Yard work- a way to connect with nature!

As we head into the growing season here in Tallahassee I note that while it can be total drama to go outside with the kids and get the yard manageable, but it is also the perfect opportunity to bond and discover the joys of the Earth.  Collecting the sticks and trimmed branches seemed an impossible unfortunate chore for my son until we noticed the wide variety of lichen growing, not to mention the tiniest spiders to the biggest beetles.  We even decided to leave some habitat for scavengers!  Much to my daughters relief we also decided to leave more meadow land and encourage milkweed to create and maintain a butterfly habitat.  In the past we have reared and released several Monarch butterflies and we were dismayed to hear that monarchs are declining.  Instead of griping and threats we went out into the yard as a family, discovered various plants and bugs and worked to create more habitat for butterflies.  Not only did our yard work get done, we were so distracted there wasn't any time for whining (well, hardly any).  This was the perfect time to remind my kids about the way water and plants work in our yard and the methods we use to reduce pesticides and use compost instead of other fertilizers!