F is for Fun and Flowers at Norfolk Botanical Gardens

Beginning each April, the Norfolk Botanical Gardens open up their extensive grounds to bicyclists three nights of the week from 4 -7 pm throughout the Summer.   We always keep a membership to the Norfolk Botanical Gardens, but never use it enough.  Mr. Garner and I would occasionally have a date at the NBG,  “sweet lovers love the Spring” and all of that.  We had a picnic one year for Mother’s Day which was wonderful!  Over the years we would make it out to the gardens, once, maybe twice a summer to walk or ride bikes along the trails, over the bridges and around the slight hills (the only ones in our flat coastal area!), climb the NATO tower, stretch out on a blanket in the Renaissance Court,  and simply enjoy the garden.  We loved it, and would always ask ourselves, “Why don’t we do this more often?”

This year Mr. Garner issued a proclamation and scheduled Weekly Wednesday Bike Nights at NBG and so far it has been the highlight of our Spring!

On each weekly visit we find something new in bloom, more colors and textures along the path, a shift in the landscape as perennials emerge and bare branches become green, and always a heavenly scent on the breeze.

The first week we were entranced with an enormous Weeping Cherry tree in the Flowering Arboretum.  Among the trees mostly bare, this tall tree with long pink tresses beckoned us closer.  The slightly lemony scent of Winter Daphne in the Winter Garden also got us off of our bikes for a sniff.  Daffodils scattered yellow in the fields, while others added precision along the paths.  The tree branches were studded with buds, thick and fuzzy.  The Tulip Magnolia trees offered elegant pink cups.  The Jasmine twined around the pergolas in the Butterfly Garden.

The next week we simply could not fill our lungs enough with the glorious clean scent of blooming Crab Apple, and we noticed that more of the trees in the Flowering Arboretum were clothed in gauzy green as leaves started stretching out for the sunshine. A riot of bulbs were in bloom, tulip, hyacinth, and more in the Sunken Garden and Circle Gardens.

The following week we found ourselves in love with an enormous Japanese Cherry.  By parking the bike and stepping under the branches one could enter into a fairy bower where dappled sunlight filtered through a million or more fluffy pink cherry blossoms.   We also found a Dove Tree!  Have you ever heard of a Dove Tree?  It has the loveliest white flowers that look like – Doves! The wisteria was covered with bees feasting on nectar hidden in plump purple blossoms.  Further along, large clusters of tightly furled and surprisingly fuzzy ferns in the Fern Glade offered a whimsical and slightly Seussian feel to the day!  And along the Border Garden walkway the pom-pom blossoms of Viburnum continued the theme.

Then the Azaleas started blooming!  I should mention that the Norfolk Botanical Gardens were first established as the Azalea Gardens.  There are likely thousands of Azalea bushes throughout the garden.  Some neon bright, some softer, some with large formosa blossoms other with tiny blossom clusters.  My favorite fuschia-purple variety smells fantastic – we have one on the side of our house.  In the Enchanted Forest at the NBG, they line a large section of the shady path, and bring new meaning to the phrase “a breath of fresh air.”

Last week the Sarah Lee Baker Perennial Garden and Border Garden walkway beds were filling in with Shasta Daisy, Fox Glove, several varieties of Iris and Peonies, and we were delighted to spot a bunny leaping across the path to a hedge.  The orderly acres of roses in the extensive Bicentennial Rose Garden are offering a profusion of color and scent.

We’ve seen brides being photographed, flocks of children with mom and dad, and a few regulars; an elderly gent on his regular evening walk, a couple who know every nook and cranny of the garden,  a teen and her mom.  As the weather warms up, there are perhaps more people than at first.  But there are long stretches where it seems we have the entire glorious garden to ourselves, and surrounded by beauty and fragrance it feels somewhat sacred.  There are moments when the softening sunlight casts a holy golden glow through branches, and gilds the edges of flowers.  And yet, it feels a little bit like home…

I can’t wait to see what will be blooming next!

God’s Garden, by Robert Frost

God made a beautous garden
With lovely flowers strown,
But one straight, narrow pathway
That was not overgrown.
And to this beauteous garden
He brought mankind to live,
And said: “To you, my children,
These lovely flowers I give.
Prune ye my vines and fig trees,
With care my flowerets tend,
But keep the pathway open
Your home is at the end.”

