It is a different world that we live in as I write this post on March 30, 2020. Most of us are living 'physically distant' or practicing 'social distancing' from family and friends as together people throughout the world attempt to slow down the spread of this virus by reducing contact with others. I know that in my home Easter is going to look different than it has in the past. We are not very religious but we celebrate Easter as a way to come together with those who are important to us and, of course, close enough to visit. This will be the first Easter dinner we have eaten with just the two of us present in almost thirty years.
We usually start the day with an Easter egg hunt or, given the fact that we are all adults, a look-under-your-bed chocolate Easter bunny hunt.
The rest of the day is spent with a walk and a few board games. For supper we normally share a feast of scalloped potatoes, baked ham, fresh asparagus and some sort of yummy lemon dessert.
My husband and I spoke briefly recently about what we would do this year given that we are in self isolation and it will be just the two of us. Arbitrarily, I decided we did not need a chocolate Easter bunny, which removes the necessity of my husband going to the grocery store. The deal in our household is that I will be the one person to go to the grocery store once every two weeks. This reduces our contact with other people and lowers our chances of catching the virus.
However, I am hoping to make a smaller version of the Best-Ever Creamy Scalloped Potatoes recipe and some acceptable substitute (though I do not know what it looks like yet) for my Best-Ever Baked Ham recipe. In substitution for the chocolate bunny, we will make ourselves a special homemade treat, which will fill time as an activity and could well turn out to be better than a chocolate bunny. Yes, chocolate lovers that is possible!
We will pull out a few of our Easter decorations. We do not have many but we do have a few and they will help make the day brighter.
I love the idea of a Yankee Candles in an Easter scent like Sweet Bunny Treats, Bunny Cake, Easter Basket and Jelly Bean. I wrote on another blog about the very trendy Peeps scent. The candles shown on this page are the large 22 ounce jar candle and they generally retail for less than $30. Depending on the scent and how you use your candle, they will provide 110 to 150 hours of enjoyment. You can check out Amazon's complete collection of Yankee Candles for Easter by clicking right here.
How about you? I assume that you are also facing an unusual situation for Easter this year. Will you prepare a special meal? Have a chocolate bunny rabbit? Put out a few decorations?
However you choose to mark the day remember to stay home, be safe and keep on smiling. We are all in this together and together we will flatten the curve and get through this. As they say in French Canada with the picture of a rainbow and a smile, "Ça va bien aller."
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I've been checking out my options for a stuffed bunny as a gift for Easter this year and would like to review one that I am considering getting for the grandchildren. Oh, I might just get one for me, too. I think this one is a real cutie and I do love stuffed animals and if I order it soon, it might help with some inspiration on the book I am trying to finish.
A stuffed bunny of a different sort
image courtesy of pixabay.com
One of the reasons that I began to look for a bunny as a gift was because the current book that I'm working on involves a cold case that happened around Easter time a few years ago. In the second book in the Babbs Bennett Mystery series, Sydney becomes alarmed when she sees a stuffed bunny on display in the Holiday Book Store. She begins to explain that she does not like bad bunnies because they take things. As Babbs gently questions the girl, she discovers that Sydney witnessed something at a local Easter Egg Hunt that might help solve the disappearance of a young girl.
Babbs becomes curious and more than a little outraged when she hears that the police talked to Sydney at the time about what she saw and then seemed to dismiss the girl's account. Her assumption is that they did not take the girl seriously because she was born with Down Syndrome and Babbs just can't tolerate the rejection of her little friend when she clearly saw something important. She convinces her friends Priscilla, Elizabeth, and Marjorie to help solve the case of the missing child. Babbs wants to ease the fears that Sydney has about rabbits, prove her point about the police being more sensitive to all witnesses and most importantly find out what happened to the little girl.
Looking For Inspiration In Odd Places
When I began to write the second book in the series, working title is Brazen Bunny, I wanted to stay with the theme of the series of a book store that decorates for the holidays that are celebrated each month. Since the first book involved Valentine's Day, I thought Easter would be the next logical holiday to have the story revolve around. So, then my mind began a journey about what kind of mystery could involve Easter. It came up with the idea of a child actually being afraid of the Easter Bunny because they saw someone dressed as one do something bad. That is where the plot became to form in my brain. We are still working out the details!
