I love summer – the late setting sun, the warm weather, and most especially the fruit. Life just seems simpler in the summer. According to my calendar, summer isn’t over yet and I’m going to enjoy every last minute of this season. August is National Peach Month and I challenged myself to make a recipe […]
Farm Fresh
Hey, Hey, Hay! Perfect Picture Book Friday
Hi Friends, Don’t you love this time of year? Everything is so fresh and green. My daily drive takes me through the countryside and I’ve been watching the hay grow, and grow, and grow! Today I’m joining Susanna Leonard Hill’s Perfect Picture Friday to share a perfect book that’s all about hay! Title: Hey, […]
Field Trip Notes: Staycation Edition
Looking back over my calendar I realized that I didn’t travel at all during the month of June. I am always going somewhere so this seemed really odd. I guess you could call it a stay-cation. First of all, the Kings River water was released from the dam. Since we have been in a drought […]
Field Notes
Hello Field Trip Friends! I hope you’ve had a chance lately to travel a bit or read some books set in interesting locations. I thought I’d share a few things that I made note of this past month. I was inspired by my trip to Nicaragua. I will be returning in mid-March and need […]
Bon Appetit! Happy Birthday to Julia Child
Many years ago, I was walking at sunrise on beach near Santa Barbara when I chanced upon a tall lady holding a mesh sack. She stopped to chat and I realized immediately that I was talking with the famous chef, Julia Child. She happily opened her sack and showed me mussels she had collected. She […]
Peach Pleasure – Kid Lit (and recipes)
It is harvest time for stone fruit! I walk most mornings with the dogs and have been captivated by the trees dripping with fruit. We are experiencing a horrific drought here in Central California but the farmers aren’t giving up. Take a look at these peaches coming soon to a fruit stand or farmers market […]
W is for Washington D.C.
Welcome to Day 23 in the A to Z Blog Challenge where we post in alphabetical order during April. My blog theme for the month is Read the World with Kid’s Books. W is our letter of the day so we are heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue which is, of course, the address for the […]
Celebrate Pi Day! 3.14152653
When you live with a math fanatic March 14th is a big day. And, this year it looks like it will be the best ever! It is Pi Day and we are going to celebrate. I first learned of Pi day from my daughter Mee Mee who loves all things math. Since we enjoy all holidays […]
Floating into the New Year –
A few months ago my daughter, Roxanne, suggested that we go and decorate the Rose Parade float built by the students at the Cal Poly Universities. I’m always ready for a field trip so we signed up. Unfortunately, Roxanne was scheduled to work on campus so my brother, John, joined me. We kept asking […]
Nuts for Nuts!
When autumn arrives, most people think of pumpkins and colorful leaves. Now, I like pumpkins and leaves as much as anyone but around here are other signs of the season. I’m thinking of nuts! When I first moved to California’s Central Valley I was amazed to drive past mile after mile of walnut trees. Our […]
Three Books for a Pumpkin Patch
Every year my field trip buddy, Carmen, plants an acre of pumpkins at her family’s Bettencourt Farms. She plants a great variety making sure to have giant, tiny, heirloom, and different colored pumpkins. Then she opens her patch to local kids to come and enjoy. I get to be the official pumpkin presenter. Yesterday, Hanford […]
Best Blueberry Books
July is Blueberry Month and the next best thing to eating blueberries is reading about them. On my top 10 best picture book list is Blueberries for Sal. This classic, written by Robert McClosky in 1948, follows Little Sal who is “helping” her mother to pick blueberries which will be canned for the winter. On […]