Pinecone Birdfeeders

When Heidi & I went to Sunriver with Chris & the girls a month or so ago, we found these enormous pinecones! They were huge, and for all intents and purposes may as well have been screaming out "SMEAR ME WITH PEANUT BUTTER! ROLL ME IN BIRDSEED!!!"



So, we absconded with a few on our way out of town & they've been hiding safely at Chris's house until last week, when we decided it was time to get them out & treat them as they want to be treated....peanut buttered up & hung from the nearest Oak Tree!!


Hazel found a nice equilibrium with the Peanut butter- a scoop for the pinecone, a scoop for eating, one for the pinecone, one for eating...

Dumpling also had a great time with the peanut butter & birdseed craft- She especially loved the dumping of the birdseed over the pinecone, but really, what 2 yr old wouldn't love that?!

Even my Roomate Jim got in on the fun of pinecone crafting. Really, who could resist such adorable faces as these? I think Ruby gave him a gold star for his appointed task of pine cone holding & Pine cone turning. Way to go Jim!!!

Once we finished crafting, we went outside to play on the swings a little and get some fresh air! Ruby loves to swing!!
It was also time to get lettuce for our Salad we were making to go with dinner! We had just had a Village dinner a few nights before, where Dumpling proved her kitchen prowess by patiently plucking cilantro leaves from their stems...based on such a success with the Cilantro, I thought we might try lettuce. She was VERY anxious to make sure that each of the 2 bowls had the same amount of lettuce, and wow did she love picking it! After we picked enough lettuce, we carried the bowls over to the swing set and set them down. Dumpling is one smart cookie and *knew* that Lettuce does not belong on the ground, it belongs in the kitchen, thus she kept anxiously looking over at the lettuce bowls on the ground until finally she picked them up and took her Mama by the hand to lead her into the kitchen with them! That task completed, she came back out and played on the swings and on the grass for a little while!

The girls were interested in the flowers...fortunately spring is quite amazing in Portland, and I had some climbing roses that were hanging down pretty low and made for some good "smelling" flowers!

Ruby & Dumpling helped Heidi get dessert ready after dinner- first there was the washing of the strawberries that needed to be taken care of, followed by the washing of the containers, followed by the general splashing and water fun that is requisite to a good dinner with friends!!