A stuffed rabbit begins the unfolding of what Sydney saw that day, so, I have had stuffed bunnies in my head for a while now. When it came time to think about what to get the kids for Easter, a stuffed bunny pushed itself to the surface.
I found a cute one. He is manufactured by Checkered Fun and measures about 20 inches tall. His bottom is weighted so that he can sit if you choose for him to do so. He is soft, cuddly and well, cute as a bunny! He is the perfect size to cuddle and snuggle with at bedtime or anytime. I think he deserves to become a new friend to my special girls and he might need to sit and help me finish my book.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
Reading is a gift, a renewable, ever changing, gift that covers all ages and stages of life.
There is no doubt that many of the writers here at Review This Reviews love to read! You just need to take a quick look at all the Book Reviews to know that there are many readers with varied tastes in subjects to read about. There are even some authors on our Review This Reviews pages too!
What I am most interested in sharing with you today is some timely ideas to help youngsters become avid readers.
Why? Well it is well known that reading is the basic building block for a lifetime of learning. No truer words were ever written, and it bears repeating!
READING IS THE BASIC BUILDING BLOCK FOR A LIFETIME OF LEARNING!
What's the best way to start a child on this road to learning?
That's an easy one to answer! There is no time like the present to begin a child on a path to explore and learn new things. Children are magnets for learning and giving them the tools can't start too early. One of the best gifts you can ever give any child, is books. You night not expect that books would be a great Baby Shower Gift, but I'm here to tell you differently. So many times the new parents are inundated with cute outfits, booties and all the paraphanalia needed for their babies. Give them a gift that will stand out! Books, Classic Books that will become favorites for their children as they years go by. Books that can be read by the parents and grandparents. Books that will fuel their creativity and at the same time become the basis for their language skills.
Here is a list of Classic Books that will be a great start to any child's library:
The last two books on this list are "modern" classics. The other 8 suggestions are stories that have been around since you were a child. They are the "Classics" that really should be in every child's library. They have withstood the test of time and are still found to be entertaining and full of great life lessons.
How to keep your child entertained while reading:
Our goal as parents and grandparents is to keep our children motivated to enjoy the story we are telling them. At the end of a long day, make time for reading. Set the children's bed time for a half hour earlier than when you actually want them to close their eyes. This time is set apart for reading! Unless they are sick, make sure that you do this on a regular basis. If not every day, then maybe 3 days a week. Make the reading time not just a page turning experience, but be expressive in reading so that by your tone, they will know something exciting is going to happen. Using the pictures in the story to keep our children's imaginations fueled will go a long way in them wanting you to turn more pages.
What happens when they have a favorite book and they just don't want you to read another?
First of all don't worry, that is perfectly normal. Certain books just have that quality that makes children want to hear the story again and again. This is actually a great time to teach them to sight read certain words, because they already know the story off by heart. Pointing to the words and showing them how the word sounds out, will help them to recognize that word in other stories too. When our children would ask for the same story over and over and over again, we got creative in telling the story so that we would not be bored to tears. I can remember one night in particular, when it was Dad's turn to read, he was so tired of reading story the way it was written, that he took the book and read it backwards. Starting at the last page, he worked his way to the front and the children laughed and laughed so hard, that I needed to get up and see what in heaven's name was going on. Well, needless to say from that point onwards, the children wanted the book read forwards and backwards. Bedtime or reading time was just increased another 15 minutes to accommodate the extra reading. What a great way to make them enjoy their stories in a whole new way.
Other Great Ways to Get Children Started on Reading!
Reading starts with children grabbing a book and turning the pages. As I said earlier, you can't start this habit too early. So get your babies/children books that are make especially for them. There are soft books made of fabric, that can be put into cribs or playpens. They are usually filled with colorful pages and pictures. Even babies love to turn pages that have something special on them. Books with flaps that lift, tabs to pull and bits and pieces of sensory friendly fabrics are a must have for little hands. Tactile fabrics, squeakers or buttons that you can push are extras that little hands just love to play with.
