Tee pee is back

Everyone, I know you've all been anxiously waiting for the teepee to get pitched again! Well, here it is. We just spent the afternoon today and it looks great. And thanks everyone who helped out today! Here they are!

Kevin, you're such a poser

Been a while since I posted photos of the ranch. Here's some photos of Kevin. Our peacock. Kevin, by the way got his name because of my daughter. She was about 3 when she first saw Kevin(he had a different name back then). And this was right after she watched Up, the Pixar movie with the colorful bird named Kevin. She says, "Look daddy, there goes Kevin!" Since then, that name stuck. So here he is showing off his beautiful feathers.

Spring Arrivals

Here at Sienna Ranch we are all getting ready for spring! The newest arrivals are 6 chicks, who hatched from our incubator. They are so fluffy!

One of our goats, Rosie, is due to have her kids in the first week of April. While checking on her last night I felt one of the babies kick. So exciting!

Explorers

We started our day with an animal track matching game and the kids did remember most of them.

In the chicken coop we compared chicken feet with duck feet and collected some eggs.

Off we went for a hike to see what tracks we can find out in nature. Some very clear horse tracks, a dog, deer and cow tracks, and some tire tracks also got the kids attention.

We left the trail to get up to the lookout post, Lafayette was still covered in fog. By the time we finished snack, the sun came thru and we continued our hike. Each kid got to hike solo thru the new mustard plants. Once we arrived by the big oak everyone was ready to climb the tree. We watched the cows across the fence, one mother cow and three calves, baby boys we figured.

Time to get back down to the Ranch, we met with the other group and cracked some black walnuts, they do taste good.

The last few minutes we got to play the cat and mouse game in the yurt and it seemed everyone had fun and took part in it.

A great day for our explorers.

clouds in the sky

Today we finished our gourd rattels, some paint and feathers from the chicken coop made a great decoration. Now it might be time for a rain dance.
While the paint has to dry, we went to feed the baby goats. The kids prepared the milk bottles and were amazed how fast these goats can drink, and what cute lips they have. Time for our snack by the buckeye tree, and a turn on the new swing.
We watched the clouds and tried to see shapes and figures.
On our hike, we saw a red tail hawk in the sky, standing still, almost like a kite in the wind.

Old photo of the area where the Hometini is now

This one is fun. Really shows the before and after of the Hometini area. Cows use to live here.

Old photos of the ranch before we started 4

 

Various shots. This one is looking towards where the chicken area is now

 

The two above is where the current RompingZone is. This area use to house sheeps and a couple of sheep dogs

Goats are here now.

Old photos of the ranch before we started 3

The old barn.

This area is where the round pen is now. Before, it was used as a holding area for horses.

Old photos of the ranch before we started2

Some more photos. The first three are of the area where Beeper is now. Not that much different except for slightly newer fencing, and different horse. Bottom photos is next to the old barn.

Old photo of the ranch before we started

Got a little nostalgic about when we got started at the ranch. These photos are from about three years ago while we were just getting started. Here's an old photos of the area by where the yurts are now. The only thing we kept looks to be the Eggstand. Before, I think it was used as a ticket booth.

pumpchini or zumpkin?

last year we grew pumpkins and zucchinis at opposite ends of the garden. this year i didn't think a thing of what looked like a volunteer zucchini growing in the corn patch. but the plants must have crossed last year...i present to you....the pumpcchini! Or perhaps, the zumpkin? i am yet to try and crack it open, i still can't get over the appearance!

Baby duck

This is Barnaby. My coworker wanted a duck, so she took a couple of eggs with her from our ranch, and she bought an incubator, and successfully hatched one baby duck! He is already grown up. Here a link to her post. He's really cute, and getting lots of attention from friends!

adventure hike

First let's check what is growing in the garden, we find young tomato, pepper, squash and corn plants.

We feed the chickens and goats, after everyone wanted to visit the young chicks and hold one, we can tell they are growing.

