Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud!

Geranium Top Member Posts: 13,081	Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 5:02:00 GMT sweetpea likes this Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Geranium on Jul 22, 2014 5:02:00 GMT I should think so, Moonlight - by my reckoning, you were still posting at 1 am! Tsk, tsk.

Moonlight
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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 9:37:21 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 9:37:21 GMT

Jul 22, 2014 5:02:00 GMT Geranium said:

I should think so, Moonlight - by my reckoning, you were still posting at 1 am!

Tsk, tsk.

and 1st thing I did when I woke up was put my dressing gown on and go and look at Fred 7.

I proudly showed Dad Fred 7 and he said that it was going to be a pink and then squashed it with his thumb and index finger to feel how big it is going to be. Apparently it is going to be at least a semi double. He might have know what he was doing but I was cringing... "Your squashing it!!!"

Don't get me wrong he hasn't broken it, he wanted it to open up enough to see inside - it is yellow. I bow down to his greater knowledge, he knows what he is doing, it's a bit like he can tell if a seed head has lots of seeds or a will have, after a quick squeeze. Live and Learn, that's what I am trying to do. He is teaching me, casually throwing out pointers on what I should do. I just need to listen to him rather than keep asking 100s of the same questions but then if you can't ask your Dad questions, who can I ask?

My Garden Friends.

(Feeling a bit better than I did last night)

Moonlight
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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 9:47:31 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 9:47:31 GMT

I can see Pirate wandering around the garden with her pencil and book. She's working on her Wildlife Explorer badge.

1. Spend at least 15 minutes each day for a week watching the birds, animals and insects near where you live.
Go with an adult you know to a local park, or watch what is happening in your garden or school grounds. Record what you see in a nature notebook.

I've been told that the highest so far today are butterflies.

I'll share her updates

and research.
(Fairy on the other hand is playing across my settee playing an electronic 'educational' game)

Moonlight
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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 9:56:05 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 9:56:05 GMT

(Fairy wants to do the same badge, basically because her sister is)

To get the badge they also need to:

2. Identify three of each of the following:
**common wild birds
**common butterflies
**wild mammals.

(Fairy has now finished game and has put gone out into the garden sans her notebook)

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 9:57:16 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 9:57:16 GMT

(Fairy wants to do the same badge, basically because her sister is)

To get the badge they also need to:

3. Make a feeding station.
This could be for hedgehogs, insects, birds, frogs or other creatures that aren't pets. With permission, put it up in a suitable place.

They've actually already done this, they made a home for snails with 2 different types of food in it...
(And there is me with my blue granules) (different part of the garden).

n.b. That one won't be the their example for their badge.

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 10:13:48 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 10:13:48 GMT

Last part is

4. Choose and do one of the following.
*Organise an RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch in your garden, local park or school grounds. Invite other Brownies, your friends or family to join in. Make a record of the birds that visit during one hour.
*Watch for and note when migrating birds arrive for the summer or winter.
*With an adult you know, find a pond or stream and study what lives there. Look for insects, fish, amphibians and plants. Make a record of any signs of pollution.
*Visit a nature reserve or country park. Draw pictures or take photographs of at least four different types of trees. Make leaf and bark rubbings. Label them with the names of the trees.

We've been to our local Reservoir and bird watched there. Fairy was only little at the time and we were in a hide with twitchers. Carefully studying the birds, Fairy looked through her binoculars and announced in a typical young child's 'I wish you could speak quietly but you don't yet understand that - parent cringing) excited loud voice:

I can see a Penguin!

Cue semi-supressed sniggering from the twitchers next to us.
We decided that it was time to go for another walk........

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 10:18:15 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 10:18:15 GMT

Credit where credits due, Fairy has been out with Pirate and has just told me that there are lots more butterflies if you look under some of the plants, there are lots more.

I told that that was a very good observation and that she should write that down in her book.
Made her smile that did, they are both hunting for places to take photos of what they have discovered.

:)Makes it all worth it, doesn't it.

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 10:31:32 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 10:31:32 GMT

They also both working on their Gardening badge.

1. Explain how and why you keep your garden tidy and free from weeds

2. Grow four kinds of fruits, vegetables, herbs or annual flowers from seed or bulb. Transplant the seedlings then tend and train them as necessary. Discuss with the tester how you will use what you have grown.

3. Do each of the following.
**Show the tools you use to care for your garden and how you keep them in good condition.
**Know the dangers of tools left lying around.
**Know the dangers of garden products such as weed-killers.

4. Show how the following affect your garden:
**light and shade
**temperature and weather conditions
**soil types.

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 20:24:44 GMT

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 20:24:44 GMT

Our 2nd emergency relocation of the sunflowers.

This was our 1st attempt.

