad's new plant that he got from his mom for his birthday.

 Then she was interested in filling the tub.

 I brought bubbles to blow but they didn't work very well so I poured some into the water and we used our hands to make lots of bubbly water.

She spent a lot of time washing this little toy in the bubbles then rinsing it off under the hose.

After we were playing for about an hour we heard the neighbours sprinkler start so we peeked over the fence.

Gnome Homes in Nanaimo

                  
In June I learned about a man in Nanaimo, BC (just down island from me) that creates Gnome doors.  His website Believe & Magic Happens tells the story of how gnomes migrated from Europe to Canada to Vancouver Island.  It’s a great story and he includes descriptions of gnomes and how they live.
    
                 
We found some of his homes at two parks in Nanaimo.   The first park is Morrell Nature Sanctuary.  The homes are easy to find on an easy loop trail.  There is a map by the parking lot.

Here are a few of Charlie’s beautiful decorated homes.
 
 

The second park is Neck Point Park.  An inviting park right on the water.  The doors weren’t as easy to find because there is no identification at the park that they are even there. 
                       
 
I found a blog that helped us find our way.  Follow their directions and
you’ll find them. 
            
 
Most of them are very obvious on the wide path.  We passed another family searching and it was delightful to watch two little girls run tree to tree hoping to find another.
               
                            Happy home hunting.

A New Fairy Colony

      One goal for my summer holidays is to explore other communities
                      where I have heard there are fairy doors.
           
This past week my husband and I traveled to Salt Spring Island, one of the southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia.  I read about the fairy doors on SaltSpring Families blog and wanted to find them.
                              
There are two routes to the top of Mount Erskine and we followed the one the author wrote about thinking that it wouldn’t be too difficult because her children hiked with her.  But I wouldn’t recommend the trail for children under 5 as it is very steep.
                     
After climbing for 30 minutes, and almost giving up hope that we would find any, we found this one.  Tucked inside the bottom of a big, beautiful tree.  The bright orange door made it easy to spot.
                        
Finding the door encouraged me to keep climbing higher and after nine more minutes we found another.  It was bigger and maybe perfect for a gnome.  The door has it own keys with lots of presents left behind by visitors.
                 
   The third and last door we found, on the way up, is my favourite. 
  It is mounted in a big rock and is very visible from the trail below.
                         
Decorated with an artistic painted tree and a miniature door handle set it apart from the other two.  Someone has left behind a miniature dream catcher hanging on the door handle.
          
We made it to the top and met another couple who had traveled up on the other route.  When asked about fairy doors they said they didn’t see any on their path but I suppose if you’re not looking you may overlook them.
       
We decided to go down the other route just for a change and happened to find one more door.  It is on the backside of the tree and not noticeable if you’re climbing up.
                         
This fairy’s gold wings glittered in the sunlight and drew us in for a closer look.
                         
                            A note left behind from believers.

I recommend a visit to Salt Spring Island, it’s beautiful, welcoming and wonderful to explore. http://www.hellobc.com/salt-spring-island.aspx 
              
            It has become an annual camping destination for us.

A Used Book Swap

It’s summer holidays here and the centre has been closed for a couple of weeks now.  But before we closed a parent suggested we start a group email list for anyone interested in getting together during the summer break.  I included myself on that list, knowing that I would be around for part of the time. 
Families have been getting together at the beach and the park, staying in touch and getting to know each other better.

Today I invited the families to participate in a used book swap at a park.  I brought a box of books I’ve been collecting from thrift stores and library book sales.  The families brought a book, added it to the collection and then chose a new one.
       
We made our own books using a single piece of paper and no staples.
 
Here’s a good tutorial of how to fold the book.
 
We spent sometime on the playground then shared some songs and stories.

This activity worked to encourage the children's interest in books and stories.
          
I'm sure there will more get togethers this summer.