Snack time was under our favorite buckeye tree. From there we took off on an adventure hike.

We all did some climbing over fallen trees and thru the dry creek bed, till we got to a good spot to rest, listened to a story and have some mint tea. After the hike went on, each explorer got to go on a short solo hike.

It was a great day to be out and enjoy nature. Back at the ranch there was enough time to visit with the rabbits.

I wish everyone a happy summer time and hope to see you again.

New Residents at our ranch

Here's our new baby goats!! Aren't they cute!

hard boiled eggs

We started our day in the garden, we picked chard for the chickens and goats to feast on.

Of course we had to pay a visit to the new baby chicks, each kid got to hold one and we came up with some creative names for them.

Later in the chicken coop we collected some feathers and eggs. Today we boiled the eggs on the fire , everyone enjoyed these very fresh eggs.

We used mortars to crushed some charcoal to make charcoal paint, with this paste , each explorer made a design on a piece of paper.

There was a little time left to climb our buckeye tree and observe some turkey vultures gliding by.

Random photos from the ranch

Some  recent photos from the ranch.

Some new projects at the ranch

Just finished up this new fence. This was very fun to build, even though it took way too long to build due to my work schedule and the fact that  I had to cut each piece one at a time. Ugggghhh. But still, the result turned out pretty fun.

Set of the film shoot

Here's a little up date to the film that is being shot on our ranch. The shoot is going very well and despite the unexpected rain, the necessary sets got built! There was a tremendous delay because of the rain, and the inability to bring up supplies and equipment up the hill when the ground was wet. But somehow, it was managed. Also, the actual filming days have seen some good luck, as most of the bad weather has been, for some crazy unknown reason, isolated to weekdays. So the last two or three weekends, they were able to shoot the film with the ground being dry. Very important for consistency. Anyways, here are some photos of the set, and some of the kids who are taking the film class learning directly from the film makers!

A write up about Sienna Ranch in the local paper

http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0403/Sienna-Ranch-Continues-a-Natural-Tradition.html

Some videos about the ranch on YouTube!

Here's some fun videos that people have posted on youTube about our ranch. Enjoy.

story of the day may 17th, 2010

Today we spent most of our time with compasses practicing orienteering. Alison set up a course for us to follow. We gave everyone a chance to lead who wanted to. Once we made our way through the ranch and became more familiar with our compasses we decided it was time to run out into the woods to play a game of sardines, a.k.a. backwards hide'n'seek. It was difficult for the group to learn the rules. It was hard for the group to stay quiet when they found the hiding person. Everyone's homework for the next class is to play sardines at least once. The way the game works: One person hides and everyone else counts with their eyes closed. Then everyone tries to find the one hiding person. When one of the "seekers" finds the "hider" they sneak into the hiding place with them and stays quiet. The last person to find the group becomes the next hider. It is helpful for the solitary hider to hide in a place that has room for everyone that is playing. We will try again next week.

story of the day may 17th, 2010

The morning class today was really great. We started by heading up into the woods in search for some dried mugwort to start a friction fire near where we had started a shelter the week before. We hiked along the steep slope of the hills above the dry creek bed. On our way we found 16 yes 16 California slender salamanders (Batrachoseps attenuatus). Two large millipedes (Narceus americanus) and a giant owl pellet. We then got out the bowdrill kits and practiced our fire making skills. Robbie showed some real promise. Holden was our expert on the owl pellet dissection, Mahmood carried the fire song, and Yakov helped me tend fire. Once the fire was lit we heard a story about how coyote lost his eyes. Then the younger kids came walking down the trail to hear the last part of the story and help us with the shelter we were working on. Then it was time to head back to the ranch.

