Tubing Fun

What fun would summer be without time on the water?! Today, it was tubing fun. Ready? Set, Go!

No so tricky :)

shishi-odoshi

What exactly is a shishi-odoshi? Otherwise known as a deer scare? It is a Japanese ornament designed to keep animals away from rice paddies ad other cultivated areas. Also called a water hammer, a deer scare's simiple form and operation make it a popular water garden feature. B made one of his own out of bamboo. We aren't sure it will scare the deer, but it sure does look and work nice. Enjoy!

Mosaic Creation

B has spent the past 3 saturday mornings learned another art form using glass. He has learned how to do glass mosaic. It should be no surprise that his first project was a koi!!
The process included picking a design (or drawing, but B took one off the computer). Chosing glass colors and cutting the pieces of glass, using a handheld glass cutting wheel. Second week the glass pieces were glued onto a piece of wood. It has to be a substantial backing in order to hold the weight of the project and keep everything secure. The last week the grout is added. The piece than dries for 24 hours and is cleaned. Finished! We now need to figure out how and where we are going to hang it.

Pond Inhabitants Move In

B started to populate his pond today. His first two residents (if you don't count the tester goldfish) are a pair of butterfly koi. Yes, they are in there. One is orange and the other a silverish/white. You float the bag on the water to get the temps about the same before releasing the fish.
Video of the big release.

Pond Project!

B's semester project was a written manual about constructing a backyard pond. And like many homeschoolers, a project wouldn't be complete without some kind of hands-on activity! Real world lessons is what we believe in! This is the progress of B's actual building of a backyard pond (at the lake).

First he had to lay out and design the pond (no photos). Then he had to get approval from grandma (not a hard thing when you are the apple of her eye). Then B started gathering supplies and dug the holes (no photos, forgot the camera when he went out with gramps). Below is where the photo essay part of the project began. Enjoy!

Excavation. The front (to left hole is the main pond, the upper/back two holes are the waterfall steps.
Liner goes in.
Water starts to go in to start holding liner in place. This makes it easier to manipulate the liner and get it positioned correctly with as few wrinkles as possible.
Filling, it takes awhile and the water is cold. But the sun is HOT and it's almost 90 degrees.
As you can see, B really "gets into" his projects. Filling and final liner manipulation.
Skimming out debris (which could be an endless task, but you can't tell the designer that part).

Full of water and sandstone begins being laid.
Trench digging for electricity for pump/filter.
Filter
Filter prep with grandma's supervision.

As the project continues to take shape and reaches completion, and progresses - I will continue to keep you up to date. This week there will be water testing and test fish placed in the pond (feeder goldfish). Then the bullfrog tadpoles (which are in a tank in the garage) will find their new home. Last residents - koi. Oh, needless to say, B got an "A" on this semester project!

Career Clue

On more than one occassion we got a clue as to what B might be when he grows up. Maybe a plumber?!!!

Eating Nature

On our camping trip we were hopeful to find some native morel mushrooms. No luck, too cold. DARN!!! But we did try another delicacy offered by nature. We ate Fiddlehead Ferns!!! Imagine? This was actually inspired by a magazine recipe we had just seen in The Best of Cooking Fresh, spring 2008, magazine. Here is what we read:

"Fiddlehead fern fronds emerge from the soil coiled into tight pinwheels and are edible only before they begin to unfurl into their mature form. They have a greassy-earthy flavor that's tasty in a mushroom ragout or a mixed vegetable saute. Store fiddleheads in the refrigerator in a zip-top plastic bag line with moist paper towles for three to five days. To clean them, rub off the brown chaff from the outside (some stores may do this for you - we've never seen them in a store) and wash them thoroughly in cold water. Before cooking, trim the ends and then tame their slight bitterness by blanching briefly in salted boiling water before sauteing or grilling them."

Here's what we did: We followed the directions above, including the blanching. Then we sauted them in butter and garlic. Made them a little crispy and browned on the outside and served them over our meat. Interesting. Not really much flavor, other than what you season them with. But we can now say we tried them, and actually liked them. Naturally, they are weather dependent, and probably not found everywhere. But just like morels, the short time makes them even more delictable :)