Stopping by the river after strawberry picking

Great blue herons to the rescue

We conquered the sleep-deprived grumpies today by getting out into nature.  (Is it just us, or do full moons drastically affect sleep in your house, too?)

A friend recently told us about a hike we had to take, to a great-blue-heron rookery, from a downtown neighborhood, of all places!

The last time we went (a few weeks ago), we saw the herons building their nests.  Today, Lucy and I returned and found them all sitting on the nests.

It's so bizarre to see these big huge birds perched high in the trees like that!

Right next door to the herons is a bald eagle, also nesting.

It's a truly amazing sight.

Closer to earth, we saw a garter snake,

 a tuft of unidentified fur (a mystery to ponder), lots of animal holes, big fat bumblebees, some butterflies, red-winged blackbirds, wood ducks, and heard many, many different bird calls.

 It was amazing to see that the brown woods we'd visited so recently was now lush and green. (And completely full of poison ivy!  We kept our bodies small and centered on the path.)

Later, we went out to dinner with friends, followed by dessert and dandelion-blowing in a little park in the center of our town.

And when bedtime came and went by an hour, with no sign of sleep, I got Lucy back out of bed and into the car and we went in search of the "supermoon."  We caught glimpses of it through the trees in all its huge orange glory, and continued looking for a good viewing spot as it rose, lightened, and got hidden by clouds.

It was well worth the extra-late bedtime.

My best cure for a difficult day--take it outside and breathe in the wonders of nature.

Late-spring nature table

A visit to the river yesterday resulted in a pair of temporary visitors to our nature table:

See the muddy water there on the right? When the mud settles, you can see two teeny little fish swimming around in there. We're observing them, and drawing them in our nature journals, and trying to identify them with the help of a favorite book.

Here's our late-spring table as it stands right now:

--A blooming milkweed.
--A birds' nest we found on the ground a few years ago, holding a painted egg that was a gift to Lucy.
--A beaver-chewed stick and a stick etched with bug trails, found on walks with the kids (one boy said, on finding the bug stick: "give this to Lise; she likes bug tracks.")
--Friday's Flowers.
--A shadow box containing a dead baby snapping turtle and a snapping-turtle egg. We found these--with the clues that told the story--on our vacation. The turtle was by the side of the road, baked in the sun. I looked around for a nest, and found one--full of ripped-open eggs with cooked yolks! All around were dog footprints. We imagine the dog dug up the eggs, which baked in the sun, and one turtle escaped, but couldn't make it on its own. So for now, it's part of Lucy's book and our nature table. Though the children weren't with us when we found it, they love the story and delight in telling their parents about it.
--A beautiful piece of birch bark from a hike.
--Our temporary visitors.

Nearby, on the coffee table, is a tray of our beach treasures, sort of an extension of this little display.

What treasures have been added to your nature table recently?

Hiking with toddlers 101

Choose a beautiful place with intriguing terrain (thanks, Julie, for the recommendation!)

If you come to a bridge, be sure to trip-trap over it both ways, again and again, before moving on.

Go slowly. Very slowly. Have no expectations in mind other than having fun.

Take a rest whenever you need one. Maybe a nap on a rock step.

Stop to admire the view (remember that the toddler's view is smaller and lower than your own).

Be prepared to give a boost when needed.

(We hiked some portion of the Emery Path in Acadia this morning. It was perfect for Lucy right now--almost all stairs!)

Family date night

Thursday is our "date night." It's been the evening we reserved for each other for many years now, but this last year, it's become "family date night," rather than a twosome. That's fine with us; just how we envisioned our family would grow. (We've been together nearly 20 years; we're ready to share our Thursdays.) This evening, we:

Took a short hike:

Took in the views:

Dallied along the way to collect treasures:

Stopped for a hug now and then:

...and to check out tracks both tiny:

and huge (bear):

Went out for some sushi:

complete with chopsticks:

And finished it off with a stroll in town:

Who could ask for a better date?

Good ideas gleaned from blogland

A short post after yesterday's novel...

