Little Scientists

Read an interesting op/ed piece in the New York Times. It reminded me of one of our reasons for unschooling. It would always astonish me to hear parents talk about the "terrible twos." I was always fascinated by a two-year-old's inquisitiveness and used to say that two-year-olds were little scientists. My favorite section in the op/ed piece is: "As every parent knows, children begin life as uninhibited, unabashed explorers of the unknown. From the time we can walk and talk, we want to know what things are and how they work — we begin life as little scientists. But most of us quickly lose our intrinsic scientific passion. And it’s a profound loss." Thank you, Brian Greene, for getting the word out!
After living through a toilet being taken apart by a two-yr-old, innumerable questions about how and why, owl pellets in the laundry, and science experiments covering the dining room table, the kitchen counters, and living room floor, I still believe unschooling is a great way of life. And thank you, daughters, (especially the now-18-yr-old college sophomore in the above picture) for letting me learn along-side you. I've enjoyed the ride!

Piano Prince of New Orleans and a video

Last evening we listened to the fabulous piano-playing and singing of Mr. Davell Crawford -- the Piano Prince of New Orleans. Once again we were in awe of what the Noone family puts together for the Glenwood Springs community. It was a Jazz-perfect evening. In honor of that perfect evening (and the fact that I think I may have figured out how to use the video on my little camera) I am adding a short video clip of the concert (with a little glitch at the end that I don't know how to get rid of):


The Summer of Jazz is not without controversy, however. It seems that some folks are upset with the way some parents allow their children to scream and holler while playing right in front of the stage. Because we sit a bit farther back we had not been bothered by the noise but I did wonder if all the movement and commotion might be distracting to the musicians. Apparently it isn't but now the situation has made the paper. I for one enjoy seeing the children dancing and twirling around with the music and this will still be allowed. They just have to be quieter. I like this compromise. It is unreasonable to think the kids have to sit still, after all it is an outdoor concert, and this is a great venue to learn about different styles of music.

It reminds me a bit about taking my children to church when they were little. We would sit up front so they could see what was happening. They had to be quiet, but not silent. They could ask questions quietly, and they could look at their "church books" -- the ones we brought out just at Mass. If they couldn't be quiet enough they would have to leave -- and forfeit the after-mass donut. Apparently that was incentive enough. They were certainly not perfect, but they were good-enough, and I think that's all God expects -- of little ones and also us oldsters!

Strawberry Days

What a fun weekend we had. It was the 111th Strawberry Days -- Colorado's longest- running civic festival. A good time was had by all. Here are some highlights for us:
What parade would be complete without the El Jebel cars! I'm reminded of them everytime we head for Aspen and pass by El Jebel, Colorado. This picture is for you, Emily!

Of course, there were the strawberry cars:











A paraglider in the deep blue sky and a four-horned goat:



The highlight for us: FREE strawberry sundaes!



We ended our festival time with a trip to the Glenwood Canyon Brewing Company, commonly referred to as the Brewpub, for some Strawberry Ale. I'm not a fan of beer at all but it actually was good.

Happy First Full Day of Summer

In the Good Old Summertime

There's a time in each year that we always hold dear,
the good old summer time;
With the birds and the treeses and sweet-scented breezes,
In the good old summer time.
When your day's work is over then you are in clover,
And life is one beautiful rhyme,
No trouble annoying each one is enjoying,
The good old summer time.


In the good old summertime,
in the good old summertime.
Strolling through the shady lanes with my baby mine.
You hold her hand, and she holds yours,
and that's a very good sign.
She will be your tootsie wootsie,
in the good old summertime.

song by George Evans and Ren Shields

To Basalt and Back

We made it to Basalt and back today on our bikes-- halfway to my goal of making it to Aspen. Upvalley from Carbondale the Rio Grande Trail has more of an altitude gain than the trail from Glenwood Springs to Carbondale. At least it felt like that to us. But it was not bad at all. Didn't get any photos of the heron, evening grossbeaks, goldfinches, or redwing blackbirds, but did find these to be interesting:

a little ground squirrel, perhaps -- with a very lovely blond tail!

lunchtime lineup....

not sure what this is, but it had a pirate flag....

a ski chair lift.....to nowhere............

some exquisite columbines, our state flower..............

Tom was so excited that we were nearly to Basalt that he decided to make an announcement, using a "natural" microphone on the side of the trail.



It took us about three hours to make it to Basalt, due to photographing things and Tom needing some resticles (if you bike you know what these are) We thought about just buying some picnic food at the grocers but decided to treat ourselves instead at the Riverside Grill. This lovely restaurant sits right on the Fryingpan River and lunch was fantastic. My grilled veggie sandwich with brie was quite yummy but I think Tom most enjoyed his cherry pie!

After lunch we headed for home. Our bed looks more comfortable tonight after 42 miles of riding our bikes today. We are so blessed to be living in this beautiful Roaring Fork Valley.

More Jazz and Friends Come to Visit

Wednesday we enjoyed a visit from our dear friend, Fr. Terry Ryan, who was on his way up to the Snowmass Monastery for the summer. He is a wonderful Paulist priest who married us, baptized two of our daughters, and encouraged us to try Centering Prayer. We are thankful for all three! If you ever have a chance to attend one of his retreats or missions you will not be disappointed.




Of course, in the evening we went down to Two Rivers Park and listened to this week's installment of The Summer of Jazz. Steve Turre and the Sanctified Shells entertained us with fabulous music which included playing shells! Hated to see it end. Check out his music by clicking on the previous link.




When we arrived home at 10PM we had several missed calls from one of "my CU students." She and a friend were on their way to the Telluride Bluegrass Festival but she had inadvertently told me to expect them on Thursday evening. Thank heavens I checked my phone because apparently there were no hotel rooms available that night. What a fun time catching up with everything that's been happening in her life as a busy 21-year-old. She'll be graduating from CU next year and then it's the real world for her. We hope she continues to come for visits, though, even though she has a thing with popcorn!

Keeping the River Back

As we walked along the Roaring Fork River yesterday we noticed evidence of residents' concern for how high the river was rising. The first house used sand bags, the second a chain link fence. Luckily, especially for the second home, there was no flood.