(at the workbench) - the forest children arrive

forest mama has waited a long time… but unlike other mama's all her children have arrived at once. here they are :  tom, harriet, sam and little daisy of course. they've only just started to spend their days together, so I'm sure we'll get a chance to catch with a few pictures soon of the happy family and their adventures!

(at the workbench) - slow pokes and tall tales

I'm wondering why these young fellows have been so slow to show themselves here? Could it be that they're just a little bit shy? For such adventurous pigs, it makes me wonder!

Perhaps we'll find out more about what they've been up to in the weeks to come.... I'm sure they've been busy since they begin their travels....

 at least I have this lovely snapshot of them with their hairs brushed and their brand new clothes on. They certainly will have a lot to say, when hen next we meet up!  hoping you have a wonderful weekend, what ever you may be doing!

(at the workbench) - other conversation

this week at the workbench, the children have been busy ....




asking more questions than you may have ever been imagined ...


forest mama have such good ears though to listen

a visit to elsa beskow lovely "children of the forest"

 but meanwhile, in another part of the forest, other conversation are going on  ....

mrs acorn and mrs hazelnut have so much to catch-up on...

the children have other ideas in mind, we'll just have to see how the afternoon turns out ...

hope you have some wonderful adventures this weekend yourself whatever thoughts may be bubbling up now! 

(at the workbench) - other stories

in between drought-like April and April-like May showers,

I've had a few projects I've been busy working on ...

 even as the fields begin their greening and the trees setting out young leaves...

the forest folk ...  a busy and ever-resourceful people are busy at work ....

and at the end of the lengthening day, all can say their day was well spent ...

. whether we can guess what May showers will bring for June ....  :) 

at the worbench: At Play (Of Course!)

Even toys need to play ...

There is so much to love about toymaking (and toys!)

I think toys -at the very heart- live quite a busy life even while they are at rest. So many stories have been written just about this - a toy's hidden, private life- for a reason.

I am amazed how even when making the simplest toy, a little plaything can be so expressive and possess their own irrepressible, quirky nature.

 I'd like to introduce you to some of my newest friends: roaring picture book lions . Big-hearted, wooden lions with movable, little heads.


I could some how imagine these little lions stepping out of a child's storybook just so they could be in the the palm of your hand to purr, tell their secrets (and roar!) to their hearts content.

Wishing you a bit of whimsy and childhood joy today! : )

 

(at the workbench) - the woodcutter's story

i love a good story... even as my daughter grows tall ... we love reading stack upon stack of old picture books and fairy tales...

hidden in these stories are truths so old and deep that their meanings continue to reveal themselves as we grow older. if you are not familiar with this lovely site- SurLaLune Fairy Tales-  take a look. you will find a beautiful collection of fairy tales, illustrations, annotations and similar stories found across cultures.

here are a couple of favorite stories about the brave, and honest woodcutter's journey:
~ the golden goose 
~ the honest woodcutter

 
and of course there are these old folk tales:
 ~ brave Jack of "Jack and the Beanstalk"
~ little red riding hood



my sick little girl woke up early this past wednesday morning and from another room I heard:  "Wha-ching, watching, wha-ching". there in her hands was the happy discovery of the woodcutter's ax - a new tool I made late the night before while she slept. perhaps this may sound funny, but some how wooden toys feel honest; they are earthy and wonderful to touch and hold. Because wooden toys have this quality they become tools for the imagination.

this woodcutter's ax - as quickly as it was finished, made it's way to a little boy's hands for his fifth birthday. No sooner was his present unwrapped and there he was "ka-chink, ka-chink, ka-chink"!  It's always so wonderful to see a child at play!

well, I am back to the workbench to finish today's many projects - there will certainly be a couple more wooden axes in the works. one that will have to make it's way back to my daughter's hands!

PS. If you or a friend are a lover of fairy tales - I would love if you could share a comment about your favorite woodcutter's story. Thank you!

at play - Just the Alphapet ( and Still No Soup Today)

Waiting for dinner ...

In the right hands ...

 There is nothing that cannot be made to play

at play - Building Straw Houses

 "The North Wind doth blow and we shall have snow ... and what will the poor robin do then - poor thing - he'll sit in a barn to keep himself warm and hide his head under his wing...poor thing"


"The North Wind doth blow and we shall have snow ... and what will the dormouse do then - poor thing - rolled up like a ball in his nest snug and small ... he''l sleep till the warm weather comes in -poor thing"
 

 The time has come for all creatures to prepare their winter homes for the chilly weather to come .. a chipmunk stands by the door of his home... looking out and ... waiting for the mail to come ...

At play, there are houses to build as well ... from what might be found ... branches, twigs and straw.... The children make their own straw house and crawl inside for shelter.

at the workbench - Snakes In My Garden and Workbench

We have had endless days of rain ... I do not think there could be more lushness and greenness than their is now. The grass grows ever taller with every downpour - waiting to be mowed.




Children - much the same - growing three inches in a few short months - their clothes shrink before our eyes. Now summer comes with summer's long days. The children now become explorers in the vast greenness. Their play hidden in a green world.

And down, almost unseen, are the silent creatures sprung from this wet world. Garden snakes wind their way silently. But on my workbench the snakes have more to say.The SNAKES have a new demand.














Find out why....Soon some friends will be joining them ... so do please visit again.

(at play) - a dance In the rhubarb patch

It's not only Timmy Willie who likes the shade of great big leaf.

"Timmy Willie longed to be at home in his peaceful nest in a sunny bank.
The food disagreed with him; the noise prevented him from sleeping. In a
few days he grew so thin that Johnny Town-mouse noticed it, and
questioned him. He listened to Timmy Willie's story and inquired about
the garden. "It sounds rather a dull place? What do you do when it
rains?"

"When it rains, I sit in my little sandy burrow and shell corn and
seeds from my Autumn store. I peep out at the throstles and blackbirds
on the lawn, and my friend Cock Robin. And when the sun comes out again,
you should see my garden and the flowers--roses and pinks and
pansies--no noise except the birds and bees, and the lambs in the
meadows."



                     The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse - by Beatrix Potter

It's June for this country mouse and it's time for strawberry-rhubarb crumble.

(at play) - mud cakes

The rains come and the brown earth changes ...
finally the time for making mud cakes arrives.

and mud icing, mud cookies, mud cupcakes, mud coffee and ....
so much to do...

While for me, the garden stills waits for my attentions ... to dig in the dirt

When my daughter was still only a couple years old, one morning hurrying to get out of the house, she coined a phrase "hush and rush". Little ones are all too aware of the unnatural pace life can take. Almost irresistibly, children can turn inward -- making with very little, a world complete. If I could find a little time outside of my doings, I could really enjoy an afternoon filled with mud cupcakes and cookies.

Simple Joys - Simple Toys