Peanut Butter Balls and a Walk in the Park

Today has been dreary. Yesterday was dreary. I never regret spending the day out of doors as we did earlier in the week, before the fickle Kansas weather changed again.

We have plenty of days when we are alone, the four of us, sunrise to sunset. It can make for a tired mother. I try to make daddy-less days special. Anyone who knows our family knows I will never. ever. be as fun, loving, giving, or wild as my dear husband.

So instead I just try to make really good food. To the heart, by way of the stomach.

These peanut butter balls, with the addition of some freash oranges and our endless veggie tray, make a fun, filling lunch. They are a bit extravagant, since they use an entire pound jar of nut butter and we eat them all. Yes, all. In one sitting. But we needed the energy! We had a trip to Riverside Park all planned out.

We like something crunchy in dairy-free pb balls, so we started with a few brown rice cakes crumbled up.

Dumped in a jar of crunchy natural peanut butter.

Added 3T of raw wheat germ

2T each of ground flax and hempseeds,

a bit of raw honey,

and mix.

We formed balls and rolled them in more wheat germ because they were very sticky. Our pb was runny and we didn't add much honey. More honey makes them less sticky, as does milk powder, if you do dairy.

Then we stuck them in the freezer to firm up a bit more.

And we ate them.

Very theatrically.

We packed up our backpacks and headed to the park. There was just no excuse for bending over books on a day like today.

Always important:

So amazing.

Sycamore "fruit".

Poison sumac- Isaiah's favorite.

A weed we wanted to identify but couldn't.

So many wildflowers blooming right now.

My favorite, the wild purple poppy mallow.

Heron sighting!

We scared her.

We scared them, too.

A bit sad to see this old tree uprooted and fallen over in the river.

Birch trees looking glorious.

Cottonwood everywhere, causing this mothers sinuses to swell. Seriously. A lot.

We rested under an oak where we got covered in aphids. Snacked on GORP; that pound plus of pb balls must have been ages ago!

Nature journaling the purple poppy mallow.
Rosie:

Isaiah:

Me, showing them the shapes making up the flower:

John Paul, past ready to go home:

More trees that we loved:

"To sit in the shade on a fine day, and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment."
-Jane Austen