Dawes Arboretum - part 2

In early November, the Bachsters and I took a trip out to Dawes Arboretum to explore & enjoy a beautiful Fall day.   Here is the first post about our adventures.  Dawes is a very large arboretum & our time was limited, so we had to narrow down what we really wanted to see the most.  I had my preferences & the Bachsters each had their own, of course.  But, since it was just a couple of weeks after Halloween, and they had spooky things still in mind, they all wanted to see the cemetery at Dawes.

We've driven past this cemetery many times - every time we've been to Dawes, as a matter of fact, because it's right on the main road through the arboretum.  But we've never stopped to visit before - and I'm so glad that we did on this excursion, because it is a beautiful old cemetery, rich with history.

I was expecting to see the graves of the Dawes family (those are actually located at a different part of the land, close to the Dawes home).  This is a very old cemetery, with some of Licking county's first settlers buried here, as well as some Revolutionary War veterans.  The "new" tombstones, the ones you could actually read, were from the mid-to-late 1800s.

I'm so intrigued by old cemeteries, and I think this one deserves another visit.  It's relatively small, which is great because you really feel like you can explore all that is here.  I'm sure many, many visitors to Dawes just drive by, as we always have before.  I think this fascinating little area of Ohio's history is worth visiting again and again.

-Cheryl

Book Nook - Sarah, Plain and Tall

Sarah, Plain and Tall written by Patricia MacLachlan:



This is a quiet, gentle little book that won the Newbery Award in 1986.  In the story, Anna and Caleb lost their mother when she died a day after Caleb's birth.  The two children discuss her, Anna sharing her memories with Caleb, Caleb asking question after question.  Their father has recently put an ad in a newspaper for a "mail order bride" (although that term is not used in the book).  Sarah, a woman who lives in Maine, responds to the ad and starts a correspondence with the family.  Eventually, she comes for a visit to see how things go.  Anna and Caleb are fascinated by Sarah's life by the sea, while at the same time hope that she likes staying with them and will choose to stay permanently.  In fact, once Sarah arrives, the entire plot is simply the issue of will Sarah stay.

This book is very different from many of the popular choices kids have today.  There is no action, no magic, few characters, the pace is slow and it's incredibly short (58 pages).  This story has nothing up its sleeve, so to speak.  It's a very gentle telling, almost poetic really.  There is a lot of description of the sea and the place where Sarah lives.  As the family gets to know Sarah, they hope she's happy being there.  I personally enjoyed the simplicity of the book and thought it was a refreshing change from the norm.  My Bachsters had mixed feelings about it, the 6-year old enjoyed it more than our oldest DD (I don't think Little Dude joined in any of the readings).

From a mother's perspective, this book saddened me.  The scene in which Papa has his arms wrapped around Sarah, and Anna reflects that that is how he used to hold Mama just about brought me to tears.  To imagine someone in the place where you should be, with your family, is heartbreaking.  But if that day ever came, wouldn't it be nice to know that there was someone who could bring joy back to their lives, and love and (in the case of Sarah)....song.

-Cheryl   

The Nutcracker

Last night, we attended the opening night performance of The Nutcracker at the Ohio Theatre in downtown Columbus, Ohio.

It was wonderful!  The beautiful music, the fantastic sets and costumes and the graceful dancing.  It was a great performance.  And I'm happy to say that the Bachsters all loved it too.  Little Dude, who sat on my lap the entire time, told me after the first act that he "loves the Nutcracker."  And every time I looked over at the girls, they were watching, enthralled.

There were nutcrackers for sale in the lobby, and after the performance, we bought a big one for our 6-year-old (she chose a blinged-out purple glittery one), and 2 teeny-tiny nutcrackers for the other two Bachsters.  I love nutcrackers, so I could have taken them all home!

I believe we may have the beginnings of a new family holiday tradition!

Are you doing any fun holiday activities this weekend?

-Cheryl 

Dawes Arboretum - part 1

A few weeks ago, the Bachsters all had a random Tuesday off of school.  The weather was predicted to be beautiful that day, in the 70s and lots of sunshine.  So, we planned on taking a trip out to Dawes Arboretum, located in Newark, Ohio, to explore the beautiful arboretum on a gorgeous Fall day.

(We also visited Dawes in the Spring - here's the post)

The first thing we did was climb up the observation tower to see "Dawes Arboretum" spelled out in huge hedges.  You could feel the deck sway with the breeze, so needless to say, we didn't stay up there too long!

 
You can just see a little bit of the lake in that photo.  So, after our little picnic lunch, we headed over there & explored a little island in the middle of the lake.  There was a beautiful tree on the island called a paper birch with the neatest bark:

 
I switched to macro to get a close-up:

I think this called Winter Berry (but don't quote me on that!):

One area I really wanted to visit was the buckeye "patch."  Ohio is the Buckeye State, and Dawes has a group of buckeye trees planted in the shape of the number 17, because Ohio was the 17th state.  Unfortunately, it appeared as if we were a couple weeks late to see any buckeye tree foliage, but we found lots of buckeye nuts on the ground (the Bachsters were under strict orders not to take any of the buckeyes.  Not from me per se, but from Dawes - there were "please do not collect any buckeyes" signs everywhere.  Yes, we're a little crazy about our Buckeyes here in Ohio).

