The Nature Table

Fall nature table

Creating a nature table is a natural extension of our time spent out doors. Each treasure we find reminds us of the remarkable beauty in nature: the forms, colors, smells, and tastes. When a fascinating specimen is found, we gently carry it to the house to place reverently on our nature table.

We've had a nature table in some form since the Boy was born. Originally, it was a little plate on the center of our dining table, where he would put little stones or flowers. As we spent more time in nature, among the amazing flowers and trees, splashing in the creeks and puddles, clambering over rocky trails, that plate soon proved to be way too small.

The Boy loves to collect rocks and feathers, seeds and twigs, pine cones and bird's nests. And now they all make their way to our designated nature table. (Much better than in his pocketses.)

All of our summer and early fall treasure, abundantly overflowing their boundaries!

At the beginning of each seasonal change, the table is nice and tidy. We change the cloth, rearrange piles of things we want to keep, create a blank slate. Oh, but by season's end, it is crowded! So many little treasure that need to be moved to some other place.

Some disintegrate, like fern leaves and herbs. Others the kitty knocks to the floor, amusing herself. Those are easy to dispose of...off to the compost pile. Some are too special to just toss back outside. I actually get a little anxious thinking about how I can get rid of these finds without seeming callous. I think we came up with a great solution.

The fairy house.

This morning we decided that with our fall to winter change we'd build a fairy house with our nature treasures. After a full geometry lesson, we packed up the contents of the table and trekked outside to find the perfect place...meaning protected from the puppy and the chickens.

An hour spent in the sunshine and fresh air, building a quaint little cottage scene under a forsythia. Plus cleaning off the nature table in a gentle way.

The late fall/winter table. Look at all the clean space!

Nature Study...Butterflies

Here on the east coast we've just spent a weekend expecting the wrath of hurricane Irene. I say 'expecting' because the news outlets made it seem as though we would be wiped out, but we ended up being spared major damage. Actually, we didn't even lose power. We lost a lot of limbs from our old growth maples and had an indoor wading pool. But other than that, we made out well. 

When a major storm is approaching we do try to be cautious, though. If we lose power we lose our water supply, and we have lots of animals and people to care for. So, we spent last Friday preparing our little homestead: storing potential projectiles in the garage, moving the outside kitties to indoor shelter, bottling up some water, clearing gutters and rainspouts, and bringing in any nearly-ready produce from the garden.

When I was picking the tomatoes I found a chrysalis, my first ever! It was a beautiful silvery green.

It looked a lot like this. This is not a pic that I took.

I was afraid the impending storm would flatten the garden, so I carefully snipped the tomato leaf and placed it in a mason jar, punched holes in the lid, and placed it on the kitchen counter. Of course this was after running through the whole house like a 4 year-old shouting "Look what I found!"

I pretty much ignored the chrysalis on Saturday. I was way too involved in watching a 'Eureka' marathon with Husband. (Thanks Destynee for getting us hooked on that!)

On Sunday I checked the chrysalis and was surprised to see it had darkened. I made a mental note to look that up. What could that indicate? Hmmm... Unfortunately I was side-tracked by a flooding basement and after bailing for a half hour, totally forgot about the chrysalis until that evening.

I gave it a quick peek before going to bed and —so weird, it looked like it was breathing.  Seriously, it was moving in and out like a lung. Very slightly, almost imperceptibly. Ok, I was feeling a bit whacked; we hadn't had any sleep the night before due to the wind and rain, and I had been watching 'Eureka' all weekend, so maybe I was imagining things.

Apparently not. This morning I checked the jar and found that the chrysalis had hatched! Opening the jar, I gently shook the butterfly out onto our deck. I made a sugar water solution and dampened the deck boards and sat and watched as "she" opened her wings. We watched as they ever so gradually began to unfurl. It was an amazing thing to see first hand.

We think it might be a painted lady butterfly.