Then came another master,
Who did not love mankind,
And planted on the pathway
Gold flowers for them to find.
And mankind saw the bright flowers,
That, glitt’ring in the sun,
Quite hid the thorns of av’rice
That poison blood and bone;
And far off many wandered,
And when life’s night came on,
They still were seeking gold flowers,
Lost, helpless and alone.

O, cease to heed the glamour
That blinds your foolish eyes,
Look upward to the glitter
Of stars in God’s clear skies.
Their ways are pure and harmless
And will not lead astray,
Bid aid your erring footsteps
To keep the narrow way.
And when the sun shines brightly
Tend flowers that God has given
And keep the pathway open
That leads you on to heaven.

This post was inspired by Blogging through the Alphabet with Marcy over at Ben and Me.  I’m also sharing this over at HSPA Blog and Tell Show Us Your Flowers.  And it might make it into Barb’s Outdoor Nature Hour Blog Carnival at Handbook of Nature Study!

As always, thanks for stopping by – we love visitors!

E is for Ephesians

I can only say that I went for years without knowing where Ephesus was located, or caring.

For years it was one of those smaller books in the back of the New Testament after Acts and Romans, in the general vicinity of Corinthians and Thessalonians and Galatians and Philippians, and I didn’t know where those ancient towns were either.  My knowledge of book placement in the  Bible was iffy.  My understanding of Biblical geography was laughable.

Likewise, the content of Ephesians was a mystery.  I might have remembered it was an epistle, and perhaps known it was from Paul since he wrote lots of letters to strange cities.  But I was clueless regarding many of the key passages that now have great significance in our homeschool.

I’m not alone.  Isn’t it amazing how Biblically illiterate church people are today?

Since we were parked for a while in the period of the Roman Empire’s blood-spattered transition from pagan to Christian, it made sense to read the Epistles during our family Bible reading.  Terri Johnson’s Map Trek book has been a helpful addition throughout our Ancient History studies, and I was delighted to see a map of the Journeys of Paul included!   So, in addition to reading the Epistles we have been mapping the locations of all of the early church cities.

Journeys of Paul Map Trek Map

If you don’t know, Ephesus was a large, wealthy port city of vast importance to trade.  Originally a Greek colony of Athens, the city was situated between two rivers that emptied into the Mediterranean on the west coast of Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey.  It was a bastion of Greek culture and finance while it endured the ebb and flow of an array of empires, the Persians, the Greeks, the Pontic Greeks, the Seleucid Greeks, and the Romans.  Sacked by the Goths, and again later by Arab caliphs, while enduring an earthquake and the constant silting of its harbors, Ephesus struggled along until it was finally abandoned in the fifteenth century.   The ruins of Ephesus are no longer on the Mediterranean coast,  they are now further inland due to a millennia of silt deposits from the adjacent rivers.

Reckoned to be over a thousand years old by the time the apostle Paul visited, and home to one of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Artemis temple, Ephesus was not only a successful, wealthy and populous city, it was exceedingly corrupt, with established demon, spirit and mystery religions, Artemis and Asklepios cult worship, and bathed in blood from the coliseum “games.”  Pagan children were regularly aborted, and those children who made it to birth, if girls, were regularly exposed (infanticide).  Over half of the population were slaves, and non slaves were often so poor that they would volunteer for gladiator games in order to have food, and bedding, for a while anyway.

Ruins at Ephesus

At the same time that we are reading through the Epistles, Grace and I are reading through the second half of Famous Men of Rome in History, (Nero, Caligula, Titus, Trajan and such) and I’m pre-reading Sketches of Church History from AD 33 to Reformation by James Craigie Robertson, and Saints and Heroes to the End of the Middle Ages by George Hodges, and slogging through Quo Vadis: a narrative of the time of Nero, by Henryk Sienkiewicz (translated by Jeremiah Curtin) for my personal fiction reading – all of which makes for rather interesting contrasts.   The pathetic lack of stamina and witness in America’s mainline protestant churches on key social issues springs to mind, and is appallingly cowardly when considered next to say Polycarp of Smyrna, Athanasius of Alexandria, or even Youcef Nadarkhani.  Many of our puny pastors grow pale with terror at the idea of bad press resulting from a Christ-obedient stance on abortion or marriage.  Clearly they wouldn’t have been able to stand firm facing down a lion or the lighting design in Nero’s garden.   I suppose it’s something we should all think about.

