Summer goodbye

Well, it seems that summer has got bored of us and decided to leave early this year. So we made the best of it by having our 'harvest'. We threshed wheat (thank-you to the farmer who incompletely cut his field on the way to Bishopthorpe) on a picnic blanket, and shelled lots of peas from my allotment, only some of which had maggots in them! Then we ground them into flour, made them into soup, bashed them with sticks, rolled them down hills and generally investigated them thoroughly! Of course this was followed by the story of the Little Red Hen and her farming adventures, ending with some REAL cake.

Otherwise this summer, some of us went on a trip to the Murton Farming Museum and enjoyed - I hear, I wasn't there - more real cake as part of a story by Rosemary.

For next week, my thoughts are turning to blackberries....what do you think?

Play Day: Wild Camp in the Woods!

We are absolutely delighted with our 'Play Day', jointly run with City of York Council (that is, with our Parks Officer Stephen Whittaker and his van-full of equipment and tools!) which took place on Wednesday 6th August. The theme set for Play Days around the country was "Give us a go!" or 'Risk in Play'. We are good at risk, much better than we are at safety in fact, and did indeed give it a go.

We had a 'wild camp', with shelter building, tipis, assault course, bow-and-arrow making, natural dyes and foraging for food. An incredible number of children turned up - perhaps 100, aged from 0 up to about 13. It was great seeing all the kids and their parents throwing themselves into all the low-tech, down-and-dirty activities. The only shame was having to take down the wonderful swings, rope ladders, shelters and tunnels afterwards.

Thanks to Phil and Bryony, Rosemary, and Stephen Whittaker for all their hard work and enthusiasm! And now have a look at the pictures!

What's inside this....?

At this time of year many plants are producing their berries, fruits and seeds and this week we had a look inside some of them to see what they are like. Sycamore 'helicopters' have a funny fluffy stuff in them, for example, and the 'bumpy bits' of blackberries have a lovely teardrop shape if you cut right inside them. It is hard work to pull pinecones right to bits but it can be done.

Then we made some little gathering pots out of air-drying clay, some of us imprinting them with berries and twigs, for future gathering expeditions - we are keeping an eye on those blackberries as they ripen!

NEXT WEEK, the day after our PLAY DAY on the 6th, there will be no group. The following week, the 14th, there will be a group - meet as usual at the bench - I won't be there but others will. Then, on the 21st, it will be our trip to Murton Park Farming Museum, for tractor and steam train rides, talking to their animals, and storytime in a Celtic village. Please write to me (catherine.heinemeyer@barkmail.com) if you are coming - I need to book the minibus!