Up close .... with fire (and snakes)

the melting snow means PLENTY of water - and the warmth means bugs and other animals are waking up - Michael heaven. Large amounts of time are spent looking for bugs, frogs and toads. Here you can also see the bonfire to be - usually it should burn on the April 30th as part of Valborg (Walpurgis Celebration) - but we do it now, as there are more people and more time to take care of the fire in a safe way.

using the saw to remove unwanted trees from the meadow

great feeling to see butterflies - SPRING!!!

preparing the sticks to grill sausages with later

Michael still searching - using a squirter to collect water for the waterbugs he's finding

out in the reeds the lake meets the melt water - and at the time of year the pikes come into the shallows to "play". So interesting to hear your own children excitedly calling out about various animals mating. learning about the circle of life...

snake rescue - no-one fancied BBQ snake so this little charmer got moved to a safer location

first row to watch the fire. The great part of BIG bonfires is that it generates so much heat that the children instinctively know to keep at a safe distance - this has always been, even since they were toddlers. It was interesting to hear how they discussed the colours, the shape and the sounds of the fire. It really does roar!

they also experimented with their sunglasses - each pair producing a slightly different effect!

making "stick-bread" which is essentially water, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Usually you wrap it around a stick and then cook it over the fire - but this time we wrapped it around sausages - important to get the bread as thin as possible around the sausage so that it all cooks through...

grilling the sausages on the bonfire, once it has died down... always interesting for children to learn that even though the flames have died down, the heat has not, and that by adding more dry wood/sticks the flames start to dance again. The children learn about what is needed to create fire - but also what to do if you catch on fire (drop and roll) - as well as learning about what clothes to wear - no synthetics that can melt onto the skin!! Its great to play with fire, but you have to play safely.