... are you just going for a walk?

Often play amongst children allows us to witness how easily they can improvise and create, as well as how easily they share love and goodness ..

Down near the horses this morning, Oli found a way to hook one of the boxes used to balance the poles for horse jumps onto the fence on the mounting area ... and lo and behold a great place to balance and adventure slide ..

Hey guys ... see, it does work ... !

Yep, pretty good ...

Cosmos had to try it out for himself ...

... and that was a good reason to make another ...

Feijoa trees in blossom

Oli and Jyra were 'Mum and Dad' in their game again this week ...

For Oli and Jyra that means spending a whole lot of time being kind to each other and sharing lots of hugs ... so much so that they even forgot they had children this week, and their three 'sons', Kornelius, Rolf and Cosmos had a great old time playing cubbies and running amok ... mostly because ... '.. they aren't watching us yet ..'

Oli found a lady beetle ..

Oli and Cosmos picked loads of nasturtiums together ...

.. and they all ended up here ..

Then folk started to walk by on the bike path.   Kornelius, Rolf, Cosmos and Oli laid out the flowers along the path and started to greet folk as they came along.    

'Hi'

Which usually got a 'Hi' back ... or a surpirsed, 'Oh, hello.'

Once they got into a rhythm, they were having a ball, they'd spy people a mile off and be saying, 'Quick, get ready, she is coming now, quick we can say hello.'

They were being very warm and friendly ... and in most cases, making folks day.

The conversation soon became, 'Hi, are you just going for a walk?'

To which they inevitably got the answer, 'Yes I am.'

The boys were hilarious as each time they got another, 'Yes'  they would be stunned and amazed that it was another one out for a walk ... 'Whoa ... ho ... another one. That's lots of people just going for a walk.'

It was a great opportunity to talk with them about greeting people and the best way to do it and what feels good.   I love the natural opportunities for this as the children lap it up and immediately try it out for themselves.

Of course it wasn't long before folk stopped and engaged and found out about the children and shared why they were walking, all great stuff to know.

Once we finished and walked off, Kornelius said, 'I say Hi to people and when I normally say Hi, it's boring.  Saying Hi, like that,' as he pointed over his shoulder to where they'd been the meet and greet folk, 'That was so much fun saying Hi.'

Towards the end of the day, after loads of fun, a lot of walking and very good day, we spied a peacock up high in a Peppercorn tree.   This was such gorgeous reverie, the children were happy to just be still and watch.   They all snuggled in, one on my back, two in my lap and another two leaning in on them.    They wondered how a peacock could get down from a tree when it was up that high.  After lots of suggestions, we all just watched and pondered and all of a sudden as if answering us himself, the peacock took a long low flight down onto the barn roof.

... personality plus

Have you met Oli?

A powerhouse of energy, creative impulse to burn, love in his heart for his friends that's big ... all tempering and being harnessed for the best ... he can give heaps of love and stand his ground when things don't feel fair like no one.

... and along came Greta ... Oli's little sister ... and personality and more spilled over in bounds there too.   Oli was beside himself being able to share the farm with Greta and short of hi-jacking the day and expecting everyone else to follow ... these two loved sharing the day with Cosmos and Jyra.   Oli as it turns out is a very beautiful little teacher with Greta ... he naturally shows her in Greta sized steps what to do and she laps up every word.

Greta is going to be a regular trouper next year and came for a day with Oli this week and LOVED it ... can't wait to see her again ...

They spent the day with Cosmos and Jyra ... and we all warmed up playing in the dirt and making mud together in the morning.   

Mooching around and enjoying the mild day and clear sky ...

Jyra got a little rhythm going in the morning, sticks and rocks were her drums and she sang her little heart out much to Cossies delight.  He just couldn't help himself but join in  ... and they were so very gorgeous together.

