a look on the inside

a couple of weeks back we had an afternoon snack session in the garden. with some books.

for a few years the overall book of choice, the book that the kids have returned to over and over again, has been an animal encyclopedia. it is literally falling apart. the front and back covers are long gone and the pages have been taped and reattached several times. It’s been going along to the kindergarten, the beach, on plane rides and on car trips.

lately other fact books have turned into favorites. such as a book about the human body. things like how we detect smells, the layers of skin, how the muscles are build, how the lungs work, the heart pumps, and the fact that there's a spiraling "snail" inside the ear. i tell you, this is gold to know, read and talk about.

all this stuff on the inside is so fascinating (yes, it is!) that it has to be reexamined through drawings. of muscles, blood veins, the heart, the brain, eye balls, you name it. oh, and of course - and as as you might have noticed already - a stomach full of bowels and food inside those bowels (proudly displayed by daniel in the second photo in case you wondered).

bonus info: that black spot in the lower left corner of the stomach is a schnitzel bite.

something about light

yesterday around bedtime i heard myself tell the kids that yes, they'd have to go to bed soon even if it was still light outside. because in the summer the day continues into the night.... seriously?
luckily they didn't ask me what exactly that's supposed to mean. or see how i rolled my eyes at myself.

we'll be going to denmark this summer. as usual. they'll just have to get used to days going well into the night. i love the long, light summer nights of denmark. i'd like to go even further north one day and try those summer days that last all through the night.

here's to summer light.

a flying act

the trick is to keep the string tight. all the time. loosen it too much and the kite falls, slowly, spiraling down. but you can't pull either .it's got to float on the air, flying high.

it's pretty much like so much else in life, a constant balancing act, not too much, nor to little. find the balance or it will crash, eventually. then get it up again. and in between remember to notice how pretty it is. i sometimes do.

this weekend was great in all its lazines with beach, food and family.

furry cuteness

the kittens that should not have been. guess i need to base it on actual facts and not my hunch when i decide which are females and which are not, and which get fixed and which not.

their mother clearly wasn't a male.

anyway, now they are here so we'll just have to live with all that furry cuteness.

summer snack

water melon is summer. and that's lucky. that means we can bring it outdoors and they can feast on it in underwear. which again means that i don't have to worry about water melon dripping on to the floor, furniture and clothes.

here in israel they like to eat water melon cut into slices and served with salty feta like cheese. it's actually a really good combo - sweet and fresh with salty and creamy. you should try!

thoughts on a windy day

warm, long afternoons, sun through the windows. a bit confusion, still thinking too much. but also just quiet, and windy afternoons. like right now.

there's something about heavy wind that suddenly seem to begin. like something is going to happen. is that basic instinct, or is it just something i picked up from the movies?

it's the sound of wind that blocks out the quietness. feels isolated. i relate to that these days. feel a bit isolated in my own head, thoughts twirling around.

we have kittens again. guess he was a she. they are cute, but it was not the plan.

two days

have you seen anything this cute lately?

photo was taken two days after it hatched. now it's close to a week and the wings and the tale have already started to show real feathers. still unbelievably cute.

the crowded photo up there is while we had removed them from their box while cleaning it a bit. there's plenty of assistance when they need to be held.

lag ba'omer and mojitos

suddenly it's really summer here. i went running around 10 this morning and the heat was killing me. slowly. as in me running extremely slowly.

the garden suddenly burned out from the sun. the remaining spring onions are showing off pretty flowers. i love onions in bloom.

the mint is all over the place. mojitos coming up soon. for some reason that's the only thing i can think of making from the mint right now. i guess that's what happens to my brain after i spent the afternoon with the kids at our local village lag ba'omer festival.

lag ba'omer means lots of bonfires, arrows and bows. and lots of hair and clothes smelling from the smoke and the fires. and today it also meant a local festival with all kind of physical activities for the kids. and candyfloss. which again means sticky fingers and sugar highs. so, where did i come from...mojitos....

the chicks are doing fine. we have thirteen by now. there were two that died just after they hatched. sad, but i guess that's how it is. i think another is coming tonight. there's a pipping egg :)

wishing you  lovely weekend.

there's a crack

as i said yesterday, we had a weekend of life and death.

we have had a couple of broody hens lying on what turned out to be more than a handful of eggs. i admit we're not so pro when it comes to taking care of broody hens, but we tried it once before and nature just handled it top notch. no interference needed from our end.

this time the first chick was dead when we found out it had hatched. the head was all bloody and we assumed it was a birth defect of some sort. there was another one under one of the two broody hens, alive and well, so no worries.

a couple of ours later it had died too. the head again bloody and we realized that one of the broody hens - or one of the others that also have been using the nest - had killed them both. apparently that happens. we felt really bad for not having saved it. it was so sad.

we didn't know what to do, but decided to take the eggs we could get to and place them in a homemade incubator. this one up there is the third one we watched as it hatched. it was awesome to watch.

did you know you can hear the chicks pipping inside the eggs a day or two before they hatch. it's so so crazy to listen to, and then suddenly, there's the sound of the chicks gently poking at the egg shell from inside.

the story continues as the eggs that remained with the hens also hatched. i had hoped the hens would have gotten their mothering instincts in place by then, but one more died. so i scooped up three newly hatched chicks and placed them with their friends in the box where we now keep all eight of them.

they are super cute! yellow, brown, black and gray, and three more on their way. they are all doing fine. the yellow one up there is now 2 days old. it's full of fluffy, soft energy.

that afternoon light

cannot really say if i like the light best in the morning or in the late afternoon. either way. but the afternoon light is really spoiling me through the living room windows. in this kind of light the shadows are beautiful.

we've had quite and adventure involving life and death this weekend. as soon as i get to sort through the photos i'll show you the happy part.... spoiler alert! it involves pipping eggs and fluffy, pufyy chicks.....

what we found

an amazing spot. a little beach, surrounded by a rocky reef to walk and explore.

we will be back :)

ps: two out of three boys had a serious hair cut. the little one needed, then my long-haired big boy insisted too. really insisted. despite me trying to talk him out of it. i loved his hair, but it's his choice. sigh. he's still my beautiful boy.