Great Hollow

The boys are taking nature classes at Great Hollow through a YMCA. It's an all-day thing every Friday (from 9 till 3). Here's a photo of the group heading out this morning.

The Great Hollow Homeschool coordinator writes a blog, so I'm just going to copy what it says our class has been doing:

"In plant class we are working on a very practical level, with our focus on conservation. Components of this endeavor are three-fold: Conservation of land integrity and biodiversity, Bioregional and traditional alternatives for herbal medicines which replace overuse of endangered plants, and Place-based knowledge. The latter being the founding root of the former two components.

Our classes thus far have reflected this. The first day we studied and planted Goldenseal roots. The second day we studied Elder and made wise Elderberry Elixir to keep everyone healthy this season. The third day we took root cuttings to help propagate our existing Bloodroot, and the students scouted the proper habitat for their transplant. Very well done. The fourth day we assimilated what we have learned about these plants and their accompanying lessons by creating our own folklore stories. This was an especially challenging and rewarding class – all the stories were fantastic, and if read to a sibling or younger friend, would indeed pass along the intended wisdom in clever and enchanting ways."

The boys really love this class, but I haven't decided whether we'll continue in the spring or not. It's super expensive and an hour away, which is really taking its toll on me.

Till now I've been dropping them off and returning home, since I can't leave Luna in her crate for eight hours. So altogether it's four hours of driving every week for me, not to mention all that gas.

This is one of those examples of how Luna is really cramping my style. Ordinarily I'd have absolutely no problem enjoying six hours alone in the Danbury area of the state, but with a dog? Well this time I didn't care, and brought her along and left her in the car. I spent a wonderful morning in Target, had lunch at a favorite diner (clam chowder, salad, stuffed cabbage, pickled beets and a baked potato - yum!), and then spent some time at a nearby state park.



Luna joined me on a walk through the park, but is so testing my alpha position that it was not very enjoyable. I did manage to take some photos though. Once we got to the beach area, I was distracted taking some macro photos and she slipped out from her choke collar and was off. Argh. To say she went berserk on that beach would be an understatement. I didn't yell and scream, or engage in her attempt to play, but just stood there dispassionately till she ran it out. Eventually I made my way to a picnic table and sat down to wait.

Luckily she is still a fraidy cat about some things and when a motor boat went by she came and sat right next to me. She was a lot less resistant to follow instead of lead on the leash once she had used up some of that energy, so it worked out. And she was finally willing to eat some of the food I had brought for her since she had worked up an appetite. She didn't eat anything all day till about 2:00!

Anyhow, I put her back in the car and had 15 minutes to take some photos without her. I always enjoy taking photos, but am pretty unhappy with my camera. It's a pocket thing, that's easy to carry, and it takes great macro shots when I can get it to focus where I want, but for action shots my four year old Sony blew it away. What good is a super long zoom if the shot is always fuzzy?

I enjoyed taking all those shots though, and wish I had gotten there before all the leaves were gone.

The drive to Great Hollow is a long one, but it's beautiful, and now that the leaves are all fallen, I can see the homes, and today noticed this (click to enlarge it):

What a lovely thing to come across.

So as usual, the boys had an awesome time in their nature class, and for once, I spent the afternoon the way I wanted to.

This evening R is sleeping at a friend's house, and once E is tucked into bed, I'll be settling into my own with my husband and a movie.

Life is good.