Amazing nature- unclassified cloud formations

This summer has been a season of amazing encounters. I've held a wild bird, and routinely got inches from others. I've enjoyed picking wild berries, walked in the light of foggy, sunlit mornings, and have been enchanted by the glory of the created world.

I just found the most amazing pictures of new cloud formations from the UK that are undergoing classification. (article here) They look "made up" in Photoshop, or sci-fi, but in Europe, and New Zealand, these formations have been spotted. Recently, in New York City (union square park area), quite odd formations at dusk, looked like lava light blobs. (weird article here)

Summer and complications

I love this picture of me and my kiddos. It was taken at the state park. I love having picnics and hanging on at the beachhead. They play in the sand, and water for hours, and just love it. Now summer is here, and I hope we can do this more.

But there's a catch. Nathan has to be in extended school year, and I have him in a program to help his social skills. These are two things he really needs, but it seems to kill summer. Tues- Thurs is chopped, so only a bit of afternoon is left, and now Mondays and Fridays will be gone too. It makes these favorite summer season times we enjoy much more rare, and, of course, special too.

I switch back and forth, wondering if the sacrifice is too big, or if the help is worth losing what we do, or what I do. I know we'll still get to the park, and have our times, but the struggle to pick the best path as a parent can be daunting.

Picking the best watermelon

Watermelon is a summertime favorite, but how can you pick the best choice?

Here are a couple of tips.

1. 1. Like other fruits, check for soft spots or obvious visible damage to the rind, like rotten areas, and bruising.

   2. For your best chance at a sweet, ripe pick give them all a solid thump, with your fist, right in the middle of the long side. If you hear a ‘thud’ sound, it’s not quite ready. If you hear a nice, hollow sound then that is the melon for you. Test a few to notice the difference. A thud is a more full sound, and a hollow is lighter, more ringing sound. You can practice thumping full and half full plastic containers to get the hang of it. 

   Happy melon munching!
   

Campfire cooking: Why, and How to...

Some reasons I'll be campfire cooking more in the next few months:

Fun for the kids. (Simple way to get the kids happily involved in a low-tech, low-cost activity.)

It keeps the house cooler in the summer.

It's cheaper than going out to eat--by a lot.

It teaches the kids a useful skill for future camping fun; or perhaps, God forbid, survival.

It's potentially healthier than many other meal choices. 

It creates more family-time opportunities.

Time spent outdoors is something we all enjoy.

Here is a link to how to make a cooking style campfire, and some easy recipes to enjoy outside, or in your fireplace. 

Enjoy the season.