Actual happiness looks pretty squalid in comparison with the overcompensations for misery. And, of course, stability isn’t nearly so spectacular as instability. And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against misfortune, none of the picturesqueness of a struggle with temptation, or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt. Happiness is never grand.
- Aldous Huxley, Brave New World
Education
"Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the stars and the mountains above. Let them look at the waters and the trees and flowers on Earth. Then they will begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education." -David Polis
"Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness; I have walked myself into my best thoughts, and I know of no thought so burdensome that one cannot walk away from it... but by sitting still, and the more one sits still, the closer one becomes to feeling ill... Thus if one just keeps walking, everything will be all right." -Soren Kierckgaard
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
- Albert Camus
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.
Annie Dillard
We raised Freedom Ranger chickens for meat this year, a first for us. The birds are almost 11 weeks old, some were getting pretty big, so we processed a batch today. It wasn't exactly fun, but we all worked together, learned a lot, and now have 13 birds ready for the freezer. We'll let the rest grow for another week.
This adorable, tired, little seal swam right next to Silas as he was surfing. He was headed for the beach where pulled himself up onto the sand, then yawned and napped for awhile before heading back into the ocean.
We had a fantastic weekend at Maine Fiddle Camp! We had perfect weather and saw lots of old friends and made some new ones.
Levi started out with the beginner group, but was quickly moved up to the Falcons. He worked on Spotted Pony with his group.
Arlo spent a lot of time eating snacks and playing with the big kids. Silas and Levi played so much that their muscles were sore, lots of red rover & wolf tag.
Silas was in the Egrets group this year, he learned Over the Waterfall and also performed Miss McCloud's Reel at the Saturday night variety show.
I was back with the Hawks and learned Oh Susanna & Coleman's March.
At least a couple days a week, we meet up with a big bunch of kids (usually 10-15) & parents for fun somewhere outdoors. This past week, we spent time at Kettle Cove, Bradbury Mountain and the trails & ponds at Evergreen Cemetery. The boys (and sometimes a girl or two) alternate from games of chase to bike riding to playing music & singing to exploring the area, sometimes as a big group and sometimes pairing off together, lots of free time to play and learn together. So fun!
Silas was fortunate to have some friends bring him along for another day at Highland Park, and share their GoPro camera to capture some of the fun...including Si's fall of the day into a blueberry patch. First video is of Si from behind, second is of the same trail (NE Style) but from Si's perspective:
We recently spent a weekend with friends in The Farmhouse, a vacation rental at the Morse Mountain Conservation Area. Beautiful Sewall Beach is just a short walk down the road from the farmhouse.
We all got a chance to try out wetsuits and decided we need some of our own! We spent hours in the ocean without feeling the cold.
Silas got up on a surfboard on his first attempt. Now he wants a wetsuit and a surfboard.