The Giving Tree

It is starting to feel and look like summer on the farm. The small peach trees are blooming beautiful shades of pink. We checked them closely today and gently touched the new flowers and we were amazed by the natural process of growth. We also checked the apple trees and lemons, some of them were still too small but we could see how the leaf buds were trying to develop and maybe next time we will see more flowers. We picked some lemons from the lemon tree and their smell was wonderful, we could hardly wait to taste the lemonade.

After, we picked some artichokes, broad beans and spinach. The spinach had grown so much and covered all of our baskets. David watered the vegetables and we ran to feed the chickens and the animals. We got to ride Perla while she was munching her food. Today we also had a new addition to the farm, three beautiful tortoises that we all held. We touched their rough patched shell and observed their slow movements and their beauty. Because we were all giving attention only to the tortoises we realized that the hens had left their pen so we had to run around and get them inside again. When all the animals were fed and the tortoises in a safe place we went to read a story. We read “The Giving Tree” which was a beautiful story about a selfless tree and a boy. First we thought that it was a sad story but after we discussed it a little more we realized that the tree was happy to have the boy finally come back home and rest on her trunk. After reading the story we all made a painting of a colorful tree with our hand prints and while we let it dry in the sun, we went in the kitchen to make a chocolate cake. Alex, Judit and Sara all mixed the batter and added the ingredients, when we put the cake in the oven we drank some lemonade that Maria made with the freshly picked lemons. It was delicious!! While we were waiting for the cake we decided to go around the gardens to find as many different leaves as possible and make a collection. It is amazing how many different shapes, colors and scents nature has given us.

We ended the day by enjoying the chocolate cake with some more lemonade and we ran to find the tortoises who had apparently escaped the chicken hen while we were so busy collecting and making art.

Our team of young ones were quite the active group on Saturday! We began our morning feeding the animals, collecting eggs, looking for turtles, and chasing the chickens. After spending time with the animals, we walked to the garden, watered the plants, looked at the young flowering trees, and examined the sizes of the fruits on the older trees. Then we left the garden and went to the kitchen to bake cookies, and everyone took turns helping to mix the ingredients! While we waited for the cookies to bake, we read “Daddy’s Little Star” together and talked about all the stars in the sky. We finished the day eating our cookies and crafting our own stars out of construction and cellophane paper!