One of my 2020 goals has been to take more pictures and use them in my blog. Fridays are keeping me accountable – this is when I upload pictures from the week and give you a quick rundown of “real life” around here! This week: mostly insect eggs.
A second chrysalis 
Insect eggs on a stick 
More insect eggs 
even more insect eggs 
Our last day lily! 
A tame look at our table when we’re Doing School (notice that no one is here) 
Pumpkin swirl! 
A dual samara (or double samara) with THREE wings!
Bear is really good at finding insect eggs. It’s one of his stranger talents, but exciting. I always know I’m in for something amazing when I see him running towards me and shouting Mom! Mom! Here are some more eggs! So I’m starting to take pictures of the eggs because it’s quite remarkable how often he finds them. I don’t remember finding a collection of insect eggs ever when I was a kid — clearly I was never as observant as he is!
Today we’re wrapping up our first official week of Blackberry Bluff School (yes, we named our school). It went much better than I expected – there’s plenty to tweak and play with, but I’m pleased. I’m especially pleased that we’re planning to be in school 44 weeks while the typical school year is about 36, so that gives us plenty of room for forgiveness. One of the things I can’t figure out: tidiness. Our table has ended up looking like the picture above all summer. Somehow, immediately upon starting our morning, the dining room explodes. Maybe this year I’ll slowly be able to figure out how to tamp all that down. Or not.
I’m nearing the end of my Spark Cardigan and am planning to make a few simple hats when I finish. I feel like I need a bit of a breather because I’ve been intensely working on sweaters all summer. But once I finish those hats, I think I’ll be itching for another big project! I’ve been wanting to make another shawl, but my shawl drawer is full (see banner picture) and I have no idea where I would even keep it. There are several shawls in that drawer that I’ll never wear, but I’m not sure what to do with them. Goodwill? Trash can? I have no interest in unwinding them and repurposing the yarn, which makes me feels wasteful. I’ll let you know what I decide to do with them!
I hope all of you and your loved ones fared well during Hurricane Laura. My family is in SouthEast Texas and evacuated. Thankfully the storm is a fast mover and they’re already back home. No power and minimal damage. Hurricane season is so stressful!
Here’s to a great weekend! I hope yours is full of books and wool!
The Cozy Burrow 
Ohhh, I LOVE your pictures! Congratulations on your first week of homeschooling!! (I love the name, and I think it’s great, maybe you could make a little banner for the room that goes up during school time?).
Kudos to Bear for finding insect eggs, I … never did. (I never looked for them either, but he has a good eye!)
I LOVE your shawls!! I have a similar problem, and I have actually wanted to blog about it. 😉 We have an organisation in town that supports homeless people and folks who are threatened by homelessness, and I wanted to write them an email and ask whether they’d like to have at least the sock yarn shawls. If they don’t I guess I’ll give them to Goodwill.
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Thanks Julia! Donating them to homeless shelters is a great idea. It hadn’t occurred to me – thank you!
I never, ever found insect eggs either. I never even looked for them — and I had no idea that Bear was looking for them until he found his first little cluster!
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Lovely pictures of your week. i wonder what all those insects are. At the moment I am contending with spiders coming in and looking for a mate- apprently they like houses for mating , and the spiders are huge.
Wow that drawer is full of shawls, the drawer itself is a work of art.
Congrats on the first week of home schooling- i think the table shows a successful time in which children have been able to learn at their own pace and in their own way. You don’t want to talk and chalk which would be tidier but put them off for life.
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Oh no – spiders are just awful. I try to remember their benefit but I get the creepy crawlies when they’re around! I believe that these eggs are caterpillars, but I’m not sure.
Thanks for your kind words about our first week of school. You’re right – I need to be careful about how much I nag about tidiness!! 🙂
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I’m glad school has gone good this week, love the name! Perhaps when school is officially done for the day, books and papers could be organized before leaving. Before the public school elementary children can leave school for the day, they have to clear their desks so the cleaning staff can sanitize them. At least you don’t have to do that.
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Thanks Gretchen! We definitely clean up when we’re finished for the day, but everything just explodes as soon as we start again! It’s crazy how quickly it happens!! And you’re right – I’m relieved that I don’t have to do a deep clean every evening!!
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Love your Friday posts! I’m so glad your family is safe and back at home, AND I love the name for your school. Maybe your journals, too??? 😉
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Thanks Jordy! My parents are STILL without power and it’s really hot down there, so I feel bad about enjoying these cool and rainy days and hot cups of coffee.
I AM thinking of calling my journals The Blackberry Bluff chronicles, because most of them have been written while we’ve lived in this house! But my journals are so egocentric and everything is about ME!! Maybe I should call them The Katie Gilley is a Drama Queen Chronicles.
Enjoy your Sunday!
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A suggestion for your shawls. Nursing homes here in Canada are always willing to accept them. Elderly people are always chilly.
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A nursing home is a great idea!! There’s one just a couple of miles from my house — Thank you! This would have never occurred to me!
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A messy school area means that a lot of learning is happening! Seeing as you have some time flexibility, could you build in a few minutes at the end of each day for the kids to tidy up the area so that they’re ready to start fresh the next day?
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You’re right – they’re really enjoying themselves! We do clean up each day, but I get so tired of tip toeing through messes DURING the day! And there’s not even any room for anything else on the table!! Argh!
I need to get over myself and just have fun! 🙂
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What a fun week! I just love all the bug eggs! I am a bit like you in that I have never found that many insect eggs ever! I am in awe! 🙂
A suggestion for your shawls… is there a woman’s center in your area? Or a senior center? Those might be places to donate them… and they will be well loved! 🙂
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Thanks Kat! He is gifted at finding those eggs, for sure! The one on the stick just amazed me. Out of all of the sticks in the yard, he picked that one up, examined it, and saw insect eggs. AMAZING!
Thank you for suggesting the senior center and women’s shelter for donating my shawls! You’re right – they will certainly be loved there. Much better than my idea (the trash can)!!
Enjoy your Sunday!
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Your nature photos are lovely! I chuckled at the caption…”notice no one is here”. 🙂 Your shawls are BEAUTIFUL! And I love your school name. Ours is Willow Tree Academy. 🙂
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Thanks Amy! “Willow Tree Academy” has such a lovely cadence to it – it’s hard to not SING it! I love it 🙂
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