Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

... barn stories: up to no good

Wynken, Blynken and Nod, "the boys", follow me everywhere! Any time I am outside gardening, sitting, or just putting out the trash, when I turn around they are there, watching, inspecting, keeping track of what I am up to. Their instinct is to watch over and protect, there are no hens around, I guess I'm filling that role right now. Hopefully a couple of hens will arrive soon, it's hard to find Buckeye Hens in Colorado.

When I head down to the barn they want to follow me all the way down the hill. I have to play hide and seek, or divert their attention by throwing them some goodies to eat so I can slip away without them noticing. This can be pretty funny to watch!

A couple of weeks ago I was taking photographs for the summer gift guide and of course the boys came right over, standing guard as usual...

... except this time there was an air of mischief. As I tried to build the tree house to photograph, they would tear it down just as quickly! I could not get them to leave it alone.

Oh those silly roosters! So back into the coop they went, just for a little while, so I could get a my work done.

 

To watching over, protecting and inspecting.

 

~Deb

 

*Last time in Barn Stories: Coming Up Wild Flowers

... knowing green: eye spy new friends

I made a new friend last weekend, can you see it? He/she wanted me to think she was a rock, but I knew better. Although similar in coloring and even texture, this squirmy little creature was far from it. 

 Realizing she has been spotted she quickly jumped from rock to rock and then up the wall of the house. Look at how well she blends in!

 Looking at her amazing climbing skills, something tells me this might be a gecko?  Since they are known to be excellent climbers. But to be honest I'm really not sure. The climate I found her in is high desert, and there are lots of Horny Toads (Horned Lizards) in the area as well.

Do you know what kind of lizard this is? Help us solve the mystery in the comments section below!

 

~Jordan

 

*Last time in Nature: On the Edge and In Between

... nature walk: denali, alaska

With the weather heating up we thought we might cool things down a little bit with a little (well big) snowy adventure. This week's nature walk comes to us from the rugged mountain wilderness of Denali National Park and Preserve. There Crinny spent two weeks this past May hiking Denali and taking some pretty breath taking photos. Thanks Crinny for sharing a truly epic adventure with us!

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 Crinny for sharing!

 P.S. Don't forget there's still time to enter our giveaway here!!

*Last time in Nature Walks: San Luis Pass, Texas

... summer guide and giveaway!

The sun is shining, the grass is green, and adventure is just around the bend. Oh yes, summer is in the air... or at least our new summer guide is!

Although the official start of the season is still some days off, we can't contain our excitement any longer so we had to finish our summer catalog a bit early.  Just like our spring guide it's full of products and tutorials, recipes, crafts, and activities. There are things to buy, things to bake, and things to make! Take a peek below and let us know what you think.

And now for the really fun part: The Giveaway!

In order to celebrate the coming of the season, we're giving away a $75 gift certificate to the shop, and if you help us get our Facebook likes to 2000 we'll make that gift certificate out for $150.  Think you can rally enough friends to push our likes all the way to 2500?  Well, then we'll make that gift certificate a cool $200!  That's a lot of summer fun right there if we do say so ourselves.

How to enter:

Simply leave a comment on this post by Monday 6/18/12 at 11am.  The winner will be chosen by the lovely random number generator and announced later that day! 

*Want even more chances?  Share this giveaway on your blog or twitter or like us on Facebook and then come back here and leave another comment!

And the Winner is Grace who said:

"Whoa, what a wonderful giveaway."

Thanks for participating everyone!!

 

... on the edge and in between

The seasons are beginning to perform their waltz again...

... weaving in and out, side by side...

... until the moment when spring fades into the warmth of the summer sun.

 

Stay tuned for something exciting tomorrow!

~ Sarah

*Last time in Nature: First Impressions: Whales