Story of the Day May 14th, 2010

We harvested stinging nettle to make a wonderful tea. We collected lots of dry fire wood to build a fire to cook the nettles (Urtica dioica). Harvesting them is no easy task, one must be careful not to get stung. Most people had a chance tending the fire and watching over the boiling water. Then it was time for us to make some cups out of clay. We weren't intending to use them with the tea, but it was nice to have the motivation. We used the fire for the tea to fire the clay. It was a great day to spend around the fire telling stories and making things out of clay. The tea was quite tasty and believe it or not it has some strong beneficial and medicinal qualities.

story of the Day May 10th, 2010

Today we had scattered showers at the ranch, with a rainbow to boot. We started with a game of who's leading? Then played hot and cold to find the new animals on the ranch. We just recently acquired two new peahens and a peacock. We also were lucky enough to find a pygmy milking goat and two young does that needed a new home. We then went into the yurt for some sand painting. Everyone should have gone home with a painting in hand. Then we headed up the hill to work on a little tree identification, by using one of my favorite identification practices, climbing the tree. The particular tree was growing mostly sideways and has large oval shaped leaves that grow in bunches of 5 that look like a hand. Each students was encouraged to take a leaf home to try to identify this tree at home. So ask your little ones about their leaf and you can help them to find out what it is. I'll give you the latin name and you can decide if you want to tell them the common name. (Aesculus californica) Good luck and happy hunting. We ended the day with a few races around the new track by the horse arena. Sierra and I tied for first place.

Muddy May 10th

Two new peahens and a peacock greeted us in the chicken coup this morning. Sky led a song about a bullfrog before we took up a game of Jays and Chickadees. The Sienna Ranch chickadees played their own version (similar to ours) in the trees above. In our game the coopers hawk (black bandana) looked for birds to eat, the jay (blue bandana) looked for chickadees eggs to rob and avoided the hawk. The chickadees looked for food while trying to keep their nest location from the jays and avoid the coopers hawk. After each round we discussed the strategies involved and counted our eggs. The rain was very light until the end of class. We headed for the snack tree. There we built a fire with a magnizium stick. We sang the fire song, ate, played a game, made play bows, worked on the shelter and listened to a couple stories. We left just as the rain started to turn from drizzle to real rain. All in all another great day at the ranch.
-Sky

story of the day may 7th, 2010

We started the day with a big group game of jays vs. chickadees. Alex and I did quite well as a pair, and we hid our nest in a great spot so that Janah, the "hawk" didn't find it. Then we split off into our separate groups and started our day. We first went to the dog's pen to take Stretch and Sidecar for a walk. We heading west towards the beehives. On our way stopped for snack and a story. The story was the second installment of how Coyote lost his eyes. Ask your kids for a retelling of it, cause it's a good one. I heard it from a wonderful Cree storyteller and tell it with her permission. Then it was off towards the bees to see how they are doing. They are in full swing now and they were very kind in their way of telling me that I was a bit too close. Fortunately we were able to see the action from a safe distance. We headed back to the ranch after our close encounter. There were a few requests fot egg collecting and petting the rabbits, so we had to do that for a few minutes. And Melinda's group had the hose going so we took a moment to cool off with them. Then we headed up the hill to our sit spot to do some drawing. Lots of nice pictures came out. Then everyone wanted to play a few rounds of "ninja training" and then it was time to go meet our parents to go home. Overall a great day.

story of the day may 3rd, 2010

Today was the first day of the new session and we had a good discussion of what to expect for the rest of the year. We made sure that everyone understands what the dangerous parts of the ranch are. Horses, poison oak and drinking enough water being the biggest hazards. We took a lengthy tour of the animals, making sure that everyone knows how to behave around them. Then is was time for a snack and a story that was left hanging. The ending was supposed to be a cliff hanger and the ending will come when we meet again next week. The day was full of excitement and the energy was only dampened slightly by our hike that took us up into the overgrown milk thistle in the valley above the ranch. We ended the day with a great game that helps improve one's sense of hearing. It is also a game that improves one's sense of sneaking.

story of the day april 30th, 2010

A beautiful Friday at sienna ranch with some strong winds and story-book clouds. Since today was the first day of the session we decided to take an in depth tour of the ranch. We spent a good deal of time with all the different animals at the ranch with clear explanations of the guidelines of how to act when in with the animals. The chickens, as always, were a big hit. It was some people's first day holding a chicken. After that it was snack time where we sat under the shade of the walnut trees. We then took some time to do quiet writing in the hill next to the archery range. The assignment was designed to get a sense of the individuals connection to nature at the beginning of the session. It was then time for a game that we called "ninja training" that focuses on strengthening the sense of hearing. A great first day to the last season of the year.