Today's rescue involved me balancing on a wall, well actually 2 walls and holding onto a bamboo cane when the wind blew (Why did it have to blow then???) 1 very cross and unhappy HH because I was being so dangerous and 1 very grumpy (well actually a lot more than grumpy) because a, I was scared and b, I expected him to know what I was trying to explain - no scrub that, I was totally unreasonable, I basically assumed that he could read my mind and was v. stroppy when he couldn't - mainly because I was scared of falling but most of all scared the sunflowers would snap.

Happy to report that 1 of Pirate's and 2 of Fairy's sunflowers have been relocated.

Best of all, I've managed to upload 2 more images on our web hosting.

Another sunflower has slumped in the greenhouse since but it will have to wait until tomorrow and I am hoping that my Dad can bring with him some large containers to use as pots in a bid to keep them upright....

sweetpea Top Member Posts: 5,982	Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 22:53:11 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by sweetpea on Jul 22, 2014 22:53:11 GMT Are the kids' projects for school or other organisation such as the brownies? Either way it is a rather good ideaa.
	I'll get around to it eventually

Moonlight Top Member Posts: 4,922	Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 22, 2014 23:23:14 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Moonlight on Jul 22, 2014 23:23:14 GMT Jul 22, 2014 22:53:11 GMT sweetpea said: Are the kids' projects for school or other organisation such as the brownies? Either way it is a rather good ideaa. Yep

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 24, 2014 0:22:04 GMT Tel likes this

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 24, 2014 0:22:04 GMT

Neither daughter has been given homework over the holiday and it is so nice to spend time doing things that they won't get a chance to do once school kicks in. The garden is a buzzing and the girls have been enjoying spending time in the garden. It has been really nice watching them observing what is happening around them.

Pirate is enjoying it the most.
Fairy has told me that she doesn't want to Wildlife Explorer badge now which I told her is absolutely fine so long as she understands that it will mean that one day her sister will get given hers (and possibly another couple - she's got a list of badges she wants to do.) when she might not be getting any at the same time. I wanted to talk about it as she's mature enough to understand and is totally fine with this. (Mind you I'll let you know if this is the case.)

What I really like about our girls is the fact that they are very different.
They both dance but Pirate finds the coordination a real challenge but she is getting there. They both recently did Ballet exams and Fairy got a Merit and Pirate got a Distinction. She's a got a quiet determination she'll get there. They both had Tap and Modern exams earlier this year and during those Tap classes they moved to a room with a wall mirror and Pirate could see what she was doing wasn't the same as the other children, she realised that she just couldn't do what the other children could. She went from being a happy bubbly child eager to do exams like her big sister, to a poor little girl who didn't want to do it (tap)any more. Luckily we got her to believe in herself and that she can ('can' deliberately rather than could) dance. She took both exams with a Pass and a Merit but the scores were irrelevant I just didn't want her to stop believing she could dance. Teacher told her to practise bending her legs with her heels on the ground and basically everywhere she went she was practising, as she washed her hands and then more as she dried her hands on a towel. It is the same with swimming Fairy went straight to the Advanced level but Pirate is going to have a go at and should achieve the regular level.

So while Fairy is intending on doing the Agility and Dancer badges (You have to be a Grade 1 and over for the Dance badge)Pirate will achieve the Wildlife Explorer and others.

They both should complete the Gardener badge as they have already been growing.
Fairy has grown 3 of the 4 and Pirate 2 of the 4 plants because of the potato and sunflower classes at our local town show (Fairy has done an extra because she planted beans during a session) but it was Pirate who was happy to talk and write about why we should have a tidy garden and we need to get rid of weeds. Currently Pirate is our little gardener, likes watering and weeding and gets really excited when something grows and asks Grandad 100s of questions (yep I have competition on the quantity of questions). Where as Fairy looks to me, to check if I'm upset when Grandad walks pass a dahlia and then shows them how to disbud. Pirate always eager to do what Grandad is telling her to do but Fairy was checking with me to see if I'm alright about it, as she knows that I was upset when he squashed my Fred 7's bud to see inside.

We'll see either way we are both proud of our 2 very different girls.

Oops went off on tangent but hay it's my family, and this Diary isn't just about dahlias even if it reads like that for a while
'onest guv'nor

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Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 24, 2014 8:12:19 GMT Tel likes this

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Post by Moonlight on Jul 24, 2014 8:12:19 GMT

p.s. I've talked to Pirate about and read what I have written about in my last update. She is fine and has told that she would tell me if she wasn't but also that she wants to focus on her loom band bracelet...
Can't let Fairy read it she's still in bed...

Moonlight Top Member Posts: 4,922	Purple wellies tiny steps - clear as mud! Jul 24, 2014 9:10:34 GMT Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Moonlight on Jul 24, 2014 9:10:34 GMT Fred 7 Yesterday I think that the colours are very pretty but that pinky colour is going to fade to yellow.