Another must see on my list was the Japanese Garden.  I'm not sure why, but I've been to Dawes a handful of times and never visited one of the biggest attractions there.  So, on this lovely Fall day, we finally made our way there.  First thing we came across was a Japanese rock & stone garden, known as karesansui.  Oh, the Bachsters were definitely forbidden to run around in there!  Further along in the garden, there is a lovely pond and a couple of decorative bridges, a meditation house and lots of beautiful trees, of course!

I love days like this - warm, golden Fall days spent with my Bachsters, exploring a beautiful corner of our world.  Just perfect!

You might have noticed this post is entitled part 1 - stay tuned for part 2....one of the must see areas of Dawes for the Bachsters!

-Cheryl

Book Nook - The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker written (or rather, adapted) and illustrated by Susan Jeffers:



It's early December, and this year in the Bach household that means one thing:  the countdown has begun.  No, not that countdown.  The countdown to The Nutcracker - we're going to see the ballet this weekend!  I am soooo excited!

I thought it would be nice to get the Bachsters a book about the Nutcracker so that they can read the story and understand what it's all about before we get to the performance.  There are many picture books out there on the Nutcracker, all based on a lengthy fairy tale called The Nutcracker and the Mouse King written by E.T.A. Hoffmann, published in 1816, on which the ballet is based (the ballet premiered in 1892).  But I am particularly fond of this one by Susan Jeffers because it tells the story in such an understandable kind of way.  There is a nice author's note at the back of the book, in which Jeffers explains that she decided to create the book because she wanted to present a simpler retelling for picture-book-age children, and she also wanted to incorporate ballet into the images.  Jeffers has accomplished both of these goals with aplomb.

For those who are not familiar with the story, it is about a little girl named Marie (often called Clara, although I'm not sure why her name was changed from the original at one point in time) who is enjoying a holiday party with her family and their guests.  Her godfather, Herr Drosselmeier (who is a bit magical) gives Marie a special gift at the party: a nutcracker.  Her little brother, Fritz, grabs the nutcracker and breaks him.  Marie wraps him up and falls asleep under the Christmas tree later that evening.  She wakes up in the middle of the night, and the tree has grown to an enormous size (or perhaps she is now tiny).  Before she knows it, she is surrounded by a bunch of mice and their king (who has 7 heads!).  And her nutcracker has come to life and is fighting all the mice!

The nutcracker, Fritz's toy soldiers and Marie win the battle with the mice.  Nutcracker turns into a Prince and escorts Marie to the land of the sweets, where they enjoy the dances of all the inhabitants (like Coffee, Mother Ginger & her polichinelles and the Sugar Plum Fairy).  One day, Marie will find herself Queen of this wonderful land.

I absolutely love The Nutcracker, & have ever since I was a child.  I love ballet (and love sweets!) and adore the music.  In fact, I listen to my Nutcracker CDs (composed by Tchaikovsky) throughout the year.  I think the music is my favorite part of the Nutcracker experience - if you've never listened to the entire composition, please treat yourself & sit down with a cup of hot chocolate and enjoy some of the finest classical music created!

Whether you are planning to see The Nutcracker this month or not, The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers is a wonderful retelling of the story that will turn anyone into a Nutcracker enthusiast!

-Cheryl

Hey, Santa!

Every year, our local library hosts a day with Santa Claus, with live music, crafts for the kids and a chance to visit with Santa.  It's always a lot of fun - I'm so grateful for our library for having such a great event!

For the past few days, the Bachsters have been revising and finalizing their Christmas lists to give to Santa.  And bright and early this morning, the 6-year old woke up to decide which fancy dress would be best for the occasion, and to get her new fancy dress shoes all ready.  Yes, there has been a great deal of excitement over meeting Santa today!

When we pulled up to the library's parking lot, Santa was right behind us - being escorted in a police car (but in a good way).  As Santa walked up to the building, our oldest DD ran up to him and gave him a big hug - it was so sweet!  Followed right behind her were the other two - yes, they really love Santa!

And of course, they sat on Santa's lap, and gave him their lists and drawings they had made for him:

(I know, the flash, the flash!  But I didn't want to miss the shot & the indoor lighting there is not the best)

After we visited with Santa, we headed over to the kids area of the library to do some crafts and games:

Our oldest said today that for Christmas, she would like Christmas to actually come a little earlier than the 25th - she said she just can't wait that long!

Are you doing any fun holiday activities this weekend?
-Cheryl

August 2012

I received a very surprising, wonderful phone call last week: a photo that I had submitted to a calendar contest for our local power company got accepted!  I'm pleased to let you know that my picture of a tree trunk with moss and ferns all over it (taken at the Rock House in Hocking Hills) is the shot for August:

There are a lot of really nice shots in the calendar - I especially like the winter pictures that were chosen for those months.  So, if you don't have your 2012 calendar yet, you might enjoy one of these!  You can contact Ohio's Rural Electric Cooperatives at 614-846-5757 for more information.

The shot from Rock House was from our family vacation to Hocking Hills in 2010.  I'm so glad I brought my camera with me (seriously, would I have even considered leaving it at home!?) because some of my favorite shots ever were taken on that trip.  I think it might be about time to re-visit Hocking Hills - it's my photography-muse!

-Cheryl