Restoration Place

Hike at Eden Mill

When I feel weary and have lost my joy, I must get out in nature. Yesterday, despite the morning's rain and the sky threatening more, we headed out to Eden Mill for some joy restoration time.

It's been a long few weeks of sickness and stress, and our joy tanks needed some refilling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back home again, the nature treasures we had collected were spread out on top of all my kitchen counter clutter (calendar, decongestant, homeschool log, papers...)

I think that's pretty significant, don't you? I get the message ~grin~.

Cake & Creek Picnic

It wasn't what you would consider an ideal September day for a cake and creek picnic last week (cool, breezy, overcast and threatening to rain) but it had been far too long since we had packed up a thermos of hot Mighty Leaf vanilla tea, a chocolate cake (bought so that we could leave the house immediately), and nature journaling supplies, and so we went.

It was one of those times when I say to myself: This is what we need to be doing more often, this is what brings freedom and joy, this is the sort of experience that will be imprinted on the children's hearts.

I must ignore the demands of the house, the (in retrospect, minor) frustration over pulling together all the supplies and the cleaning up afterward, and whatever else I allow to get in the way of spending time together like this, and make these special hours happen more often.

Over and over again, I realize so much depends upon me and my attitude, self-discipline, choices, and on and on. Ugh. In my moments of exasperation and tiredness I want to go run and hide, but there are so many life-giving moments, with God's help, in which I can participate and that gives me so much joy.

Creating moments of joy are what it's all about for me lately.

 

Local Outing ~ Baltimore's Lexington Market

Having heard that the Lexington Market in Baltimore is the country's oldest, indoor, continuously operating market and classic Baltimore, the children and I decided to spend yesterday afternoon exploring it.

The market's some 140 vendors of food and wares, the crowds of people weaving their way through the booths, and the scent of good food, raw fish, and years of layered grit all mixed together made for an interesting adventure.

 

 

 

Most interesting: skinned rabbits on ice, overhearing someone telling someone else that they bought the desired muskrat for dinner (guess that's not just an Eastern Shore of Maryland thing!), the many cultures, languages, and foods represented.

Least interesting: being panhandled no less than four times--two of which happened the very moment we stepped into the market, the stuffy odor permeating the market, managing $40 worth of fresh fish while holding two sets of hands and maintaining a vigilant watchfulness over the other two children.

Back outside in the heat and sun, the children squinted and clutched their hot dogs, drinks, and fudge. We couldn't eat indoors because the tables were designed with standing adults in mind; there weren't any tables on the main floor that we could actually sit at. So we opted for our roomy vehicle.

All in all, it was an interesting trip. Next time, Daddy will come along and carry the fish. ~smile~

The market is open Monday through Saturday, 8:30am to 6:00pm. The most convenient (and safe) parking is in the gated lot adjacent to the market. The rates were very reasonable.

The Book Thing of Baltimore ~ Local Outing

I finally made it to The Book Thing in Baltimore after hearing about it, reading about it, and thinking about it for several years. Today was the day of action.

In the Saturday afternoon traffic of this gorgeous 72 degree F day, it took me about an hour to get there, door to door, but it was easy to find and very much worth the trip.

The approximately 150,000 titles are organized by subject, such as History, Children's, Classics, Mathematics, Christian, Fiction, Family, Education, and so on, and they are all free, free, free! Yes: free!

The books are not alphabetized by author in their respective sections, but I wasn't expecting them to be. It's not really the place to search for a specific title/author, anyways. It's more like a treasure hunt.

The Book Thing welcomes donations of books. They are especially in need of quality children's books, evidenced by the few that were available in the bins on the floor, and the many ecstatic children gathering them up by the handful. I plan to take a big boxful next time I visit.

The Book Thing wants you to take away as many books as you want. In fact, they strongly encourage you to...

While I browsed, I was treated to the breeze flowing through the open doors, and the pealing bells of St. John's Episcopal Church across the street:

I must say that I did feel a twinge of guilt as I left with my small armload of treasures without paying. Something about it didn't feel quite right. Especially since I feel I scored big:

The stack, from the top:

The Shack by William P. Young. Looked to have never been read. I tried to read a borrowed copy a few months ago, and couldn't get through what I thought were the first few badly written pages. I even told friends I couldn't read it, but there it was, free. And some of my friends said they were greatly impacted by the book. So I guess I'll try again. Or pass it on to someone else who wants to read it.

Field Guide to the Piedmont: The Natural Habitats of America's Most Lived-in Region, from New York City to Montgomery, Alabama by Michael A. Godfrey. This was marked with Book Crossing stickers, so I registered my finding of the book and made a journal entry.

Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling. A 1964 edition with lovely illustrations by Charles McCurry:

The Graphic Bible: From Genesis to Revelation in Animated Maps & Charts
by Lewis Browne, 1929. We'll use this book in our home education, probably daily:

The real score, though, is this Van Loon's Geography: The Story of the World We Live In by Hendrik Willem van Loon. It's a 1932 (seventh printing) edition, inscribed by the apparent one-time owner, John H. McQuilkin, Midshipman, U.S. Navy:

 

I already own a copy of this book, but it's not nearly as large and beautiful. I will treasure and use this book frequently with my children. Does taking this particularly good copy when I already have a perfectly acceptable one make me a selfish hoarder? I don't know. I hope not. I do know that I would gladly pass on my other copy. ~grin~

I'll be going back to The Book Thing soon...with a good selection of children's books to donate, and my eyes peeled for new treasures.

Baltimore's Conservatory & Botanic Gardens ~ Local Outing

The full name is the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory & Botanic Gardens (HT: Kid Baltimore), and we visited last Friday. It was a very brisk February afternoon, a perfect way to a couple of hours at the end of a week when we really needed to absorb some beautiful atmosphere.