To further embed the geography and give us sense of the challenges faced by church planters, particularly those in the First Century,  Mr. Garner went into his extensive game closet and pulled out his copy of the Journeys of Paul game.  It’s a pretty game, with a large map, and colorful cards, the board is in the header of this post (if you click the title of the post).  We all enjoyed working against the forces of wickedness as we strove to establish and nurture our church plants while dealing with shipwrecks, bad weather, obnoxious pagan dissent and other obstacles.  To get a sense of the dangers have a look at 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. 

On a lighter note, we were delighted to see that the history series “Drive Thru History” , previously outside our budgetary constraints, was streaming on Netflix so we watched all of the available episodes.  Although we rolled our eyes with impatience at the obligatory driving scenes, and the history is not in-depth, we did appreciate being able to see the ruins of Ephesus, Rome, Athens and many other sites of the Classical world, which combined with our other activities, added to our understanding of the early church.

Last year we memorized the Armor of God section from Ephesians using an Oh-So-Catchy-Song (really!) from the Harrow Family Sing the Word CDs that Sonlight sells.  In our reading this year I’ve found a few more stirring passages that we will use for copywork, and possibly memory work.   We really like this free printable illustrating the Full Armor of God (for young ladies!) from Nadene who blogs about homeschooling from her farm in South Africa and is a fabulous artist as well.

Finally, this reading of Ephesians 6:-17 by Maggie’s granddaughter…

This post was prepared (weeks ago) for Blogging through the Alphabet with Marci over at Ben and Me.  I think they’re on the Letter H or something, but it seemed a shame to waste it! 

B is for Botany

We thoroughly enjoyed our fall nature study with oaks and acorns,  and leaves, so I knew that we would enjoy digging into our Exploring Creation with Botany, once we finished Exploring Creation with Astronomy (see our A for Astronomy post)

Author Jeannie Fulbright starts by explaining how the plant world has been organized, the taxonomy of plants.  You’ve seen the result of taxonomy on seed packets and plant stakes at the green house; two Latin words, in italics, the first capitalized the second lower case.  It’s called Botanical Nomenclature and it assigns a plant to a genus, and then gives a specific species name.  (We have these for animals, birds, germs, insects, etc!)  Sounds easy enough, right?  HA!

To illustrate that Botanists have a lot to think about when organizing and naming plants, the text suggests an exhausting but fun activity where the household’s footwear is gathered up and then organized into groups and categories (phylum, class, order, family, genus, and then species if you’re a high achiever!) based on – well – whatever you determine are important distinguishing characteristics! We considered size, type of shoe fastening (slip on, sandal, shoe-strings), function (dress, casual, athletic, weather related), material (leather, canvas, plastic) color of shoe etc.  It worked!  Point made!  We really struggled with flip-flops.  “Should they have their own family or be placed in the sandal family?”  And slippers…well, the discussion went on over dinner.

In terms of organizing plants, the initial question is whether the plant is vascular or non-vascular.  Vascular means tubes that carry fluid, so plants with veins.  Most plants are vascular, but some aren’t, like moss and lichen.  Something else Botanists consider is how the seeds are formed.  Angiosperms (which means seed container) are plants that make seeds that are in a protective covering like flowers, nuts or fruits.  Gymnosperms (which means uncovered seeds) are plants that make seeds that are uncovered, like pinecones.

After being introduced to the four primary phyta (Greek for family),  we were tasked with looking for an example of the four phyta in our yard!  The point of this exercise is to see that Botany is as close as your own backyard.  And this dovetails nicely with our Charlotte Mason inspired Nature Study goals of learning 6 birds, 6 plants and 6 animals/insects per 12 week term and my goal of focusing first on those located, well, in our own backyard!