So much fun in a book for little hands and growing minds.
For Parent's Who Love to Tell Stories
For Parent's who are natural story tellers, there are also some really great picture books that will help you tell stories and get your child to interact at the same time. Our children loved the "Where's Waldo" books. They would sit for long periods of time looking at all the different pictures and looking for Waldo, who, you knew, was hiding in the pages somewhere. What made these fun and interactive was the places and situations that Waldo would find himself in.
Richard Scarry books are also great for young readers. They can learn about trucks and trains, planes and places. His wonderfully illustrated books make it easy for parents to tell the story and sometimes segue into stories of their own. Your imagination and the help of these books will fuel your child's world and widen their perspectives on everyday things around them.
We are our children's first educators and we teach them by spending quality time with them in a number of activities. Reading is one of the most important activities. It's the start of a life long love of books, that will see your children expand their horizons and will help educate them too.
It all starts with ABC and it will take them anywhere their minds can imagine and more. Avid readers are the start of a life long love of learning new things. They will develop a critical mindset that will help them in their everyday lives as they grow and mature. Reading will never ever go out of style or popularity either. Books will remain part of their lives from now until they are reading to their children too! Will your favorites as a child, become your children's favorites too?
It could happen, but they might also find a story that is their own favorite and that is okay too! There isn't one book that is "better" than another. Everyone needs to find their own favorites and expand from that point on! Books will give your child more than a 30 second sound bite of information. Let's encourage our children to make good choices in how they spend their leisure time by having some great books for them at all stages of their reading skills.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
I first saw Larry Moore Park, as it's commonly known here in Paso Robles, after I moved to this area in 1993. Larry Moore Park was actually established in the 1980's when the Riverbank Track across the street from it was built. My mother bought a home in this tract in 1995 within walking distance of the park. I visited her regularly and often took a walk in the park after the visit. I was delighted to live close to a river for the first time in my life. I have featured some of my photographs of the river itself here.
At first the Riverbank tract homeowners were assessed by the landscape and lighting district that maintained the park. But by the end of 2015 it became evident that this would not be enough. The city made plans to take jurisdiction over the park and its maintenance and the city now owns the park. It has built a new playground and has plans to later build a new ball field and a parking area within the park. In 2014 after my mother's death we moved into her house and became Riverbank residents ourselves.
Not all of us are thrilled that our "wild" space will become so much more developed than it is now. We don't exactly welcome the parking lot and the added traffic and the glaring stadium lights that are coming. I'm not sure the river walk will be the same after that. We were hoping that at least park maintenance would improve, but so far about all the city has done is build the new playground.
The main trail for the Salinas River Walk begins at the south end of Larry Moore Park right across the from the west entrance to the Charolais Corridor Trail.
At the south entrance of the Salinas River Walk in the park you will find a park bench, trash cans, and some very large rocks marking the beginning of the trail. Here's how it appears if you stand in the park and look toward the Charolais Corridor Trail entrance you see above. The road itself turns into a cul-de-cac just past these trail entrances and one can park along the curb.
In front of the bench is a very large oak tree and an access path heading west to the Salinas River. The flora you see in the photo below is typical of that which dominates the park in spring and summer. The yellow flowers by the rocks are mustard. The white flowers near the right middle are poison hemlock. In front of the blooming poison hemlock is a mallow plant, but its purple flowers are too small to see here. I show the blooms later under Flora.
To take the trail get up from the bench and turn to your right. You will see the trail heading northeast in this photo. It curves slightly parallel to the river until the trail seems to end just past some benches and a river access pass through. You will notice that one of the benches is broken. Maintenance in the park is almost nonexistent except for the playground, playing fields, and restrooms.
Here is the river access just before the trail turns. Notice the broken fence between the bench and the river access pass through. I took this photo and the one below looking west from the east.
Above you see that the trail is turning. It will soon lead to the footbridge. The trail from the south turns onto the bridge by the elderberry tree. I was coming from the other direction when I took this photo.
Not long after crossing the footbridge you will come to a fence that borders a riparian mitigation area. Most of what's behind the fence looks like what's below. Lots of poison hemlock is in bloom there in June.