Egg project

Friday afternoon was all about birds! After our gratitude circle, we played a game with everyone called Jays and Chickadees. This game shows students how birds steal from one another to survive. Everyone had a great time playing, and came up with some creative ways to "survive". We split into groups then and the raccoons got to do a special project using chicken eggs. We went and collected eggs from the chicken coop. Then we carefully poked holes in each end and blew the insides of the egg out into a bowl. All of the students were so careful that no one broke their eggs which was very impressive! They then got to use water color paints to decorate their eggs. We then hung the eggs on strings and left them to dry. After the eggs were finished the students decided we should have a mini Olympics. We made up our own sports, and spent some time competing for the world record. It was really entertaining to see how well everyone did at the events they made up. We also got a chance to play our ninja training game that challenges students to quietly sneak up on one another. At that point we were out of time and everyone headed home.

Egg Art

Friday morning was all about birds! After our gratitude circle, we played a game with everyone called Jays and Chickadees. This game shows students how birds steal from one another to survive. Everyone had a great time playing, and came up with some creative ways to "survive". We split into groups then and the quails got to do a special project using chicken eggs. We went and collected eggs from the chicken coop. Then we carefully poked holes in each end and blew the insides of the egg out into a bowl. All of the students were so careful that no one broke their eggs which was very impressive! They then got to use water color paints to decorate their eggs. We then hung the eggs on strings and left them to dry. It was time for our hike at that point, and we decided our destination should be the climbing tree. We hiked up there and had snack, and had a great time exploring a little and climbing. It was then time to head back down to the ranch, with just enough time to visit the dogs. It was a wonderful morning at the ranch.

a birdbath

The day started with a game called 'fire in the forest' , after our group went to the garden. We checked out some plants and picked chard to feed to the animals.
We got to hold a birds nest and looked closer at the material the birds collected to build it. The kids added some soft pony hair to it.
We set up a birdbath under a tree, washed some rocks and rolled a tree stump to use for the base.
Hopefully we will attract some birds and get a chance to see them taking a bath. There was time for a short hike and back, before everyone got picked up.

Compasses

Wednesday morning, the kindergarten kids were very excited to be at the ranch. We all played a few games together, like everyone is it tag, and fire in the forest, and then we split into our two groups. My groups activity was to learn the basics of compass use. Each student got to use one of the ranch compasses, and we started with the basics. Everyone knew the four directions North, South , East, and West, and then they learned how to combine those directions to describe the directions in between, like southwest and southeast. We then set off on a hike, stopping to figure out which way we were going every so often. Some of the students caught on really quickly and were really good at seeing which way we were headed. We stopped for snack and everyone shared a story about a time when they were lost. Most students described how scared they were, so we talked about what they should do if they are ever lost again. Everyone had good ideas, and they also learned S.T.O.P, which stands for Sit, Think, Observe and Plan. This is the things they should do when they first learn they are lost. After snack it was time to find our way back to the ranch and we used the compasses to guide us.

Gardening

This week the Monday after school group was lucky enough to have a chance to plant some new vegetables in the garden. We first had to prepare the garden bed where we would be planting so everyone worked together to clear out all the old plants and weeds. Then we used hand shovels to turn the dirt and loosen the soil. Then we screened some compost from our compost pile, which was just filled with worms! The students had a wonderful time collecting and looking at the worms before adding them to the garden bed. We mixed the compost in with the dirt in the garden bed, and then it was time to plant our seed starts. We planted two tomato plants, and three golden pepper plants. After watering the new additions, we spent some time watering the rest of the garden, which everyone seemed to enjoy. After snack we had time to take a quick hike up the hill and then it was time to go home.

getting the birdbath ready

It was a beautiful day at the Ranch, we started in the garden, everything is growing so well.