Phylum Anthophyta

Phylum Anthophyta (Greek for flowering plant) includes all of the plants that have a flower.  We found a lovely example in our backyard, my beloved Camellia japonica.  GraceNotes and I love this shrub because when the holidays are over and everything is a little gray and dreary, and we are cold and winter weary, it blooms – red and cheery! (couldn’t resist …)

Camellia Japonica

Phylum Coniferophyta

Phylum Coniferophyta (Conifero – means cone bearer in Latin) includes all of the many pine and cedar trees that make cones.  Here is an example from our yard Pinus taeda, also known as Loblolly Pine!  And now I know!  I’ve lived here for over a decade without knowing the name of our enormous pine tree.  Somewhat rude of me, really.

Early pinecones tucked between the needles on the branch.

Phylum Pterophyta

Phylum Pterophyta  (Ptero – means wing in Greek) is dedicated to ferns, which don’t have seeds, but sporangia (spore container).  In our yard we have an evergreen fern called Autumn or Japanese Shield Fern, Dryopteris erythrosora .  I love this photo that GraceNotes took!

Dryopteris erythrosora. It is evergreen in our region, and loves dappled shade.

Phylum Bryophyta

Phylum Bryophta (Bryo means moss in Greek) is where botanists tuck all of the many mosses.  I never knew there were so many types of moss in Virginia until I tried to identify the lovely bright green moss that grows between our stones on the patio, and now in the yard just above the roots and in the shade of our enormous Laurel Oak.  Apparently, one must look very, very closely (like with a microscope or high power lens) so this is one that we will be following up on.

Notebooking Journal

The Apologia Young Explorer series also produces a spiral bound Notebooking Journal in which to “narrate” back what has been read.  GraceNotes thoroughly enjoys using Apologia’s Botany Notebooking Journal for sketching, and for recording the outcome of projects and experiments.  In addition to at least one fun mini-book or foldable per chapter, there are sketch prompts,  a crossword puzzle with the vocabulary list, a copywork page as well as a helpful list of Books for Additional Reading to augment the chapter topic.

A Comic Strip approach to the process of pollinating and seed production.

We have enjoyed several of the suggested titles!  I can highly recommend  The Flower Hunter: William Bartram America’s First Naturalist.  Deborah Kogan Ray offers her lovely illustrations and the story of the young boy (William) who enjoys accompanying his father, John Bartram, botanist to the King of England, as they seek to catalog and name the many plants of the American colonies.   How interesting to be reminded that once upon a time the plants of the United States were strangely new and completely unknown!  Familiar trees like the American Holly, Flowering Dogwood, Mountain Laurel and Paper Birch were among the plants named and described by John and William Bertram.

Another book that we would not have found without Jeannie Fulbright’s helpful list is Sky Tree, by Thomas Locker with Candace Christiansen.  Through a series of paintings, the seasons of the year in the life of a tree are presented with an eye to the interrelationship of atmosphere (sky) and plant.  Each painting has brief text pointing toward an animal in the scene, the season, the weather, the time of day, or the quality of the light, and a question designed to encourage thought not just about the tree or season, but the way it is has been painted.  A painting of the tree with a dark and threatening sky in the background asks, “This is the same tree in the same place.  What makes this painting different?”

We will be posting every so often as we work our way through the Botany text.  In the meantime, this post will be submitted to the Blogging Through the Alphabet meme at Ben and Me.

Thanks for reading!

A is for Anticlimactic Snow Storms

We snicker at weather coverage of all types.  It’s because we are in the coastal South.

Every year from June through October – official hurricane season  – we see our share of Weather Star Wannabes (WSW’s) paying their dues by reporting **LIVE** from the beach in rain slickers and galoshes (we can assume).  Dramatically battered by blustering winds, they shout above the wrathful waves in the background and hope their makeup doesn’t run rampant in the driving rain.

It’s not that we don’t take hurricanes seriously.  Actually we do.

We just don’t take weather coverage seriously.  The WSW’s can’t help but hope that this storm will be the next Katrina or Sandy, so they can surf the storm surge to a station in a bigger market.  As far as the networks go,  Storms are great for ratings.  The ever-so-discerning-television-audience loves the catharsis of a destructive weather event.  The stronger the wind, the higher the waves, the longer the attention span.  Severe weather meets the same dark need that reality shows meet – Keeping up with the Katastrophes, or Dancing with Disaster, or Housewives of Hurricane (fill in hurricane name here).