The trail then parallels the fence until it crosses the park to the east and reaches a dead end. At this point you can turn south toward the southern exit to the Riverbank Tract or you can turn north toward the Veterans' Memorial Bridge underpass that takes you on a trail that continues north and east to 13th Street. Here's a view of the intersection on January 9, 2017.
I took the photo below on June 3, 2019. You can see farther down the trail to the north here. It goes past the Kohl's store. A block wall separates the commercial area from the trail. Near the trail intersection you can see the shopping carts the homeless leave there as they go back and forth to where they like to camp in the riverbed. You will find these abandoned carts scattered through the park.
There is a vacant lot beside that sign that leads to the J.C. Penny parking lot where some homeless folks park before walking to where they plan to camp in the park. Some hikers also park in the J.C. Penny lot because it's close to the park trails going both north and south.
Although you can't see it above because the trees hide it, the fence for the riparian mitigation area borders the north side of the east-west trail from the river. If you were standing where the north pointing arrow is above, looking back toward the river, you'd see this.
In October 2017, I left my house during some construction in search of some quiet and spent some time photographing the park entrance from the bench by the trail entrance. You can see all those photos and the video I made that day at What I Observed from my Bench at Larry Moore Park.
Here is a photo of the large rocks along the trail entrance taken in October, 2017. I was tempted to crop out the piles of mulch so the rocks would be more prominent, but I simply didn't have the heart to crop out most of that magnificent sky just to get rid of the mulch.
Rocks at Park South Entrance, October 2017
Here's a better photo of the rocks in January, 2012, without mulch piles.
Rocks at Park South Entrance, January 2012
Larry Moore Park is a Great Place to Photograph the Sky
I really appreciate the clear view of the sky I have from the Salinas River and the River Walk. It's a great place to photograph the sunset, or, as you can see above, cloud formations.
I often walk as the sun is setting. I took the photo below through those trees you can see from the park bench near the entrance.
I also made a poster of this pastel sky from the park. I made it part of my blog post on Medium: What a Glorious Gift is the Sky! The blog contains other views of the sky, mostly taken from the Veteran's Memorial Bridge in Paso Robles. If a photo seems not to have loaded, just click it to make it appear.
I could share many more sky photos taken at Larry Moore Park, but there simply isn't room. There's much more to see here than sky. The sky will probably appear in many other photos I will share below.
Accessing the Salinas River from Larry Moore Park
Larry Moore Park offers the easiest access to the Salinas River in Paso Robles. Even when the riverbed is dry there is plenty to see. My favorite access path is near the south entrance I showed you at the top by the large oak tree. It is featured in this Zazzle poster. When taking this trail you need to be careful of the poison oak that lives on the right side of the trail. It's especially dangerous in winter when it has no leaves to warn you of what it is. The path can also be slippery in the wet season.
In the poster photo above you can't see the steep part of the path. Here is what it looks like looking up from the riverbank or riverbed, depending on the season. Perhaps by now you will recognize the bench at the top near where this path begins.
Although many people use this path to reach the river, it's only one of many unofficial paths they use to get there.
The more official designated entrances meant for accessing the river look like this and are found along the main trail fence. I think these pass through "gates" are designed to let people in and keep horses and vehicles of all kinds out.
After entering at one of these access "gates" you will find your own way down. If you are fortunate, you will find a path through the brush somewhat like this one.
Take a Short Walk On the North End of the Trail with Me
I made this video to test the camera on my new Galaxy Note 9 phone last November (2018). So it's an autumn walk. It will show you some plants in the park I haven't featured below and autumn views of some I have, like the jimson weed.
Fauna at Larry Moore Park
I confess I've paid more attention to the flora than the fauna, since the fauna are better at keeping out of sight. I've seen birds, ants, bees, gophers, squirrels, hares, tadpoles,lizards, and cottontail rabbits. I've not yet seen a snake or any deer in the park. But that doesn't mean there aren't any.
Not exactly in the park when I took the photo, but I took it from the riverbed just south of the park. Squirrels tend to roam, so I'm sure this one got to the park when I wasn't looking.
