Letter to my children: Fire Fishing and Wood Ticks

Dragon, you have been dealing with palate expanding to encourage your tiny baby teeth to leave. As a result, there is an entire list of dos and don’ts of food allowances on the fridge. Sometimes your mouth is too sore to even contemplate the oh so finely shaved carrots and apples. You, all on your own, nailed the solution: Fire Fishing with Apples. (Ahem, the official name of course.)

“Momma, what I want to do is to roast an apple in the woodstove to make it soft.”

“Oh, dearest, not inside the house. It is warm enough that we could make a bonfire outside and you could do it there? Would that work for you?”

A pause, a contemplative look, a shrug. “Sure.”

So, I futzed with the fire and noticed all of the weeding that needed my attention. Dragon, inspired by your birthday fishing rod doings, you decided to take the simple apple on a stick to a whole new level. Fire Fishing.

Here is what we learned from the experience. #1 - you cannot use fishing line with the fishhook because it melts. #2 - you need a wire. #3 - the stick holding the wire needs to have good bumps and crevices so the wire stays in place and doesn’t slide towards your hands.

After a minute or so of focussed fire fishing, the apple slice was pulled back from the flames and inspected. Dragon rubbed it on the fresh new grass near the fire to cool it down and remove ash. Then, he pulled the apple slice to him.

“Ummm, Momma, I love it because it is warm.”

“I love that you came up with this all on your own to solve your sore tooth problem.”

You were still ensconced in your feasting. “Also, the skin tastes sweeter. Do you see the bubble? It smells good too, want to smell it?”

“Sure… oh yes, it does smell good.”

The sweet smell of accomplishment, innovation, and success - all tied up together. I look forward to our next fire fishing expedition.

Beloveds, sometimes there are interests, games, foods, etc that pique your interests for one time and sometimes they become perennial favorites. I am happy to report that has happened with wood ticking.

Wood ticking invaded our home (there is really no other word for it) last summer. I would sit down after chores including outside laundry duties, lean back against a chair and feel a surprise object, “what in the world?” Reaching back, my hand would find a clothespin.

Looking up at the table, I would see the gleeful grins of Bean or Dragon, “We got you! Momma, it has been on there for hours!”

The warm weather brings back the wood ticks as we are once again hanging laundry outside.*

I have learned there is a subtle grace to the art of wood ticking. The best placements are done surreptitiously, allowing the full glee and anticipation of the perpetrator to flourish as the recipient blithely proceeds in ignorance. Co-conspirators can be enlisted to make the circle of fun wider. Once the first wood tick of the day has been discovered it feels as though the whole rest of the day becomes a game of back and forth - obvious or not so obvious attempts to keep the game going.

Back and forth from parent to son to sister to father to wife to daughter to brother to child - the pinning of the silly little wooden pegs connects us and binds us together - a gift of love and connection. A gift of family and life and joy.

Thank you both for wood ticking. Thank you thank you thank you. I love being your Momma.

Soap Box for Mother Earth

*One of the unintended side effects of having solar panels is that you can track your electronic use in real time. We realized very quickly that certain appliances make a HUGE spike in the amount of energy we use. The biggest offender was the clothes dryer - but guess what? We all have the summer sun. It smells good. Fabrics feel crisp. In the winter we trip over the rack inside the house, but dare I say it, it is still the right thing to do.

It just means sometimes your underwear is out for neighbor’s viewing pleasure - and honestly, who cares? There are more important things in this world to be twitchy about. Like using electronic devices to dry our clothing when there is … the sun.

And yes, I hear you, it takes 10-15 minutes to hang the laundry (those darn socks!). 10-15 minutes when you can unplug from your day and let your mind wander about how important it is to try. Trying is important.