I've been inspired this week by some of the loveliness I see daily on other blogs.

I had to pull out bubbles after I saw gardenmama's photos of bubble wands made from branches. What a brilliant idea! So naturally beautiful, I couldn't wait to try. (Lucy's using a forscythia wand; Andi's using a rubber canning ring.) I did it again today with all the kids, and they loved it, too.


And today, when one of the 5-year-old boys picked up a Y-shaped branch, I was reminded of the wonderful natural weavings I'd seen on Child in Harmony. I described it to the kids, and they were eager to try. Two boys and I worked on them for a good part of the morning, and they were so thrilled with the results, they brought them over to the neighbor's house to show them off, (and to the mail carrier, and to the UPS driver). This boy decided to add a flower he drew and cut out to the things he found in nature. I love the mixed-media result.


What's inspiring you and your kids lately?

Work of various kinds

Look what came today!

I've got my work cut out for me this weekend. I can't even remember what I ordered, let alone where I thought it would all go. Fruit bushes, that much I remember!

There was no time to open the box today, however. We were too busy down at the stream.

We discovered animal tracks in the mud:

Someone suggested we try making our own:

We came home good and muddy:

We'd forgotten to bring our field bags with us today, so we sketched the tracks from a photo later:

We knew these tracks--dog and raccoon. But we've been frustrated by attempts to identify other tracks we've found using the books I have on the subject. Any recommendations for good track identification guides?

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree!

Toddle softly and carry a big stick

Get outside strategy: don't worry so much.

Yep, my toddler carries sticks wherever she goes. She teethes on them. And sand, too, when a little grit is needed. She finds "choking hazards" wherever she goes, picks them up to carry around with her, and sometimes pops them in her mouth. She crawls up the slide. She climbs to the top of any ladder or staircase she can find. She chases chickens and probably steps in their poop along the way. She trips over exposed roots, lands on gravel, scrapes her knees.

She's learning to navigate her world safely, and she's amazingly adept at it. She is not afraid of nature, because we're not afraid to let her explore it. At the playground, I often see babies and toddlers held by their parents or contained in strollers or swings to "protect" them from the world. In my experience, however, sheltering them in this way means they're less protected when they're on their own two feet, because they haven't had enough experience exploring their own boundaries. Getting outside with babies and toddlers when you're anxious for their safety is really hard. Trust in their competence and resilience, and it becomes much easier.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree!

A place with nothing to do

Both today and yesterday, I walked with all the kids to a park about a mile away. It's a ball field surrounded by grass, huge old sycamore trees, blooming crab apple trees, and bordered by woods along the river. Once, leaving there with all the kids in tow, I was approached by a woman who lived across the street from the park, who tried to recruit me to her campaign to get the town to put in "something for the kids to do." But she'd approached the wrong person. I love that park precisely because there is "nothing to do." When there's no play structure to suggest "this is what you should do here," there's nothing else to do but
pick flowers,

see what happens if you blow through bamboo into the current,

try to catch leaves as they drift by,

make a boat of bamboo stalks or sycamore leaves,

sail it on the current, holding it tethered by a vine,

or build a bridge to pirate island.

I'm a big fan of "nothing to do." I hope that park stays just as boring as it is. We'll keep coming, and try to find some way to while away the time.

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

On her own two feet

Lucy and I went for a hike today. This was her first hike on her own two feet, and she walked nearly 1/2 a mile! Sometimes, it looked like this:

And sometimes, it looked like this:

And usually, there was a great big grin, like this:

It took us a very long time to walk that 1/2 mile. Lucy was very interested in all the sticks she found along the path, and stopped every few minutes to exchange the ones in her hands for new ones. Did you know...
there are smooth sticks and bumpy sticks?
sticks are good for teething?
you can re-adjust the stick in your hand so you can hold mama with the same hand?
sticks break with a satisfying snap?
when you break a stick in two, even if you line up the two ends perfectly and hold them together just so, they won't re-connect?
and strangest of all, some sticks just won't break:


Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy