It is almost officially summer!!! School is out (or just about) and the smell of watermelon and popsicles are in the air! So, with a popsicle dripping down my non-typing arm and sand on my feet, I am both happy and a little nervous to say sayonara to regular Tuesday and Thursday blog posts for a month! I am going on summer vacation!!!!

My beach is full of this seaweed that washed up from last weekend’s storm. It smells really tropical and the little air sacs are so fun to pop!

I am going to be in Virginia visiting my family and presenting some workshops, then to NYC to help Sean paint a mural at the Cotton Candy Machine Gallery in Brooklyn, then to PIX Fest in Bloomington Indiana, and finally back home to Florida for a week of stay-cation going to the beach and tinkering around the house! Whew!!

It is going to be a fun month filled with new experiences, old friends, a week of no wifi or cell service, and lots of inspiration for helping you keep children and nature connected.

Have you planted beans in your garden yet? It is time to plant all varieties!

Also, When I come back to regularly scheduled programming on July 22, I will have some surprises for you…..in the form of my new…………Nature Journal Prompt Cards!!

Don’t worry though, I won’t leave you hanging! The Wonder Wednesday and Solstice newsletters will still be coming out and You know I won’t be able to resist posting bits about my adventures here and on social media, so we won’t be totally without each other!

But before I go, I have 3 totally unrelated things:

1. Did you know that the US government has employed 100 goats to eat “weeds” like poison ivy and other ground cover, vines, and weeds at the Congressional Cemetery? Crazy cool right?

There is a company called Eco-Goats that manages the goats as an “eco friendly and cost-efficient alternative to machines or pesticides”. The goats eat these “weeds” that threaten the health of large trees in the cemetery, completely eliminating the need for pesticides in the cemetery. They fertilize and aerate the soil as well as keep unwanted plants at bay, while drawing in and entertaining visitors! Go goats!!

Sign me up! I want goats to come and eat my “grass” (that is code for the weeds growing in my “lawn” instead of grass) so I don’t have to mow!!!!

and……

2. I just discovered the artist Natalia Rak. How beautiful are her murals?! These are absolutely full of the essence of wings, worms, and wonder. If I wasn’t an artist myself I would see if she would do illustrations for me, maybe one day I will anyway she is so perfect!

This piece is called Explore Nature and is in Terracina, Italy

Natalia, a Polish street artist, emphasizes that she has been passionate about painting since she was 10 years old. Much of her work focuses on nature and feminine imagery with mood, mystery, and metaphor as ideas she plays with.

This one is called Magic Book and was painted in the Art Scabe Festival in Malmo.

And finally……..

3. Here is a super fun summer playlist from Eardrums Pop called Summer’s Here, vol 1 and 2, you can download for free to provide the soundtrack to all your summer adventures!

So it’s time for me to say adios and sayonara! Have a great summer vacation yourself and I can’t wait to share all the new things I learn with you soon!

Thank you so much for joining me here on the blog every Tuesday and Thursday! Together we will keep all children’s senses of wonder flourishing!!

Do you have any questions or ideas you would like me to write about next school year?

Let me know in an email: info@wingswormsandwonder.com

Seeds to Sprout:

Come make nature journals with me at the Wintergreen Nature Foundation workshop on family nature journaling!

Learn more about the Eco-Goats in Washington. How much fun would a history project on these goats be?!

Check out Natalia Rak’s Blogsite

Follow where in the world Natalia Rak is painting: Natalia Rak Facebook

Did you loooove the Summer’s Here Eardrums Pop compilation as much as I do? Well then, download the newest comp, Between Two Waves, the second wave! Sean did the cover art on vol. A, and song 3 on vol. B with a band called Northern Spies!