Fun In the Making Summer “green” craft and sew workshop July 5th -8th (9am to 2pm)

Posted Jun 13, 11 -Filed Under workshops and classes | Leave a Comment

Students should bring a packed lunch daily.

Spaces still available for this workshop. For students going into 2nd grade or higher.

Students will make

• a reversible apron out of project leftover fabric or recycled tablecloth, curtain or any other suitable fabric (provided by student). Or students will make an apron out of a dress that they out-grew. Sleeveless dresses work best.

• pottery bowls the way Indians did out of local clay. It is recommended that students wear old cloths early in the week while doing pottery.

• home-made stamps and use them to recycle a paper bag into a beautiful book cover. These are great for nature journal covers.

• a garden weaving used to decorate one’s garden (Garden Art) or students can choose to make a dream catcher (A Native American craft used to stop bad dreams).

• a feather pen and practice calligraphy. They will also make an envelope guide used to neatly address envelopes.

• fabric flower pins. Students will sew attractive flowers to be used to enhance a purse, dress, blouse, or even a headband.

On Friday afternoon, students will have a party. There will be a life sized tipi.

Other workshop dates: Aug 8th -12th and Aug 15th-19th.

Raising A Yellow Spotted Salamander Larvae: A Sneak Peak

Posted Jun 13, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | Leave a Comment

I just couldn’t wait to share this cool picture of a yellow spotted salamander larva that I’ve been raising. I’ll post more pictures of Mandy in a future post.

It has a green cabbage white caterpillar in its mouth.

Box Turtle Builds Nest In Maryland Yard

Posted Jun 12, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | 2 Comments

How exciting: I discovered an eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) digging a nest in my yard! We have a lot of box turtles on our property but I’ve never seen one build a nest. She reached in with her back leg and scooped out some dirt, and then she reached her other leg and scooped out some dirt. One leg then the other… She was at this for hours.

I took this video at 8pm. I sat nearby for a long time then took a break from the mosquitoes. When I came back at 10:30ish she had finished making her nest, laid her eggs and was in the process of returning the dirt into the hole.

I’m including this video, even though the quality is so bad, because I found it so interesting how she took such care in returning the soil. She mashes the soil down as best she can to pack it back in. When she completed her business, her nest location was undetectable.

Eating Daylily Buds Hemerocallis fulva

Posted Jun 5, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification, garden (gardening info and eco-friendly project ideas), recipes | 1 Comment

I’ve known for a long time that you could eat daylily buds but just never tried them. I’m so glad I finally did.

I sautéed them in a frying pan with some butter and added a bit of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. They were delicious served over whole wheat vermicelli! They tasted like a cross between asparagus and zucchini.

Pick the buds when they are no bigger than about two inches long. Large pods can be bitter so I’ve read.

Add some flower petals (which are also edible) as a garnish.

Green Tree Frog In Southern Maryland

Posted Jun 4, 11 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | 3 Comments

Green tree frog (Hyla cinerea)

Here is another amphibian that lives around my house in Southern Maryland. It was outside my kitchen window at night. It was attracted to the gathering of insects lured by the light inside the house.

Don’t you just love tree frogs?

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    Are you having any trouble understanding some of the instructions? Feel free to send me a quick e-mail at HesterJane@FunInTheMaking.net. I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Do you have any suggestions regarding a specific post? Maybe you have a better way and would like to share it with the other creative people visiting this site? -Hester Jane