Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

... nature walk: big island,hawaii

This week's nature walk comes to us all the way from the Island of Hawaii. There Sarah enjoyed the beautiful scenery from dynamic coasts, lava flows, and waterfalls, to gorgeous sunsets.  Thank you so much Sarah for sharing this wonderful adventure!

If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series, you can learn more about submitting photos here, or you can also visit our Nature Walk Group Pool on Flickr to add your adventures to the collection.

Thanks again Sarah for sharing!

P.S. Don't forget to enter our current book giveaway: Mr Goethe's Garden!

*Last time in Nature Walks: Ft. Brag, California

... chocolate coconut mud puddles cookies

It's been pouring rain lately and my yard is full of mud puddles, so it seemed fitting that mud puddles made their way into my cookies as well. These will have you wishing every day was a rainy day!

Chocolate Coconut Black and White Mud Puddle Cookies:

• 1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup softened butter
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/3 cup sweetened coconut flakes
• 2 tbs cocoa powder
• Semi-sweet chocolate bar

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk the flour/baking soda/salt together and set aside.  Then in a separate bowl cream butter and sugar together until incorporated. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate the flour mixture.

split batter in half and separate into different bowls.  Mix the cocoa powder into one half.  Split the coconut flakes and add half to each bowl of batter and fold in. Refrigerate batter until cool and a little stiff (5-10 minutes).

On a parchment lined baking sheet drop spoonfuls of dough onto the sheet.  Chop the chocolate bar into approx. 3/4" squares.  Press a square into each cookie.

Bake for 8-10 min or until golden.  If you'd like your puddles to look like puddles instead of squares, use the end of a bamboo skewer or something similar to stir the melted chocolate in the center of the cookies and allow to cool slightly before removing them from the pan.

Happy puddle jumping!

~ Sarah

P.S. Don't forget to enter our current book giveaway: Mr Goethe's Garden!!

*Last time in Recipes: Asparagus Risotto

... tell me a story: mr. goethe's garden

 There is just something magical about a garden, especially in the spring. New life emerging from the darkness of winter and the protection of the earth.

 

 Out into the sun each shoot, plant and flower stretches out after a long winter's nap.

Fall may be my favorite season, but spring is a close second. Just the newness of it all, the fearlessness of each tree to put forth its leaves (especially where I am from, where it is known to snow in May and sometimes June!) and let the light in. It's beautiful really.

 The colors too are always a treat. After the faded browns and dull gray of winter comes a riot of color, as if Mother Nature is showing off.

All of these wonders and more can be found in Mr. Goethe's Garden by Diana Cohn. Inside the pages of this beautifully illustrated and thoughtfully written book is the story of a unique friendship between Anna and her elderly neighbor, Mr. Johann van Goethe.

Inspired by Goethe's botanical treatise The Metamorphosis of the Plant, Anna learns about the cycle of plants and the relationship between us the them, "Like friends, plants tell you their secrets only when they know you care. Just practice listening with your eyes, and one day when you least expect it, you will see with your heart and be swept up into nature's dance." This book is a wonderful companion to any gardening adventure, and a beautiful introduction to the incredible relationship we can have with the natural world around us.

Seeing as how the time for outdoor planting is fast approaching (and in some places already started), we think one of you should have a copy of this delightful book as a companion while you dig in the dirt!

 

For a chance to win a copy of this book, simply leave a comment on this post by 8am MST Thursday May 3rd. The winners will be chosen by random number and announced later that day.

 

And  the winner is Anna who wrote:

"Oh my goodness. Goethe and gardening! What a treat. I would be so stoked to share this with my daughters."

 

Thank you to everyone who participated!

 

 ~ Jordan

 

*Last time in Books and Stories: Earth Day Story

... barn stories: spring grazing

Just look who is out grazing with the girls, Nellie, our very old goat who could not walk for a year. She is going out every day, but boy is she tired when she returns.  She remind me of myself,  I wake up filled with energy but by the end of a busy day the wind is out of my sails. The girls have not been sheared I wait till June to get a little more length to the fiber and also allowing them to adjust to  the change in the season. Their coat keeps them warm but also cool. Their wool is looking great for this year!

This is Phoebe, she is now our oldest, when she was a baby she caught her horn, it did not break off but readjusted itself in a different direction, you can spot her from a distance. She seems not to mind, and it just gently lays there.

Nellie runs around sticking her tongue out, when ever she sees me she does it, it's her way to tell me she wants a treat. It also means I have no pictures of her without her sticking her tongue out.

Blossom and her mom have the most magnificent wool. There is a lot of black which during the year gets sun bleached and comes in many shades of black, golden and rusty brown to grey. Her temperament is as sweet as she looks.

To the Girls, grazing  and those tender new green grass leaves, I bet they taste good...

 

~ Deb

 

* Last time in Barn Stories: Roosters in the Garden

... knowing green: first impressions

They say first impressions are the most important, at least they tend to stick with you. Our first impressions with nature are no different. The intensity and sheer wonder linger on long after the moment has passed. That is why each month we want to feature a first impression, that initial moment of realization of the power and magic of a leaf on the ground, a cloud in the sky, or butterfly flapping its wings for the first time.

So with out further ado, this month's first impression comes to us from Katie who discovered the beauty and incredible versatility of an Oak tree and magical worlds it led to.

If you have a first impression you would like to share please send text and any photos you would like included to [email protected] and make sure to write First Impressions in the subject line.

Katie:

I have the most vivid memory… I couldn’t have been more than 6, but I felt like a queen.

My castle was invisible to sibling invaders in the shadow of the swings and slides of my neighborhood park. My parents didn’t know of the world hidden between the tree trunks.

The oak trees had grown with just the perfect degree of bend to create a secret world. The entrance to my abode was the perfect size for a small red headed queen like me. The branches and leaves entangled to shield out all but a few rays of golden sunshine. The ground of my shady hideaway was made of damp soil scattered with leaves and acorns from autumns passed.

There I stayed, for what seemed like hours upon end, creating bubbling pots of stew with rocks and mud and small nests of sticks and leaves. And then, almost on accident, I found the fire.

The fire came in brilliant reds, blues, and greens. It was a heatless and harmless fire only I could see through the filter of my 6-year-old eyes and imagination. My castle walls could explode with colors so vivid I felt like I was in a storybook. Rubbing fallen branches, leaves, and stones along the tree trunks mesmerized me. I turned from a queen to a wizard. The pots of stew became potions to change the colors of the flames.

As the years passed my castle was eventually replaced with hikes and bicycles, but the flames of my oak tree remain as vivid as the first day I imagined them.

 

Thank you Katie for sharing such a wonderful and imaginative first impression with us!  

 

*Last time in Nature: The Bugs Are Back!