The Fava beans are tasty, we all got to try some. Yes, there are aphids on the plants, but we discovered the ladybugs are taking care of them.

A visit in the chicken coop, was followed by checking out the two dogs that live in the next coop. They were happy to see us fill up their empty water dish.

The kids got to look at a birds nest that I brought in today, with one egg left in it. We talked about how the bird parents are taking care of their young.

After snack and some socializing, we got to work. The birdbath needed some scrubbing and new water and we also planted some Morning Glories.

Good team work, I was impressed.

The last part of the day was a short story time and we played some chasing games on the field.

Next week, we will meet at the reservoir.

Animals and Hike to school

Monday the kindergartens were all very excited to be at the ranch. We started out visiting the chickens, to see if there were any eggs to collect. We found quite a few, and everyone had a chance to put some in the cartons. We then visited with sidecar and stretch, the resident dogs. The students had fun brushing them and watching them play. After the dogs we went over to the rabbit hutch, and spent some time holding frosty the rabbit. It was then time for snack, so we found a nice shady spot under a tree and enjoyed whatever snacks we had. At this point it was time to start the hike to school, so we set out on that adventure. We got to school with some time to spare and the group showed me how to play a game that they played on the playground. It was a lot of fun and a very nice morning at the ranch!

Sand Art

Friday afternoon was sunny and pleasant. We started out with our gratitude circle and then the raccoons went to do a fun project with sand. We talked about how sand painting has been used by different cultures throughout history, and how most sand paintings were laid out on the ground and swept away when they were finished. The students got to glue their sand paintings down so they could take them home! Everyone seemed to enjoy this project, and there was much creativity with their work. After the sand painting it was time for our hike. We climbed up to the climbing tree and went around the hill to check out the bee hives. The bees were very busy collecting from all the spring flowers! After that, we had time to play a game that involves listening to your surroundings and being as quiet as possible. All of the students enjoyed themselves, and the afternoon went by quickly.

Sand Painting

Friday was sunny and beautiful at the ranch and we started the morning with our gratitude circle. We split into groups and the quails geared up to do some sand painting. They learned a little about how and why sand paintings were made through out history, and then got a chance to make their own. The students were very into their artwork and they all made some wonderful pieces to take home with them. After we were done with the sand painting, we went and visited with the animals. The chickens got a lot of attention, and we found many eggs to collect. We then had time to hike up to the climbing tree, where we spent the remainder of the morning climbing and listening to stories.

Getting to know the ranch

Monday was the first day of the session for the after school explorers. After our gratitude circle, we discussed all of the different ways for the students to keep themselves safe and healthy at the ranch. We also discussed guidelines for good behavior. After that, we took a walk around the ranch and met all of the wonderful animals at the ranch. We spent time with the chickens, dogs, goats and rabbits. After that we had enough time to eat snack and play a great game that Rafe taught them. It involved using their senses to figure out when other people were trying to tag them. When the game was over it was time to head home. Great first day at the ranch!

Adventure Hike

Wednesday morning was beautiful, but a bit rainy. Luckily the rain cleared up before to long, so after a story and a little time to play in the hay shed, we got to go on a fun adventure hike. The students got to choose which way to go. Everyone was really excited because we got to go further than we usually do. I encouraged the students to keep their eyes open for animal signs and we got really lucky! We saw a gopher, lots of lady bugs, a few different types of lizards and we even got to pet a baby cow! Everyone was really excited by the end of the hike. When we got back to the ranch we had enough time to wash our hands and it was time to head home.

