A Wilderness Walk is a Birthday Present Indeed

Every year for my birthday and for mother's day I have only one simple request.
A hike.
This year's birthday is no different, but because the forecast is calling for rain on the actual day, the children and I took an early adventure. They were happy to get woken up with the mention of a breakfast stop at the donut shop (Michael's Bakery-- dangerously delicious) and before I knew it they were waiting in their boots in the car. The presents were starting already.
A drive down to The Wilderness Center was filled with singing my favorite songs, and upon arrival we even got our favorite parking spot, which isn't anything special but somehow we find peace in routine.
We grabbed the 'trees' Family Pack from the shelf and headed out on the Wilderness Walk, a 1.75 mile trek that was a piece of cake for the older children, but an impressive task for the 19 month old who hopped along most of the way. The Family Pack supplied ID materials as well as a lovely storybook about trees, so when we reached the pond that had pretty much dried up in the summer heat, a perfectly placed bench was waiting for us.
Fruit snacks, water bottles, story book, and surrounded by three kids and one thousand mosquitoes, my present didn't need to be wrapped at all.
It preferred the fresh air.
Along the way, the smallest one who is quickly earning the nickname of "rocks" must have stopped every 20 feet to pick up another small rock. Bless her, she thought she was sticking them in her pocket, but instead fed them all through a loop in her brother's hand-me-down cargo shorts.
I took a pebble myself, for her collection, and to remember the wonderful way I celebrated my birthday.

Plaster casts of Animal Tracks

We're going through a bit of a dry spell these days around here, but earlier in the summer the ground was a perfectly soft substrate for animal tracks. At the end of the street there's a patch of land that is either puddle or desert, but animals always pass through that spot on their way to the neighboring farmer's field. Deer, raccoon, and turkey are what we normally find there, and it has become a daily ritual to take a walk after dinner with our first stop being the stomping grounds.

Over a few trial runs, I think we've just about perfected the casting process. I wrote a full article about it here, complete with detailed instructions.

Do a rain dance, and while it's pouring, go get yourself some Plaster of Paris.

Introducing The MommaVlogs!

A mom-writer/publisher/everything friend of mine is launching a new site! http://www.themommavlogs.com/ is a place for moms who blog and vlog to network and chat.
What's a vlog? Video blog.
In an effort to help a friend, I had my daughter video me this evening making these lovely flower dolls (care of Karen Geiser's creativity and classes).
After just arriving home from a day of family reunioning, twirling a jump rope for 2 hours and following distant relatives into the wonderous Cascade Park, this is not my best movie by any means. But that doesn't mean that mom bloggers and non mom bloggers alike shouldn't zip over to http://www.themommavlogs.com/! I think it'll be a really fun place to share and network. The community of mom bloggers and writers is such a great one, and even though we are always emailing and reading, we never SEE or HEAR each other. What a great way to make a fabulous community even better.

Endless summer

It's only something I could wish for, an endless summer.

Even as mid-July approaches I find myself secretly weeping about the return of school, when I will be sending two of the three off to the big brick building. For now, we have been enjoying every day and night of these warm and wonderful days.


THe best thing about summer has to be the time. There's no rushing, there's no strict schedule. I can see how some people flounder in this kind of scenario, but it works well for us. Especially as we live our season through the outdoors.


Yesterday was beautiful. We went outside.


Today they are calling for rain. We won't.


The blackberries should be ripe anyday now, and when that day comes we'll be ready. Sorry birdies, you're out of luck this year. We've got a Scout on patrol daily.


And if it's a nice cool night, we might just break out the tent for a little backyard camping and enjoy our berries by campfire light.


No need to get up early.

Great Nature Podcast!

Readers, rest your eyes. The Wilderness Center, a nearby non-profit nature center and all around super cool place now has podcasts. Wonderful stuff. Check it out and subscribe today!!

Slacking on the blog

It occured to me that I really haven't written much on this blog of late. At least not as much as I had hoped. But the funny thing is, I haven't had time to do much writing on here because I've been living exactly what I've been preaching.
There's only limited wireless service in the back woods. And I don't want to get creek mud 0n my keyboard.
In fact, this is all reminding me once again of my column in Mom Writer's Literary Magazine this summer, where I give my best reasons for why being a "mommy blogger" is a bit of an oxymoron. Read my Small Town Soup here, and then shut your laptop and put on your flip flops.