Seven Quick Takes on Bird Weirdness, Read Aloud Recommendation,

:: 1 ::

The strangest thing happened during a hail storm we had on Sunday night. My children had all gotten out of bed to watch the lightning — when you live somewhere where “real” weather is a rare occurrence, you get up for these things. The girls had opened the front door and, shining their flashlights out into the storm, they noticed a tiny chipping sparrow in the middle of the yard. She was standing there like a statue, and yet we could tell she was still breathing. My husband put on a thick jacket {to protect himself from the hail, which was between marble and golf ball size} and went out to check on her. He tapped her gently with his foot, and she did not move. He tapped her again, and this time she looked up at him, but that was her only movement. The girls asked if they could capture her, and so we scrambled around looking for a container. We found one and brought it out to him, but she must have recovered a bit at this time because she fluttered up into the tree.

The whole thing was very strange — all we can think of is that she was hit by some hail and stunned for a while. Poor thing.

:: 2 ::

Our latest family read aloud is The Black Star of Kingston. I’ve had the book for a while, but we had started so many read alouds that I was afraid to start another one until we had finished something — we’re juggling more evening commitments than ever due to our oldest son’s schedule. So we’ve got one title for family reading {everyone all together, even my husband}, one for the children and I, and one for when we’re without the teen.

I was so disappointed at how changed our reading aloud schedule had been this year — we just weren’t together as much as we have been in the past, especially in the evenings during prime reading time. So my solution has been to add more {seems counterintuitive, I know}, which works surprisingly well. This book, in my opinion, had to be for everyone, so we waited until we were ready. Everyone loves it so far!

Highly recommended, of course.

:: 3 ::

This week’s links collection:

• Target Announces Senior Discount For Anyone Who Self-Identifies As Age 60 Or Older from The Babylon Bee
  • If you don’t read The Babylon Bee, you’re missing out on some of the best satire on the web.
• Book Shaped Plates, Platters & Dishware from Gone Reading
  • So cute!!
• How Giving Up Refined Sugar Changed My Brain from Fast Company
  • Try it…you might like it.
• Bathroom Wars’ Goal: Humiliate the American Normal Majority from Breitbart
  • I do not always participate in boycotts, but Target annoyed me. I really dislike big business bullying society and trying to set social policy.

:: 4 ::

This month in 2015:

This was is only a year ago, but if you’re feeling like you need some encouragement, it’s a pep talk I wrote to myself. You might like it.

:: 5 ::

This week has been adventurous in terms of weather. We’ve had wind, rain, thunder, lightning, hail, and beautiful sunshine. It’s been fun — it’s more interesting weather than most of my children can remember. We took advantage of a beautiful sunny day on Wednesday and did school at the park so that some of the children could collect some tadpoles from the stream. Every year they try to raise frogs. One year, they were successful in that they successfully LOST FROGS IN MY HOUSE.

:: 6 ::

Speaking of science, I still think my best purchase ever is pocket microscopes for all. This opened up another door of curiosity that still hasn’t closed and they’ve had them for five months. A-Age-Eleven had a caterpillar she was keeping that happened to be infected with parasites — I’m guessing parasitic wasps, but we’ll find out for sure once they’ve become whatever it is they were born to be. Anyhow, before bed, some people read bedtime stories, but at our house we have to examine the larvae under the microscope because they might not look the same in the morning, you know. They came out of the caterpillar earlier today, and now they seem to be forming some sort of chrysalis.

Anyhow, I highly recommend these little tools for elementary students {and up} because it’s handy that you can carry them with you wherever you go.

:: 7 ::

Answering Your Questions:

• Question:  I am in the midst of trying to figure out the best way to protect my family from Lyme disease. We are living in a rural area with LOTS of ticks, and therefore LOTS of Lyme disease as well. I much prefer the “all-natural path” in other areas of life, so I am wondering if you could share how you are protecting your family from ticks.
  • Answer: I can’t believe how many times I was asked some version of this question this past week! Would you believe my answer is I don’t really know? Because I really don’t. Where we live, there aren’t many ticks. Where we go hiking, I choose the paths I think are safe, and of course we wear a lot of clothes. When my husband mentions taking the children into the mountains, I try not to hyperventilate and suggest the beach instead. But other than that, I really don’t know the answer. So this is where we ask YOU to help answer. How about in the comments those of you who have thought about this share your ideas, especially if you’ve come across a mild means of protection that would work for chemically sensitive children.