Another canoe trip on Cedar Creek at Congaree National Park

Saturday morning we took a break from gardening and spent the morning on a canoe trip at Congaree National Park. The Park is an amazing place just a few miles out of Columbia. They offer free guided canoe trips on the weekends. All you have to do is call 2 weeks in advance (right when they open at 8:30) to reserve your spot. We took this same trip last year and posted more details about the park and the creek here

On this trip we saw a pileated woodpecker, barred owl, lots of sparrows, great blue heron, and a baby box turtle.

It is always so refreshing to be out in the middle of the forest away from all the city noises and technology toys.

Safe and sound after the 2 hour trip (with no stops or breaks). No one fell in the water this time--that's a first!

Spring days in the garden

These photos have been taken over about a week. We spent all of last Saturday digging in the garden and getting 2 new rows ready. Daniel trimmed the lupine cover crop that had been growing all winter. We added our compost and then tilled it under and mixed it all in with shovels. Even though you don't see me in these pictures I was out there for most of the time. Daniel does way more of the work in the garden than I do but I really do enjoy being out there working along side of him.

The area that we were working in had potatoes and beans in it last year. The rows were shaped differently and we wanted them to look like the rest of the garden. The second picture is the finished product--2 more long rows.

(potatoes are planted in the 3rd row on the left. We planted those in late February)


We are excited about 2 new crops that we are trying out this year. Pictured below the top bed has jerusalem artichoke and the bottom has taro. Both of these plants are perennial and you harvest and eat the root or tuber.  They are also beautiful plants while they are growing. The jerusalem artichoke grows tall and have big yellow flowers and the taro have elephant ear stalks and leaves.

We started summer seeds (flowers, veggies, herbs) last week also.

In another part of the yard we have had this cabbage (along with  several others) growing all winter and it is big and beautiful now. We have a new found love of cabbage and I can't wait to harvest this one this weekend and enjoy it with friends.

We have lot's of sugar peas coming up on these two rows.

We have garlic and onions here with lettuce seeds scattered and beginning to sprout all over. Some other things we started as seeds in a few rows are carrots, radishes, turnips, bok choy. We will be transplanting our broccoli, kale, lettuce, and cabbage seedlings this weekend.

We ended one day last week hanging out by a fire.

Another night Daniel took E and A to see a local theater's production of The Sound of Music. We had friends that were acting in it and that musical is one of  our favorites.

Hunting Island wildlife

I want to add a few more pictures of some of the wildlife we were surrounded by over the weekend. The kids named 2 of the raccoons that visited us at the campsite. They also named the little black throated green warbler that came close a few times. I do not have a good zoom on my camera so I had to get very close and he didn't seem to mind. The other pictures are of the sea cucumber and the egret. In the first slideshow I posted a picture of the forest and if you look closely you can see 2 deer that came up to our site as well. Enjoy!

Spring Break Hunting Island 2010

We were so happy to return to Hunting Island State Park. This year we asked our good friends the Morrisons from Durham, NC to meet us there. It was cold and sunny so we just bundled up and played all day. The mornings and evenings we huddled around the campfire and enjoyed wonderful meals including oatmeal, pancakes, toasted burritos, roasted veggies--yum! The kids had so much fun playing on the natural playground of fallen trees along the beach on our hike to the light house. We also explored the marsh boardwalk, pier over the lagoon, and the nature center. It is a fabulous place to visit and one of our favorite spots in SC.

A great show

The dress rehearsals and show went by really quick and all the practicing definitely paid off. Everything went very smooth. The girls I taught danced beautifully and had a blast the entire time. Everyone I talked to about the show really enjoyed it and everyone is asking about when we will be doing another one! Daniel and I had fun on stage together too.

Here are the fairies backstage during the performance.

Although E and A wish their orchid practices could go on year around, I'm glad it's all over. We had a great time but it is very nice to have our lives back to normal.

There are a few more pictures of the show on our website at Columbiaballetschool.com.