Everyday Minuets #4

What a difference the sun makes! The shorter days trigger that "SAD" complex for me, Seasonal Affective Disorder. But when the sun shines on a colorful fall landscape, my soul sings! Yesterday I put bird seed in our backyard feeder and this morning had the pleasure of watching our winged friends excitedly having breakfast. They had to take turns, as only about 4 could eat at a time, and there were regular but short-lived squabbles.

Earlier in the fall I had created a breakfast nook in my kitchen so that I could have a view into my backyard. The breakfast nook was a typical feature of the Craftsman Era. But with my kitchen having been remodeled by a previous owner, I don't know if my house ever had one. I moved a butcher block cart on wheels to the middle of the kitchen, so we now have an island. In its previous corner space under two windows, I placed a small, wooden table and two iron chairs. The first thing Beezy did this morning was to work on her cross stitch sampler at this table. Our library has had ongoing Little House on the Prairie programs all year, and on Tuesday they began this needlework project.

Also this fall Beezy asked if I knew where her nature journal was, which we started in the spring but did not work on much. Luckily I knew its exact location, and she has been drawing in it daily. She has always preferred to sprawl out on the kitchen floor to do her artwork, and this is where she has been working on her journal this morning. She drew a penguin (we recently watched "Mr. Popper's Penguins" on DVD) and a bird nest in a tree. Sometimes she draws things from our yard, but most often from her imagination. Occasionally she will draw from a picture. Her friends have been very interested in this nature journal and have wanted to draw in it too, but Beezy is reluctant to give up too many pages! Her drawing skills have developed dramatically since beginning this self-initiated practice. I usually write the nature journal into the natural science category of my plan book, but it also doubles as art.

Even though Beezy is sick today, she has already begun "school" on her own by doing her cross stitching and nature pictures. We will keep it simple today. Perhaps I will have her read quietly to herself, and I will read from a couple of books to her, letting her off the hook for narration this time. We have a movie to watch called "Red Dog", and maybe there will be something of educational value in this as well!