This was our vacation destination last week, my parent's cabin in the middle of our little slice of the Maine woods. Our 31 acres is surrounded by thousands of uninhabited acres of more, um, woods. Uninhabited by people, I should say, there's plenty of wildlife. There is a neighbor, about a mile before you get to our land and after us? No one. And no, that's not plywood in that upper window, it's a giant shade because the sun shines in there and it's so bright at five a.m. that you will want to poke your eyes out. And you'll want to cover your ears because the kids think it's high noon.
The kids are actually panning for gold, which...good luck. What they did find is feldspar, tourmaline, rose quartz and some other ?-ite of which I cannot remember the name, except that it's purple. And purty.
The lean-to. Totally constructed by the kids. Well, mostly the boy - the girl was mainly the stick carrier. They built the frame and then the boy lashed it with strips of bark he had whittled himself. Then they found the Y branches for supports...and covered the whole thing with leafy branches. It held up all week, even through the downpours...he is insanely proud of this.
On the third day we ended up driving the thirty five minutes to the localest mall and movie theater. My girl convinced the boy that he needed a boat ride. They both convinced me that they needed new books (the girl) and new sneakers (the boy). I convinced both of them that the rain pouring down on the roof of the mall meant we should see a movie and it should NOT be Kung Fu Panda but instead, Prince Caspian.
When we left the movie theater he said "The sun! The sun's finally out! Now if it could just STAY sunny for a few more hours." Which it did. He forgot to wish for the rain to stop.
One of the highlights of a trip to Maine? Weaponry. Slingshots, BB Guns, Soft Air Rifles and Cap Guns. Also, my stepfather made roll-cap firecrackers with a needle and thread, some caps and some electrical tape which was lesson enough until my mom reminded him of the flaming match shooter you can make with a jimmied clothes pin. Worthwhile skills for any eleven year old boy to know.
The kids are actually panning for gold, which...good luck. What they did find is feldspar, tourmaline, rose quartz and some other ?-ite of which I cannot remember the name, except that it's purple. And purty.
The lean-to. Totally constructed by the kids. Well, mostly the boy - the girl was mainly the stick carrier. They built the frame and then the boy lashed it with strips of bark he had whittled himself. Then they found the Y branches for supports...and covered the whole thing with leafy branches. It held up all week, even through the downpours...he is insanely proud of this.
One of the highlights of a trip to Maine? Weaponry. Slingshots, BB Guns, Soft Air Rifles and Cap Guns. Also, my stepfather made roll-cap firecrackers with a needle and thread, some caps and some electrical tape which was lesson enough until my mom reminded him of the flaming match shooter you can make with a jimmied clothes pin. Worthwhile skills for any eleven year old boy to know.
9 comments:
Gosh it looks wonderful there...
you lucky kids.
I see you are balloon racing too - maybe you could explain it to me.
First of all, your boy is going to be the next generation of Survivorman, you wait and see.
Second, I thought your home (the way you describe it anyway - on a lake, in the woods) seemed like the perfect place to live. If you tell me there is a lake to swim in by that cabin, I might offer to trade lives with you (you can live here where instead of birds you get the thoughful thump thump bass of the teenager's car next door and instead of being woken too early by bright sun, you get the construction across the street. Not that I'm bitter. Much.)
Thanks for letting me live vicariously!
~Em
Man, I miss being a kid & honestly believing you could, for example, successfully pan for gold in some random water. Being a grown takes all the fun out life because you "know better". Hmph.
that lean-to is seriously cool.
Darn it someone beat me to it! I was gonna say that your son could be the next Survivor winner :)
Your whole trip seems so wholesome....like good for your health wholesome. Except for maybe that weaponry, ha ;)
I miss Maine so much! There's something so peaceful that I can feel right through your photos.
Glad you guys had fun!
Aahh. It sounds like a wonderful vacation. A memory maker for both you and the kids. Not to mention, I'm in awe of the boy's ingenuity.
First I have to say tell that Girl to stop growing up so darn fast! I just saw her last year and she's already changed so much!
The boy had every right to be so proud.. just look at that!
This whole trip.... wicked awesome ;) Hahaha we still like to say that!
The rain... it's a nuisance isn't it. Is that even how you spell that? I had someone tell me that our summer was going to be like this.. I just didn't want to believe them.
Did you not just LOVE Prince Caspian? Man, I thought it completely rocked and I was quite cynical since I loved Narnia so much!!
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