I'm not good at identifying birds, but these are very common in the park. It's also common to see birds of prey, probably hawks or turkey vultures, flying high above.
Tadpoles
It occurred to me when I saw a very shallow pool unattached to the rest of the river that it was tadpole season and I might find a few. So I went to explore. I expect we will later see frogs or toads in the park if they can survive after the river dries up.
People also walk their dogs in the park, and they don't always follow the rule to keep them on a leash. Many people let them loose in the riverbed or after they are into the park. They are not supposed to do this. Here are a couple of posts from my Paso Robles in Photos blog related to dogs in the park.
As I walked in the park today I saw a rabbit rush into the brush before I could even aim my camera. I stepped over many anthills of red ants. A lizard skittered across the path in front of me a couple of times. And I also saw this.
Last month I saw another cat by the river. I'm not sure if these are abandoned or feral cats or whether they come to the park from the tract for some wild time.
I love to photograph the plants in the park during every season -- in and out of the riverbed. Some of the most common plants there are jimson weed, telegraph plant, poison oak, poison hemlock, and milk thistle. Milk thistle and poison hemlock usually grow next to each other in the park. Click the link to learn more about them.
Poison oak also grows abundantly at Larry Moore Park. So be careful, especially in winter when the stems are bare and there are no leaves to warn you of danger. One of the places you really need to watch out for is under this spreading cottonwood (or is it a willow?) tree near the center of the park between the street and the trail. There is open space all around it. See that shady place under the tree? Poison oak loves to grow there.
Here's a closer look. See all that poison oak? It loses its leaves in winter and you'd never know what it was, but it's just as dangerous as when it has leaves. See more details and photos of this tree in other seasons and information about other places poison oak lurks in the park in Watch Out for Poison Oak at Larry Moore Park.
Today I found a jimson weed flower in bloom and a several potential forests of the plant. Learn more about jimson weed here. The mustard adds some happy color to this photo.
Below is an enlargement of the blooming mallow plant we saw in front of the bench when we entered the park.
I don't often see poppies in the park, but I did on June 3, 2019. This bit of color was snuggling up to a baby oak tree.
I photographed this cottonwood tree near the river on May 22, 2019. If you have allergies, I suggest you come at a different time of year. The seeds were still flying through the air like snow on June 3.
These are just a few examples of the flora that grow in Larry Moore Park. It has both willow and cottonwood trees. Elderberry trees seem to be everywhere. And, of course, there are oaks. It would take another post to show you all the flora.
Park Facilities
The park has restrooms that stay open during the hours the park is open, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. I looked at them today, June 3, 2019, and they were clean. They lock them at 11 p.m. when the park closes. The drinking fountains next to the restrooms were also functioning.
Besides the trails, the park has non-regulation soccer and baseballs fields and a basketball court for shooting baskets. None of these fields were built for competitive play. They were built for neighborhood residents to play for fun.
There are very few picnic tables. The city website for the park says there are barbecue areas. They are probably located near the playground beside the one picnic table I saw. There may be more in that clump of trees behind the playground. That's the one area I did not inspect today.
Vandals have thrown many tables in the creek and in other places where they don't belong and torn them apart. There has been a huge problem with vandalism in the park in the past. Many hope that since the city now owns the park it will patrol more often.
It is better to visit the park during daylight hours. As I've mentioned above, many homeless camp in the park, especially in and around the riverbed. Some neighbors who use the trail have complained that they have been threatened by men carrying sticks when walking north of the bridge underpass or near it. I have never had a problem myself, but I've not recently walked farther north than the trail I've detailed here. I now stay in the park south of the commercial development and the path intersection I showed you that leads north.
The park is a wonderful recreation area, especially during the season when there is water in the river. The trails and the riverbed are great for hiking, biking, and walking dogs (on leashes, please). There are many plants and animals to study or just enjoy. There are gorgeous sunsets to observe. But it's probably best to walk with a dog or a friend at dusk.
And if you happen to be in the park at the right time, you will probably see and hear the Amtrak trains coming and going. I usually see one go past between 4:30 and 5 p.m. I rather enjoy that. Both the tracks and the 101 freeway are just on the other side of the river from the park.
Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”
