The unexpected triple - Elderflower, geocache & an axe!

We went on a cycle ride to find some geocaches on Barton Farm. We found the geocache in a clump of trees but guess what?? We also found an axe and an elderflower tree with flowers on (every walk or cycle we have been looking for some to make cordial). We picked at least 20 heads and then cycled home to make it.

This is the method: use a fork to remove the flowers from the stalks by scraping it through the flower head into the bowl. Then cover with boiling water and leave it overnight with cling film on the top. The next day, squeeze in orange and lemons and add lots of preserving sugar, heat up the mixture on the hob. Wait for it to cool down then strain out the bits, then pour into a sterilise bottle through a funnel. We like to drink it with fizzy water and ice - refreshing!!

The axe we found was leaned up against a tree. I kept calling for Mummy and Louis but they wouldn't come, so I picked it up and brought it to show her. She looked a bit shocked! It has a silky smooth wooden handle - the metal is a bit rusty but quite sharp. Daddy says we can clean it up and it can still chop wood.

Crafts, crafts, crafts!

Now we want to show you the crafts we have been doing in lockdown. First we did a big collage and we did a Seasons theme. Big brother chose autumn, little brother chose summer in the jungle, and my mum and sister did a winter section together. We cut out images from magazines and old birthday cards and used lots of other things like leaves, sticks, cotton wool, polystyrene and material.

Here it is...

Some of the other crafts we have done are flower pressing, candle holder making (out of bits of wood from a bush my dad cut down), wax painting. And we did some sewing and made some t-shirts for our sisters doll.

Vegetable patch

We made the raised bed out of planks and we helped hammer down the posts to keep it in place. Then we put compost in it until it filled to the top. Next we planted some vegetable seeds which were lettuce, carrot, rocket, spring onions and purple sprouting broccoli. We had to dig little trenches width-ways and then sprinkle the seeds in, cover them over with soil then water a lot. There are lots of jobs after like watering and thinning the seedlings. Now they are starting to grow!

We also planted a sunflower seed for a school project (about rituals - I did mine as a tribute to Paul Scholes the footballer so now the little seedling is called Scholesy Sunflower!).

Carrot...

Lettuce....

PSB...

 Rocket....

Scholesy….!

 

Swallow

We did some epic junk modelling and made a big boat in the garden. We used cardboard boxes to make the hull and a sheet to make the sail. We used a bike tyre for the steering well and made cut out propellers and even a fender. There was a door at the back which you could open and shut to get in. 

We called it Swallow because we had just watched the film 'Swallows and Amazons' which our friends Luca and Aarni suggested and we liked it because it was an adventurous story. We would love to make a picnic and travel to an island and stay overnight on our own! 

We also made our own ice cream with frozen berries and yoghurt and honey whizzed in the blender. We put chocolate sauce and waited for it to set hard and we put triple chocolate sprinkles on it and then we ate it in Swallow. 

Lockdown Poem

The lockdown is like a cuddly pet that has gone savage,

Like being an evacuee sent away,

This virus is a wildfire spreading through the jungle 

And social distancing is like dodging fireballs,

I feel like I must have been naughty and kicked out, 

Like a wild animal locked up in a cage,

My brain feels like a wobbly jelly but my body is pumped up, 

Sometimes my mind forgets how to sleep.

But the air is a clean whistle, like a fresh glass of water,

The tall buildings are like trees that let the sunlight through,

And on the other side life is bright, 

It will be like sliding down a rainbow.