Climbing Tree and hike

Monday was a fun day for the kindergarten group. After our gratitude circle we got to check out some gopher teeth that Alison had brought, which were very interesting. After that the students decided they wanted to go to the climbing tree on the hill. We got up to the tree, and everyone had a wonderful time climbing around. We then had snack, and got to hear the story The Lorax. The story got the kids thinking and we heard some great stories from them afterwards. It was then time to hike over to school. We had fun picking different edible flowers along the way, like wild radish and mustard. We made it to school on time, after an all around fun morning.

Story of the Day 4-26 Mountain Deer

The mountain deer had a small class Monday. We decided to join the Rafe group for a good part of the day. After the morning (read Rafe's blog) we found ourselves in a steep bay-buckeye forest. We took a break to sit on a fallen bay and hear a story originally told by Tom Brown. Continuing on we found a snake. Initially we gave it quite a bit of room thinking it may be a rattle snake. It was covered in tan and brown squares (not diamonds). It had a small oval head (not triangular) and a smooth (not rattled) tail it seemed to flick like a rattler. We took some guesses but did not come to a conclusion of the species (besides not rattle snake). This would be a good extra credit question if anyone feels like looking it up. On the way back we found that the mustard is starting to seed and tastes like wasabi. Tracks in the mud have hardened and provide great opportunities for study. All in al another awesome day at the ranch.

story of the day april 26th, 2010

The first day of the new session with lots of new faces was very exciting. We started with a thanksgiving circle and our names. We then took a few minutes explaining the hazards of the ranch. Most importantly being the horses, poison oak and drinking enough water. We then took the time to meet all of the animals in the farm yard. I think the chickens were a favorite for most. For a few children it was their first time holding or petting a chicken. We had some snack and talked about animals and the earth and then headed up to the riding ring for a game that is designed to stretch one's awareness. It's called jedi training, and it works like this. One person is in the middle of the ring with a pool noodle and a blindfold on, everyone else is out on the edges. The object is to tag the person in the middle without getting hit by the pool noodle. You learn pretty quickly that if you aren't focusing on how much noise you are making that you won't do very well. We will be creating sensory experiences throughout the season. There were a few kids without water bottles this time. Please have your children bring water bottles and sun protection for these classes, especially as the weather gets warmer. I'm looking forward to the next six weeks.

Story of the Day April 26th, 2010

Thanksgiving circle in the morning sun with lizards coming to visit. The ranch is in full bloom and plants are growing rapidly on all the edges around the property. We took a hike up to the top of the hill and cleared a nice path through the overgrown thistles. There is a wonderful valley to the northeast that is perfect for sneaking and hiding games. It was pretty much unaccessible until yesterday, but now there is a nice walkway for groups. It was definitely enjoyable for us to do it not just for the pleasure of the activity but we also left something for others. Once at the top of the hill we met up with Sky and his students. We were planning to play a game but were waylaid by a snake in Oslo's path. We all circled around it at a good distance and debated what type of snake it was. The initial thought was that it could be a rattle snake, but after looking closely there was no rattle. We decided it was a gopher snake. Then it was time for a survival story and a game of jedi training that sharpened our hearing and our skills in fox walking. We then wanted to find a fort that we heard was down the the steep hill to the north in the bay forest. It was a nice to find this new place to explore but we didn't find the fort. While under the canopy of buckeye and bay we explored the difference between the two trees and what there different uses are. As we started to head back to the ranch we found an enormous dead yucca plant. As the temperature rises we need to make sure that everyone has water, so please make sure that your kids bring water bottles.

Friday Adventure Hike

Friday was our wonderful adventure hike from Springhill road to the ranch. Both the morning and the afternoon groups went on the hike and they all had a wonderful time. Some of the students had to push themselves a little harder than usual, but everyone was very proud of themselves. We saw many exciting things along the way, including giant beetles, bones, possible signs of mountain lions and a dead mouse. Sky told some great stories and we played some fun hiding games as well. It was all around a great way to spend the day.