Homemade play dough

Another part of all this social isolation is limiting going out and using what we have at home. So in that spirit, I cooked up 2 batches of play dough for digger to play with. I made the blue first, and when asked what colour I should make the second batch, I was told very decisively "Green!". I used this recipe from Domestic Superhero.

Of course the first thing he told me to make from it was a frog in each colour. Don't judge my sculpting skills, he could tell they were frogs, and that's all that matters.

This was a few weeks ago now, and the play dough is keeping perfectly in the fridge still. We get it out to play at least once a day, and is a great quick activity to entertain him while I am cooking meals or trying to get something else done.

Has anyone else found a good activity to keep little ones entertained at home?

Dixie

Seed raising

As mentioned in my first post, I did actually plant a whole heap of seeds in pots prior to setting up the garden beds. These are the first lot that I planted (having since planted many more)

As you can see I got a little excited every time a new plant sprouted, so took lots of photographic evidence.

I do most of my seed raising on top of a set of drawers against a window in the back room of the house. A lot of the seedlings end up growing a bit long before getting their true leaves, from trying to get closer to the light source, however, this set up is convenient for me (at least until I build a greenhouse).

Dixie (and Karma and Digger)

Decoy moths

Along with our lovely raised vegetable gardens, comes certain garden pests. After seeing a few white moths hanging around, and even finding one small caterpillar on a brocolli seedling, I decided to try making some decoy moths to deter them.

A bit of white plastic packaging and some wire that came around some recently purchased chicken wire was all I need to put together these simple decoys. I made and installed them about a week ago and so far they seem to be doing their job. Either that or the chickens have been eating any caterpillars they have been finding. Whichever is the reason, my vegetables seem safe for now.

Have you had luck with this sort of decoy? Or any other more effective way to deter white moths?

Dixie

Making spoons

A fairly new skill for me this year has been spoon carving. While it may not seem important to the functioning of a farm, I do enjoy it as a way of connecting more to natural materials, as well as just another form of woodwork, which relates to my teaching degree. Recently I made 2 tiny spoons from a small branch of apple wood, as well as a scoop from a piece of willow. I was trying to make a scoop for tea leaves, but the apple spoons turned out far too small.

Despite wood carving using extremely sharp, not kid friendly tools, Digger likes to help, and is very careful if I tell him I am using sharp tools. He likes to help sweep up the wood shavings and sand the finished spoons. As well as telling me to be careful.

Willow is very easy to souce locally, and is quite easy to carve too. I tried to go for a very simple scoop shape, without too bulky of a handle. Partway through, I realised I had made half an avocado instead.

After taking more out of the bowl and smoothing the whole thing a bit more, it wasn't looking as much like an avocado (but will forever in my mind).

After a good deal of sanding, it made a beautiful smooth scoop. However, I am now not sure if it is too big for a tea scoop?

Any suggestions for other hobbies or skills I could try?

Dixie