Mama Gone Green is a blog dedicated to raising happy children and reducing our impact on the Earth. My name is Taryn and I am the mother of 2 young kids and an environmental studies instructor at a community college in Portland, Oregon. Please join me as I journey through life as a mama, teacher, knitter, photographer, gardener, and environmentalist!

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Enjoying the Sun

You may have noticed that I have been posting way more than normal lately. Maybe you wondered if suddenly I quit my job, hired a nanny and had free time galore? Nope. None of those. Actually, I have been inspired lately by a simple little thing, that many of you may take for granted, called the sun.
Now, here in Oregon we normally don't see much of the sun during the winter. Less sun means less outdoor activities to blog about, less photographs to share, and an overall decrease in my general motivation.
However, the past week or so has been just wildly warm and sunny. I am talking blue skies and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Not normal for us. At all. At my core, this warm weather is freaking me out. It makes me realize how quickly climate change is happening and makes me worried that this lack of snow may lead to summertime water issues. But, on a superficial level, I am completely loving this and trying to soak up as much sun as possible before it goes away again. Maybe for a long time.
We have been going on adventures, riding bikes, eating outside, gardening, and mostly just playing in the front yard for hours every afternoon. I can read (or blog) and the kids can dig, kick and goof around. It has been wonderful.
I decided to make a quick nature journal and take it on an adventure with us Monday morning. Finn drew a couple of photos and then wrote a few sentences about what he saw when we got home. It worked out pretty well. I plan to have him make a series of nature journals this summer (when we will adventure much more frequently).
Anyways, here are a few photos of our explorations:








Pin It Now!

9 comments:

  1. Yea for the sun! It does make a difference. Some years back, we actually had a choice between a move to the Seattle area and one to Southern California. We choose Southern California (and then Arizona) because of the sun. I love bright sunny days (although not the heat that comes with them in the summer here in AZ). I had noticed you had been posting more lately. Good for you. Nothing like a nice sunny day to get us motivated! Have a good week, with lots of sunshine!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hear ya, it's been like a winter vacation up here! Cute photos :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. P.S. I do agree with you on climate change - the downside of too much sun....we have been about 13 degrees hotter than usual here for this time of year. That is unsettling.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely photos, it's true that when still in winter it's a pleasure a few warm and sunny days.

    Enjoy it!

    Lluisa xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  5. So glad you guys are enjoying warmer temperatures and sunshine. Enjoy a little bit for me, okay?

    ReplyDelete
  6. beautiful sunny days for you! We have had sun but with frigid temps so I have to sit inside and enjoy the beams.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sun sure is amazing! I could use some of that here! Won't be long until spring is here...It can't come soon enough for us as we are still up to our knees in snow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey! Happy you are making the best of a weird situation. We've gone the opposite road here (ridiculously cold), but the water issue fear for us is also very much on my mind. We usually have 10 to 15 ft of snow by now, but this year, we are stuck around 4. Will the snow melt quickly when the warm weather comes, absolutely! Will there be enough water reserves in the ground? ... *gulps*

    ReplyDelete
  9. OK, nature journals sound great! Please share more, I'd love to do it here too!

    ReplyDelete