The Conservatory & Botanic gardens were established in 1888. The intriguing Victorian-era buildings are visible from the road. Have you driven to the Maryland Zoo and wondered what those historical buildings were? The arch-roofed building out front is the Palm House, and it is one of the last Victorian conservatories in the world:

There are several houses/rooms, each dedicated to a different habitat: Mediterranean House, Tropical House, Desert House, Orchid Room, and the Palm House. Each is spectacular in its own way. We explored them all, but spent the most time in the Tropical House and the Palm House.

    

  

  

 

We brought along our sketching supplies, knowing there would be an enormous selection of unusual plants to choose from to record in our nature journals:

 

 

    

 

The Orchid Room:

The kind lady who was at the front desk when we first arrived (of course, I forgot to get her name!) gave us a tour of the Orchid house, and explained what made orchids so unusual. We were given a mini-education in orchids, and she even recommended which kind to try to grow ourselves. We were very grateful for the time and personal attention she gave us.

The Palm House:

The children and I oohed and aahed our way through the entire visit. As were were leaving, the children asked when we could come again. Maggie said, "Mom, we could visit every day for a year and still not see everything here!" Yep.

We also couldn't help but think of Miss Rumphius.

Hike at Gunpowder Falls State Park ~ Fallston

The river, the woods, and the mossy rocks called to us Monday afternoon. We had to go exploring at Gunpowder Falls State Park. The area we visited in Fallston (off/near Laurel Brook Road) is usually very busy in the summer because people like to cool off in the river, but on this February day it was empty.

 

Leaving...the drive itself is half the fun. There's so much to see in beautiful Fallston:

Some favorite houses (one new, the others old) along the drive...I'm not such a great roadside photographer, especially when the vehicle is moving, even very slowly. If you're local, you probably recognize them. Maybe you even live in one of them--wow!--:

Week in Review

 

 

Christmas with Anne of Green Gables: Local Outing

Maggie and I enjoyed a Christmas with Anne of Green Gables program at our library Monday evening.

If you're a fan of L.M. Montgomery and Anne of Green Gables, you know how thrilled we were to be able to take part in the event.

The librarians created a table display of L.M. Montgomery's books, biographies, and guidebooks to the world of Anne of Green Gables:

 

 

The parlor games and crafts were all designed to help us experience Christmas traditions as Anne herself and those of the Victorian era might have experienced it.

There were several crafting stations set up and we rotated through all of them:

 

 

  

 

Shhh...don't tell Maggie, but I'm planning to get her a set of the first three Anne of Green Gables videos for Christmas. We keep trying to borrow them from the library to watch them and they never seem to be on the shelf. Then we can have an Anne of Green Gables fest whenever we like!

Irvine Nature Center ~ Visit

We finally made it to the Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills.We've been wanting to visit since they moved into their brand new facility several months ago.

The building and grounds are beautiful:

The hands-on learning centers in the museum are focused on nature in a Piedmont region, but also about environmental awareness in general:

 

 

 

Our favorite spot was the Kids Korner, where nearly everything is touchable...bones, snake skins, rocks, shells, and other treasures:

 

The pull-out drawers held lots of surprises, such as these delicate nests and eggs:

Outside the center we explored the nature trails through the woods, an aviary, and a woodland blind for viewing wildlife:

The resident Broad-Winged Hawk--very hard to see because of the layered enclosure. We really wanted a photo of the Barred Owl, but he or she was huddled into a dark corner:

The woodland blind, looking out to many bird feeders. We would love to have one of these in our own woods!

 

I didn't take any photos of the nature center's store, but it was fabulous. It's probably a good thing it's so far away, otherwise I'd be shopping in there way too often!

The only thing we didn't like about the Irvine Nature Center was its distance from us. It took us about 50 minutes to get there, and that's too far for frequent visits. The center does offer educational programs for both schools and home educators, so we might try one of those some time. 

American Visionary Art Museum ~ Visit

We visited the American Visionary Art Museum yesterday. The museum has been designated by Congress as America's museum for self-taught art, so I had been expecting a unique experience. I've been eager to explore the museum ever since we relocated to the greater Baltimore area, so off we went on a rainy afternoon to find out about it.

Most of the art my children enjoyed was on the museum building itself or located on its grounds. The mirror mosaics were stunning!

The sculpture courtyard was a lot of fun:

 

The 8-foot-high Cosmic Space Egg--a favorite!

Bird and nest:

 

Walking through the museum entrance hallway...isn't it beautiful?

 

 

Taking photos beyond the entrance inside the museum isn't permitted, so I can't show you what we saw.

The best of the art is fun and funky--like the 10-foot long model of the Lusitania made from 193,000 matchsticks; the rest of it was too raw, dark, and provocative for my young, sensitive children. Some of the images were even disturbing and frightening and before passing by them I had to have my children look away.

It would have been very helpful to have warnings of graphic content posted so I could have had a chance to turn around and go back the way we had come, rather than trying to quickly hustle my children past something I myself didn't care to see.

Unfortunately, we were only able to visit two galleries before I decided we had had enough. A peek into some of the other galleries made very clear to me that we didn't need to experience the rest of the museum.

We even decided to skip the museum store, though we love museum stores, and my children had been looking forward to it. I glanced in and saw too much that my children just didn't need to experience.

I'm disappointed that our first experience with visionary art seems so...tainted.

Here's my suggestion to the American Visionary Art Museum: post warnings about art that may be unsuitable for children, set aside an exhibit hall with child-friendly visionary art, well away from the disturbing adult-oriented art. Revamp the museum store so the provocative items are separate from the family-friendly fare.

Until then, we'll stay outside in the courtyard and sculpture gardens.