A favourite game at the moment is 'The baby game' ... where Cossie and Oli are the babies and Jyra the mum.  It's quite hilarious.  Jyra is ever patient as she runs round after her babies keeping them warm and making them food ... and Cossie is the sweet little snuggly baby and Oli the wild and nothing's enough kind.  Jyra loves them both.   Eventually this game morphed into 'Mothers and Fathers' ... when Oli got sick of being a baby.  He and Jyra were the mum and dad and in a moments frustration Oli said, 'Oh Jyra come on let's just go lie in the sun and leave the kids, I just get no sleep with them.'   So he slipped from wild child to overtaxed dad in a moment.   Funny thing being, that Cossie plays the most loving and sweet child anyone could want.   Mum and Dad snuggled up and left their 'baby' Cosmos with me, who decided it was better fun at my house as his 'dad', Oli, was too grumpy :)

Greta while all this was happening just floated in and out of the game being Greta ... she was really happy exploring, chatting, finding things ... whatever took her attention.

Later in the day, Jyra and Cosmos were guinea pig cuddling.   They were being so sweet with the guinea pigs and really sweet with each other and as the words of love and kindness they shared got sweeter and sweeter, the two little guinea pigs they had slipped closer and closer until they were snuggle up alongside ... with Jyra and Cosmos happily announcing that they were in love and having a kiss and a cuddle.

Hey Rolf ... so good to have you join us ...

First came Agnes ...

Then came K-man

... and now it's Rolf's turn ... here he is at the start of his first day gingerly getting acquainted with guinea pigs.   He was fascinated, yet on my lap while he could look close up or pat with a bit of room to move was good at first ...

All sorts of fun happened during the day ... making dust clouds with Oli and Jyra

Riding horses with Jyra and Cosmos ... Oli had taken a tumble from his near by and Kornelius was just way ahead of the pack ...

... and after a day of getting to know everyone, having heaps of fun and adventure and enjoying himself heaps ... it was time to totally fall in love with a little guinea pig called Immi.  

 Now this was a 30 minute love affair, long after the other children had had enough and were up to other things, Rolf just didn't want to part from his new dear little friend.

What a dance spectacular just for us ...

Last thursday morn ... one of the peacocks put on the most extraordinary dance display I've ever seen.   He was up so close to me and the children, that I could reach out my arm to touch him.    

We were sitting on a little wooden bench near the wood fired oven at first and he showed no fear, and stayed so close to us all.

He also jumped onto the railing of near by steps at one point to display his tail raising and lowering it and he was bringing it down onto the children's heads so for a moment it was like they were in a shelter or tent of peacock feathers

Alessia, Sam, Luca and Anna spent about 40 minutes engaged mostly silently in this incredible event.

Jesse and Clara

Don't take a picture of me ..

I'm peeking because I just need to see if you are still there danella ..

Gotcha Jesse !!

Pensive Clara

...

and classic Clara below

Guess who peeked out ...

On the same day the boys filled the pond, the City of Yarra had a community day for children's week.   We did our own thing in our little pockets of nature where no one ever finds us for hours and when we wandered in amongst what was happening at the farm in the afternoon, it was into a sea of mothers and babies and toddlers.   In amongst it all we encountered a face painter and Cosmos wanted his face painted.  Oli and Samson were amazing, they were happy to patiently wait for about 30 minutes until his turn came up.

'Hmm.mm' says, Cossie as he looks around and considers what he wants.

His running commentary until he got his face painted went something like this ..

'Danella I think I'll have a strawberry .. yep, I'd like a strawberry on my face.'

Some minutes passed by ...

'No, I don't want a strawberry, I think I'll have a Rainbow ... yes I'd like a Rainbow.'

More minutes passed ...

'No, I don't want a Rainbow on my face, I think I want a flower.'

Tic..tic..tic

'I want a white flower on my face .. yes that's what I'll have.'

... and more time slipped past ...

'No, I don't want a white flower on my face ... I think I'll have a white chair, yeah a white chair.'

All the waiting parents were privy to Cossies out

loud considerations and at this point when we'd slipped from the poetic white flower to the pragmatic white chair ... there was a lot of stifled laughter.

The whole while, he watched both face painters and all the little colourful faces passing by and finally it was his turn.

The lady he sat with asked what he wanted and he said, 'Grass.'

She looked surprised and asked, 'Grass?  Do you want me to paint grass on your face?'

To which Cosmos replied, 'Yep, I do.'

She looked at me a little confounded and I said, 'If Cosmos wants grass I think it would be great if you could give him some.'

Cosmos then turned with appreciation on his face and said to me, 'Yes because then I'll look like a little grasshopper looking out ...'

... and in that moment all hearts melted into a big puddle on the ground ...

... and here's our little grass hopper ...

On