Playin' around

Don't tell anyone, but I secretly want to design playgrounds. Not your typical park playgrounds, but natural ones that are equal parts gardening and exploration; ones that use nature as the play structure. Best I can tell, you need a degree in landscape design to do it professionally and I don't really have the want to head back to school for another degree. Somewhere in the back of my mind I can hear my dad saying, "I told you you should've studied landscape architecture." Not that he'd ever actually say that to me.

Of course, this could be the talk of the massive amount of caffeine running through my system.

Some outdoor-based blogs:
Let the Children Play
Natural Learning Initiative (from NCSU)
Natural Montessori Playgrounds
Our Days are Just Filled
Playscapes (and her spot on Dwell about building natural playscapes)

Other inspiration
Nature's Playground
Open source based PlaygroundIDEAS

 

Crack Snap Crickety ...

This is what I imagine my brain looked like this past weekend.

* * *Crack Snap Crickety Crrrrraaaaasssshhhh* * *

Sometime on Saturday I made a rash decision deleted my old Wolfie and the Sneak web address. A few hours later I realized just how much that decision would alter my internet brand "presence".

I'd been thinking about redefining my "brand" into less of a brand and producing more personal work, but I hadn't figured out how to do that.

I guess now I have to.

Anyway, if you've found the new address I'm proud of you! 

Did you see my garden tour on Sprout? Warning: the gardens are looking a little sparse these days. The mosquitoes are rampant this year, 2 kids makes getting things done a juggling act, and...well, those are excuses enough. Anyway, go check it out. And a huge thank you to Misti and Sprout for asking me to be a part of their tour!!

The 10 Minute Tiny Pond Project

Having a water feature can bring lots of new creatures to a garden. This isn't really a pond, but a planter I found on end of season clearance at Target. I added a solar aerator, goldfish and plants from the backyard pond, and voila! A new point of interest in the yard for Mabel (the goldfish have a magnetic quality). I'm also hoping it will be a point of interest for nature's own mosquito control, dragonflies and damselflies.

A few more garden critters

We're finding a lot of critters in the few minutes we spend outside each week. It's so hot I have a hard time motivating Mabel to play out there and should admit that I'm pretty happy to sink into the couch for a while each afternoon, too.

We found another batch of swallowtail caterpillars, both of which are now chrysalis. Saturday night I made a sorrel tart. The sorrel, straight from the garden to the kitchen, had lots and lots of little snails which I collected in a jar. I told M we weren't going to keep them, but they're still in the jar on her work table (aka the den coffee table). I'm thinking we could become Matthews, NC's first escargot farmers.