"'There's cold chicken inside it,' replied the Rat briefly;We're going on a picnic on this, the second day of spring.
'coldtonguecoldhamcoldbeefpickledgherkinssaladfrenchrollscresssandwidges
pottedmeetgingerbeerlemonadesodawater-'
'O stop, stop,' cried the Mole in ecstacies: 'This is too much!' 'Do you really think so?' inquired the Rat seriously. 'It's only what I usually take on these little excursions; and the other animals are always telling me that I'm a mean beast and cut it very fine!'"
Wind in the Willows Kenneth Grahame
I wonder why we don't capitalise seasons in English? Always intrigued me. We capitalise months of the year and days of the week but not seasons of the year. Curious - but I digress down one of those rabbit trails that you find when you speak of picnics.
Now this is why I love homeschooling - the picnic, not the grammar - well, one of the reasons, anyhow. I actually like the grammar too. But back to the picnic.
We'll be going down to the river. We're in a drought, you may recall, and so we won't be 'messing about with boats', but it is quite beautiful, the Avoca River, in its own Australian way.
Do you like the photo above? It's a Stave jigsaw puzzle from here. I absolutely love wooden jigsaw puzzles - the ones with certain pieces cut into recognisable shapes. This Wind in the Willows Picnic puzzle can even be personalised with your name and shapes of your choice. Seriously wild!!
Oh dear - another rabbit trail. See what you're responsible for, Thomas Austin? Spring does it to me you know - makes me vague and happy and wandery. What was I saying? Ah yes, the picnic.
We'll take our sketch books - we may do some nature study.
Maybe.
We'll take our free read books - we may do some reading.
Maybe.
What we will do is relax together, mother and daughter, and enjoy what our great God in his providence has put right here for us to enjoy on this beautiful spring day. Oh - and eat!! We'll be doing that - definitely!! Maybe not as sumptuously as Ratty and Mole, but we will have something special. Pink iced donuts are amongst Jemimah's favourites, so well take those. There are still Chocky Crackles on the go (the copha will give us energy...) and some lovely ripe bananas. Sandwidges too (did you notice that's how it is spelled above?) - multigrain bread, avocado, cheddar cheese, homegrown lettuce and mayo. We'll pack it all into a wicker basket and we'll spread a rug on the ground. It'll be grand.
We'll take the camera - we may take photos.
Maybe.
This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 NIVWhat are you doing to be glad on this perfect day?
Oh, sounds lovely! Do take some pictures of your picnic!
ReplyDeleteIt's spring-ish here...but getting a little colder towards this end of the week, the temperature's expected to drop to 2 degrees (celsius) again for a few nights.
I love your thoughts today! Wish I could be with you and see that beautiful Australian river. I've wondered about capitalizing seasons myself. Hmmm. It's a serious rabbit trail indeed.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your encouragement today. We are settling into AO here and it looks to be a good year.
Lynn
Oh my, my mouth is watering! Your picnic sounds so lovely, especially since we are still putting up with cloudy humidity here. I must plan a picnic on our own once the weather turns crisp and agreeable!
ReplyDeleteAs picnic would be great.
ReplyDeleteThis morning looked like it was going to be a nice day but clouds have gathered so I think we will be staying close to home.
We did sit in the sun this morning and read Trixie Belden.
BTW, I added you as a friend on facebook. Just thought I let you know in case you were wondering who the heck is Therese R-----
Sounds lovely.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanne,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful idea, and the donuts sound delicious.
It's been raining here today, a misty sort of rain, but it's wonderful - I never complain about the rain.
I hope that you had a wonderful day.
Blessings,
Jillian
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i like spring ...
ReplyDeletehappy spring to you!
I guess we mainly slept on your beautiful Spring day. We had a lovely end of summer day and collected crickets. We'll be making Mrs. Comstock's cricket cage for some music appreciation and nature study.
ReplyDeleteOff to the Clark for the "Japanese Art in Nature" exhibit.
Glad you had a lovely, pink iced day!
"Japanese art in Nature", she splutters, "No fair! I wanna come too!"
ReplyDeletesounds lovely and you made my mouth water too:)
ReplyDeletewe are enjoying spring here too, weather has been GORGEOUS until this afternoon but can't complain as it hasn't rained for weeks!