Nature Week: bird feeders + fairy houses

We made pine cone bird feeders one day. Which the squirrels thoroughly enjoyed over the next few days. We also made a fairy house in the backyard. Someone got stung by something and everyone was under attack by mosquitoes. We had our fill of nature.

Simon made his way into the rain-filled pool, fully clothed of course.

And a video chat with Ben who was out of town for work that week.

Annmarie Gardens. Again.

We can't seem to get enough of the Annmarie Sculpture Garden in Maryland. We went at the beginning of the summer to see this year's fairy houses (as seen in this saturday outing post) and were looking forward to returning with friends. I convinced my friend Kirsten and her kids to meet us there one day in August and we had such a fun time. Our kids match up well in ages so everyone seems to have a buddy when we get together. It's great.

First we made our way through the woods to find all the fairy houses and a few sculptures.

All my kids need for hours of entertainment is a forest and their imaginations. And maybe a few props. The fairy woods at Annmarie are amazing. They continually add more fun details and play structures. On this visit, the kids pretended to operate a restaurant and served us countless dishes.

The kids also entertained us with a play. It was quite the production. It started on the stage and then moved around the forest. There was a queen who was rescued from an evil witch. Oliver played the part of a dinosaur.

I think the rescue was taking place here.

We had considered making a stop at the Calvert Marine Museum, but instead we decided to stick around Annmarie and let the kids have some fun in their Art Lab. I LOVE this space. Someday I will have a dedicated art space in my house. I loved the way they organized the art supplies. The kids all loved making something using recycled objects and various art supplies.

saturday outing part 2: fairies in the garden

After our picnic at Calvert Cliffs State Park, we headed down the road to visit the Annmarie Sculpture Garden. This was our third year checking out their annual fairy house exhibit. Anyone can make and submit a fairy house to be displayed in the sculpture garden. The kids have so much fun running through the woods, looking for the next fairy house. They are all very different with fun details to discover.

In addition to the fairy houses, they have an amazing woodland fairy play area with a stage, play houses, and teepees. Pretty much a dream backyard for Amelia and Elsa. We spent a long time here, relaxing under the teepees and watching the kids perform on the stage. I think we'll have to make a return visit this summer.

 

 

Cicadas had taken over the gardens! We spotted one and were excited to finally see one of the famed creatures, and then quickly realized they were EVERYWHERE. Oliver kept picking them up and carrying them around.

(I think this time-lapse video about the life cycle of cicadas is amazing.)

They have an area dedicated to constructing your own fairy house with bins full of sticks, pine cones, shells, and other materials. Amelia filled a shell with water to use as the bathtub in her fairy house.