The kids and I went off to the Fairbanks Wild Arts Walk this afternoon at Creamer's Field in Fairbanks. It was $10 for me, free for them, and really quite the wonderful event. First of all, that the place even exists...it's 1800 acres designed as a bird refuge in the middle of a metro area, at least as metro as Fairbanks gets. Beautiful land...the geese and cranes are thick on the grounds. They invite in artists and musicians to line the paths around the refuge and it was a lovely walk, with lovely people and lovely art to look at. Connor immediately headed out to do some butterfly hunting with a couple other little boys. I was hugely impressed. We got a mug and snack/drink coupons for our $10 which we regretfully could not participate in since the treats were cinnamon buns. But mommy came prepared with a picnic lunch and we enjoyed peanut butter sandwiches, raspberries, melon and homemade cinnamon sugar corn chips on the wetland lookout point. Here's Connor galloping across the open field chasing dragonflies and butterflies with two other munchkins.
That picture reminds me of one of Connor's favorite poems by Christine Rossetti...
Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.
Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads,
The wind is passing by.
He made friends with a boy named Caleb and I think they ran the whole refuge path twice over as they explored. Caleb actually went to the Montessori school we are previewing for Connor so I pumped his mom for information as the boys played. Under Caleb's influence, Connor took his first pee in the woods...at the expense of some big mosquito bites on his bum. Note to mommy: spray Off! on the tush before dressing when exploring the pines! Camp Habitat did face painting for donations -- they are a wonderful organization that undertakes nature education for children in the local area -- so we gave generously for Connor's requested design.
We also signed up for their preschool nature discovery hike on Tues...how much fun will that be? Both Charlie and I want the boys to love and thrive out in the woods the way we did as kids; I don't believe we ever came inside unless forced to and it seems like so many children these days immerse themselves in electronics and ignore the possibilities of a summer afternoon spent weaving grasses or watching a caterpillar. Kids miss so much when they're removed from the sky, the wind, the mud.
Beautiful duck ehh? You can't tell, but it's SPARKLY. Every person Connor encountered got treated to a sparkly duck monologue. Every artist out there was pleased to speak with Connor. I can't get over how friendly the artistic community is in this town -- I didn't meet a stranger once while out wandering the paths. And everyone praised the sparkly duck to the skies.
Connor and Caleb running past the woodworkers' tent...I fell in love with a lazy susan there, but did not love the price. I know it's art, but ouch, $125 was a little steep for a "nice to have." Oh, it was pretty though!
A view of the artist tents around the bridge at Creamer's Field. Just through those trees is a large wetland and big thickets of primroses. I got a "bokay" of "danwe-lions" and roses from my sweet little son. He and Caleb were expert flower pickers. You can see some gorgeous photos on display there on the left. Charlie and I will have to decide what our special Alaska memorabilia will be...we have a small clay pot from New Mexico, rugs from Turkey, art from Las Vegas...we need something special to commemorate our time here. Well, OTHER than our Alaska Grown baby!
Ohhhh, tired boy. I can't believe how well Connor sleeps after these excursions!
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