Foraging, Feasting & Felting

What a lovely afternoon on Poppy Mountain! Mr. and Mrs. Quail have babies, the sun is high but not too hot, the dandelions are in full bloom. A perfect day, really, for fun with food and water and wool.

Right away the children went to work laying out their "cloud" of wool, separating light and airy pieces of roving that would make the background of their felted wool landscape. I poured soap and very hot water over the wool and busy fingers pressed and rubbed the fibers until they were entwined, forming a small mat of brown, white and blue.

While the wool mats dried in the warm sun, we harvested a basketful of dandelion leaves. Oh, how I would love to make baskets in a future session... Back in the kitchen, the day's kid-made snack began. First, we made dandelion pesto. *Most* everyone tasted a little bit, and we decided that it wasn't too bad -- a little bitter, however.

Next up: bean and tomato salad with garlic rosemary infused olive oil dressing. The children did all the work, from slicing the cherry tomatoes to chopping garlic and parsley and squeezing lemons.

We laid out and enjoyed our modest feast: dandelion pesto on homemade seed crackers (chia, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower); cream cheese and hummus for those not desiring the pesto; and of course, the bean and tomato salad. Yummy! Everyone found something they loved.

After doing all the dishes, the children went out to find their wet-felted wool mats had dried and were ready for needle-felting. Each one imagined and created a wool scene from the Poppy Mountain story.

It's hard to believe we have only one more day in our June session of Poppy Mountain. And it's going to be a great one! Stay tuned...