Among the Daisies and Dragonflies

Daisies scattered all over the land and dragonflies zipping every which way above the tall grass. Everything was perfectly in place and ready for our total immersion in the woods.

There was so much hidden amongst the daisies. There was a huge patch of wild strawberries!

The wild ones were tiny little things but packed full of flavor. A handful held to my nose smelled like a super concentrate of strawberry scents. The flavors were all sweet intensity. What an amazing surprise!

The blackberries are on their way. 

And then we found this little gal.

Right there on the middle of the wild strawberry patch.

She was gorgeous! And while I have no idea whatsoever if turtles eat strawberries there probably was no coincidence that was where she hanging out.

There were also some amazing fungi. I texted someone a photo and she claimed this is chicken of the woods. But on Instagram someone commented that it could oyster mushrooms although I've never seen oysters so big. I didn't have my identification book with me and in any case I am still many years from having sufficient information to forage for mushrooms. I can look, search, and dream all I want but  no eating allowed yet.

These little ladies were everywhere. How cool is it that my own little lady saw one and proclaimed it was doing its "j-hang" thing and that the next day it would cocoon. I just wanted to know if I could do dishes nearby without disrupting the "j-hang." I got the green light. Kindergarten is so awesome, much better than when I was in school!

Look mom, she says, here all all the eggs.

She officially finished kindergarten last Friday. I can't believe it is already over! It was an awesome year. Now she is reading, writing, caring for caterpillars. Oh the list of things she can do is endless. And brings me an endless amount of joy!

She and I spent some time counting to ten in all the languages we knew (there were at least 6 but in a couple of those counting was all we knew). Then we sang songs in some of those languages. At her school she learns English, Spanish and Arabic. Pretty amazing, huh?

The local farmers market started up again and we spent loads of time talking with them about all the happenings since the winter. The little Lotus Bud resumed her friendship with the little Mennonite girl. They picked right up from where they left off last fall. But now they are both reading and writing. But not before they clasp each other's hands and run through all the stalls and vehicles. They both are so sweet. 

I'm posting this from Florida. The Lotus Bus and I came down here on Monday to spend time with granny. It has been hot and humid. But granny is doing much better than I'd been led to believe. And Bud has been able to hang with her cousins. She is now the little sleepover princess! It is going to be hard to get her to leave.