On March 20 we visited the Wenham Museum for a workshop run by fabric artist Elizabeth Golz Rush. She provided kits she had prepared and the girls (about a dozen were in attendance) assembled the dolls and then decorated them as they wished. Audrey and Charlotte loved it.
Neither Carol or I felt like fighting the hair-brushing battle on the way out the door, but then we were a little embarrassed to have girls with rats' nest heads. Especially with one of the museum volunteers taking photos. Oh well. Live and learn.
After the workshop we wandered around the museum. There was a wonderful temporary exhibit of miniature houses. And a very cool permanent exhibit of dolls, doll houses and doll clothing. There was also a very small photography exhibit that included two film cameras that kids could handle. I tried explaining the concept of "film" to the girls but I don't think it really sunk in.
By then we were hungry and headed to the town of Hamilton very nearby for some lunch. In the Boston area there is a particular kind of casual food joint. They all have the same menu (pizza, subs, gyros, maybe spaghetti) and in fact they all have the exact same physical menu (example). The Hamilton House of Pizza was typical. And good.
The towns of Wenham and Hamilton border the south edge of the Ipswich River Audubon Sanctuary (which by now you know has become our favorite place) so we headed there next. We had finally bought our own bird seed after relying on the generosity of others on previous visits so we were excited to try it out.
Upon our arrival, though, we first of course had to visit the Rockery - the 50' tall pile of washing-machine-size boulders that were arranged 100 years ago into an artificial mountain with stairs and paths and a grotto. Unfortunately, the paths were all still covered with compacted snow and ice (the Rockery is very shaded) and it was treacherous. So we went off on a hike instead.
We often go geocaching for fun. I had discovered that there was a fairly new cache in the sanctuary so we set off toward that. Along the way we found a spot near the Old Stone Bridge where the birds were especially hungry. We fed them for a long time. Then I finally coaxed the girls to continue on to the cache. We had to travel down a trail that was new to us, along an esker. There was a cold wind blowing off the marsh, so we hurried along. We found the cache, and we also found a very friendly nuthatch so Audrey spent some time feeding him (they are much more shy than the chickadees). Then we found another new trail that was a shortcut back to the car. A very fun day.
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