keeping it cozy, part one (botanical take)

Happy New Year, Long Island! My sincerest hope is that this blog post finds you in good health. Other than Mass and a few local (mainly outdoor) activities, we are keeping it low-key and really focusing on making the most of our stay-at-home life these days.

In addition to the obvious joy first and foremost --Christmas-- we have been enjoying the unusually slow transition out of fall. We decided to take advantage of Amber Waves' winter CSA box extension, and our first couple of December trips were decidedly autumnal. Many of the leaves were still on the trees earlier in the month, and they were simply a joy to behold. We signed up for an outdoor children's class, while was a delight: a handmade rosemary and pine wreath, under the direction of Farmer Kristen. S loved every second of the class!

​The farm really took on a fun twist with decorated tractors and a marketplace. I wish we could have caught the tractors at nighttime!

​As we moved into mid-December, the warmer weather surprised me; when we got out to Amagansett one day, I saw cherry trees in bloom. Far afield while en route to our brick-and-mortar co-op, I happened to catch a glimpse of a few forsythia blossoms emerging along the side of the road. It got me thinking... could I force Forsythia blooms inside? I never did it this early in the year, but since I forgot to ask the landscaper to trim them back this fall, our lengthy hedge had plenty of odd branches to spare. It wasn't a high priority as we moved into Christmas, but the past few days with temperatures in the fifties and ample free time finally gave me the motivation I needed. I brought a couple dozen branches inside, scored the bottoms with a utility knife for ease in cutting, and then split them up the middle with my shears. The obliging vintage Pyrex container from my mom's days in the lab almost fifty years ago seemed a fitting vase. All in all, it probably took about an hour. Will it work? That remains to be seen...

In other efforts at bringing nature inside our home, this week we will be doing a pinecone experiment I found amongst our collection of materials from East Hampton's Playful Learning (43 Pantigo Road, 631-899-4574). The product of veteran educator Mariah Bruehl's flourishing creative vision, Playful Learning boasts a studio learning center which features in-person enrichment classes for young children, as well as an online printable membership especially geared to homeschoolers. Materials are secular, wholesome, and a good fit developmentally for the junior kindergarten through mid-elementary set. We haven't taken the classes at the East Hampton studio, but we certainly benefitted from the robust offerings made available through the online membership. My favorite units have been the science/nature-themed ones, especially those with a focus on L.I.'s own flora and fauna. I really appreciate how fine motor, phonics and spelling skills are gently incorporated into the lesson units. The materials have certainly complimented our main curricula nicely, bringing about present-tense moments of joyful science exploration. Does all of a pumpkin float? I won't spoil that surprise, but if you'd like to learn more about Playful Learning, you can explore all that they have to offer at www.playfullearning.net

In this spiritually joyful but otherwise dormant season for those of us who live in the Northeast, what little ways do you enjoy bringing some of nature's beauty into your home?