Ribbon Wands

A Haiku to start things off:

Win a Birthday Crown

A Wand of Ribbons Twirling

Made by Me With Thanks

We got our first real dump of snow this past week, and it was quite a treat.  The kids and I had so much fun playing outside, sledding, building snowmen, making snow angels, and, of course, shovelling.

Here are a couple of snow portraits.

Snow Boy

Snow Girl

We have also been fortunate enough to have one of the most amazing nature experiences.  This year is a special one, here in the Lower Mainland, as there are snowy owls in the area!  Apparently, they migrate here only once every 5 or so years, when food supplies in the Arctic are low.  A friend of took her kids on the trek to Boundary Bay (about an hour from us), and as soon as we heard about it, we knew we had to go!

Boy with Binoculars

It was amazing to see them.  There were probably 20 owls gathered on the beach the day we arrived.  I walked out to the bay, telephoto lens in hand, baby on the back, and boy with binoculars in tow.  We were all enchanted by the beautiful creatures (who were doing an exceedingly good job of posing for the 50 or so cars full of nature photographers that greeted them that day!).  It was amazing to be among so many people who were equally enchanted this rare treat.

Peeking

Perhaps my favourite part of the day, was the fact that Boy with Binoculars quickly attached himself to a birder, and promptly followed around in her footsteps.  She was kind enough to let him have a look in her telescope, and share her knowledge of the birds of the area with him.  She was also (although perhaps not quite equally) enchanted with him, and his curiosity for the natural world.  My second favourite part was the delighted refrain of my 22-month old, “owl, owl, owl!”

Sunning

The day felt like such a gift.  It was mild (this was before the snowfall), the sun was brilliant, and everyone’s spirits were high.  And, on top of it all, I got to feel like a real birder, for just a few hours (although my tiny telephoto lens quickly pegged me for the amateur that I am).

Winter Dance

In response to all of this, we started a new read-aloud, Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat.  I’ll tell you more about it during this week’s Librarian’s Pick post, but suffice it to say, we are enjoying sharing a real chapter book together!  It is the first novel (albeit short) that Dylan and I have read together (we usually go for picture books of various lengths and formats), and it feels like, well, a new chapter (groan!) in our lives.

Coincidentally, it was timed nicely to coincide with my son’s recent birthday.  He is now officially 4 years old.  Here’s a photo of him in the lovely felt birthday crown I made for him.

The Little Prince

A Haiku to wrap things up:

Children in the Snow

Owls in the Family

Winter Read Aloud

—

And now…

I’d love to hear your own haikus! 

“The Winter Inspiration Haiku Contest”

Here are the details of the contest:

1. Submit a Haiku (5, 7, 5) in the comments for a chance to win one of two handmade felt birthday crown & ribbon wand sets, made by yours truly.  They will be custom made to suit your child’s age / size / colour preference.

2. Bonus entries for joining as a member, and posting in the Socialize Forum.

3. Additional entries for following us on Facebook, Twitter or email.

4. “Like” this post on Facebook or Tweet about the contest for even more chances to win!

5. Contest closes next Sunday evening at 12pm EST, and a random winner will be announced on Monday January 30th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 We’re linking up with Creative Fridays at Natural Suburbia.