We celebrated with a perfect day at Dawes Arboretum on Saturday.......

 It was a beautiful morning..........at Dawes and Art Lady was ready to play play play!!!!!!

 The Boy Scouts were ready and able to help me set up this year......they had camped the night before at Dawes and they all shared how COLD it had been.......

 I was wearing my Earth Day shirt that I hand painted to celebrate the moment by this beautiful red bud tree...  everything is so green and glorious here.......

 my new friends ...the Boy Scouts were building a special bridge for the day's activities ......

 right next to them....the tomahawk exhibition...I am grateful they changed the directions of their throwing the tomahawks......

 now it appears that the men and scouts have found the perfect place for their target.........

 of course there was a tee pee set up...the little ones were whooping all day and running in and out of the tee pee....  my Lyndon Allen was fascinated by this new structure ....

 yes the Boy Scouts were using real axes for their tomahawk throwing exhibition......

 this was our specialist this year........he kept the children very entertained ...had real scorpions and a tarantella for the brave ones to hold............My Cole was totally mesmerized for his presentation!

 Me and Suki and her little Rosie...and Jenny Haer and Kathy had a brief moment to catch up and a few hugs to get our hearts pumping.........

 tomahawk practice...........

 a hummingbird set up for inspiration..........

 Theresa from Going Green.....recycling store in Granville.......

 the playground is waiting for the little ones.........

 everything made from the remnants of trees..........for the children...and it was packed later in the day!!!

 these two wonderful characters ...my favorite tree climbing experts who hung my Whispers in the Trees fabric art high up into the trees...................that is 4 month old Chico  in PJ's arms....

 Kisses ....kisses...kisses........I love working with these guys!!!!

 then the watercolor washes ...beautiful butterflies......simple lessons and joys for all ......

 at times there was a line...........so i was so happy to have the Lorax book available for mothers to read while they waited for their turn........

 a spritz of magic water......to free the watercolors to flow on the watercolor papers........

 everyone succeeds with this playful exploration!

 The man of the hour...Luke Messinger made the rounds proudly to check on everyone and how things were going!  He is a man of dedication! 

 I said I was happy ......... and with my dear Messy Monkey Evan.............hugs and giggles are the BEST!

Happy Arbor Day!!!!!!!!!!   Thank you all for coming out and celebrating Nature...TREES... an our precious Earth!  I will share more images and visitors tomorrow!  Peace,  Mary Helen Fernandez Stewart