In any case, when winter comes, with the attendant WINTER STORM WATCH, we smirk, and well, we often snort, in addition to snickering.

We’ve noticed that in Hampton Roads, reality snows pale in comparison to reality shows…

Because we are on the coast of Virginia, we rarely get snow.   I grew up in central and Northern Virginia where snow is a regular, if not frequent winter visitor.  But in the many, many years I’ve lived in Virginia Beach, and then Norfolk, we’ve never gotten serious snow, although in a good year we’ll get enough to enjoy for a day or two.  It has something to do with our proximity to the warm ocean currents of the gulf stream.  That, and the warmth stored in the many rivers running throughout our region keeps the white, fluffy variety of precipitation at a distance.

Now, our local Weather Teams know this.  But face it, a storm scare is good for ratings, and good for local business.  There is nothing quite like a triple doppler, VIPIR enhanced storm warning to cause a spike in grocery store sales, empty the shelves at Walmart, and put all of the local pizza delivery restaurants prior to,  even during,the Big Storm in the black.

This past winter we also snickered at the new weather channel policy of naming winter storms, we already know ratings are the reason for the season, but,  here is a link to their explanation.

Here in Hampton Roads our first encounter was DANGEROUS WINTER STORM IAGO.   It dumped at least a quarter of an inch of snow on our cars which if carefully scraped up within the hour before it melted, could be formed into a small snow pet on the hood, and one small snowball to save for #1 Son’s visit home.   So, while the quantity was lacking,  it was redeemed by the fun we had refreshing our memories on Iago’s Shakespearean namesake.

IAGO: If I scrape, there’s enough snow!

IAGO: Saving one for #1 Son

IAGO: Fresh snow!

KHAN: Some snow!

Winter Storm KHAN – A small snow human from snow scraped off the yard…

IAGO: Small snow pet on hood of truck

KHAN: Preparing for the Snow Ball Fight

KHAN: Filling up the birdfeeder

 

Shortly thereafter, DANGEROUS WINTER STORM KHAN invaded.  While talk turned to the legendary Ghengis, or his grandson Kublai, The Garners were thinking fondly of Khan Noonien Singh.  Yes.  Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically-enhanced tyrant who after using his superior intellect and physical abilities to tyrannize earth in the 1990′s, was exiled into outer space, then, after an encounter with Capt. James Tiberius Kirk, marooned on Ceti Alpha V with tragic consequences, in the Melvillian inspired Star Trek II:  The Wrath of Khan.  (Trailer at the end of the post)

In any case, Winter Storm Khan actually produced a full inch or so of snow that was of sufficient quantity to construct a dwarfish snow human, and manufacture a decent arsenal of snowballs for a wintery battle that was somewhat fun despite the absence of #1 Son.

Fond memories of Khan were followed by DANGEROUS WINTER STORM NEMO.  This was fun for Latin class.  Nemo in Latin means “no man”  or “no one,” which matches our experience of the storm which was a total no show, a washout.  We couldn’t find a single flake of snow.  Rain.  Lots of rain. Which made us, (and others),  maybe even you, think of other watery references to Nemo…

As I write this post on the second day of Spring, we are experiencing SERIOUS SPRING STORM VIRGIL.  I can more fully appreciate the naming of winter storms.  GraceNotes has been studying Classical Greece and Rome, where Virgil features prominently.  We both enjoyed Penelope Lively’s gorgeously illustrated book In Search of a Homeland:  The Story of the Aeneid.  It has been snowing off and on all day, and while lovely – it’s not sticking.  Regardless, we plan to huddle up and ride it out, perhaps enjoying a few lines of Virgil!

Anticlimactic Weather Resources:

Iago – Shake Sphere – we love this site! All Shakespeare, All The Time…

Wrath of Khan Trailer:

Nemo:  Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Virgil:  The Aeneid, and a favorite poetry resource, Poets.Org, and a gorgeous picture book for an intro to the Greek Epic, Penelope Lively’s In Search of A Homeland, The Story of the Aeneid