The hunter (gatherer) and the bean bandits

Yesterday was the big guy's birthday...and so he went a-hunting. He didn't come home with a deer but instead brought this.

Stinging nettles. Lots and lots of stinging nettles. This is a real man, bringing fresh nettles to the wife.

When he got home we had this waiting for him.

The boy and I decorated the candles, we had a 'my kid could paint that' session of sticking wax on and pulling it out of mouths and giving gentle suggestions about where to put (and not put) little bits of wax. As in not on the baby's head, not on the floor, not in your mouth, not on my cd player, etc.

Then this afternoon in our little garden we harvested beans. I am impressed with how many came off of 10 plants. Next year we agreed to plant 100. The Bird was a bandit, snatching beans from the bowl and stuffing them in her mouth before we could get to them. This is what it was like shelling dried beans with a bandit around.