Back to the trail

"Here is this vast, savage, howling mother of ours, Nature, lying all around, with such beauty, and such affection for her children, as the leopard; and yet we are so early weaned from her breast to society, to that culture which is exclusively an interaction of man on man."
~Henry D. Thoreau

I've been waiting for this for a long time

for the time when we can drive a little ways out of the city (without any car seat screaming)just her and I

for a nice long walk in the woods

surrounded by animals and plants and very few people.Ever since I read that Thoreau quote, I have felt the intensity of the man on man experience living in a city. I wonder if my daughter will know what it means to be surrounded by this "howling mother of ours, Nature." I have wanted so dearly to get back to some meditative hiking and that kind of quiet that calms my ever-so-chatty mind. So I gave it a try. Wondering how much walking she would do or how much carrying her (and the backpack) I would be doing, we ventured into the unknown.

Our choice destination for our mother/daughter hiking date was Tiger Mountain. We did the 1.5 mile loop around Tradition Lake which took us about 1.5 hrs. The great surprise to me, she walked most of it! So we did it again the next week. So far, she really looks forward to "going hiking" and I'm loving the return to an activity that rejuvenates me.

Directions:
The drive is about 20 minutes out I-90 at Exit 20, High Point Rd. Turn right on the frontage road to the gate. Continue on the dirt road .4 mile to the parking area. The Tradition Lake trail head is to the right of the bathrooms on a gravel wheelchair accessible trail. Follow this until you get to the sign posting Around the Lake Trail and follow the view of the lake on this dirt and rock trail. At the second overlook, the trail goes uphill for a short ways, until it gets to an old road that goes straight to the parking lot.

Have fun getting into whatever Nature you can~

Holiday Thank You Cards

A simple and sweet way to show off my little one's artwork. She is really into painting and this was very satisfying for me too. I always want to use her abstract color studies for something. Now I'm honored to share these with family and friends.

You Need:
White cardstock
Colorful scrap paper
Glue stick
Paint
Painting tools: fork, comb, dull pencils

1. Let your child have it with paint on the colorful scrap paper. I limit it to one color at a time. Allow her to use tools to scrape off paint to show the paper color.

2. After the pieces have dried, cut them into rectangles that fit your cardstock.

3. Glue the paintings to the cardstock.

4. Press them in between wax paper. Place inside thick books stacked on top of each other overnight.

5. Mail to your loved ones!

It's Winter

This was taken on a day when I couldn't take it anymore. The string of gray days had been long and I was feeling the weight of the clouds being so . . . everywhere and the rain coming from above so . . . constantly. Strangely, after I shot that picture, it felt better. I had captured it and it was sort of . . . beautiful. (Maybe I am becoming a true Seattlite after-all.) I just want to say that during the long dark days of parenting, sometimes just a little quest to express yourself makes all the difference.

Waiting Around

One way to pass the time while waiting near a sunny wall at dusk. I highly recommend it.

Our Nature Table

There's a fun little practice that I learned about through Waldorf education and The Creative Family: keeping a seasonal nature table specifically for young children. It makes me more aware of the changing cycle of the year and allows my daughter to participate in those cycles by having a place to display her treasures.

Our fall-time nature shelves are pack with goodies. I think my favorite moments this autumn have been when she finds a pretty leaf and says, "This goes on my nature shelf!" Part of the change happening outside then comes inside and becomes a part of us.

Nature Table pool on Flickr has some incredible photos & crafts.

This book has fun ideas:

The Nature Corner: Celebrating the Year's Cycle with Seasonal Tableaux

by: M. Leeuwen, J. Moeskops

Following the sun's warmth on a chilly autumn morning

We did it~
Five camping trips in one summer~
They were well worth the work of packing and unpacking, but I'm feeling like it's time to hibernate. It feels like time to be done. I'm ready for this to be the last one of the season and I want to take advantage of these sunny autumn days. We didn't go far, under an hour away to Lake Easton. (Although it took 3 hours because we thought we were going somewhere else which was closed for the season.) When we finally arrived, we happily pulled into an empty campground with a site (and playground) overlooking the lake. We had a bit of sunlight left, until we enjoyed a warm dinner by the campfire. As the sun came up, so did the cool mist from the lake. It was chilly! The tent was barely warm enough and Alita and I went down to the lake to welcome the rising sun on our skin. I so love this practice, only found while camping: following the sun's warmth on a chilly autumn morning.

Upon return to the site, Papa had warm oatmeal ready. Then, we explored our surroundings.


It was just fabulous what was lying out in the open on the evergreen needles.

We spent one more night in the tent, and then early in the morning Mama declared triumphantly, "I'm so *%#@! cold. Let's pack up the tent quick and go out to breakfast. We're done camping!" So the time came to say goodbye to our season of camping and my daughters first memories of sleeping outside to the sound of wind in the trees.
Bye-bye ... until next spring.

Piles O Pumpkins

Our weekly pick-ups at the farm are coming to an end. The final harvest is glorious and the pigs anticipate the last of the summer fruit. We have loved and learned and look forward to next spring! Now, my learning begins about new pumpkin varieties with which to make pie. So far, the Cinderella was delicious. ~ There's an entire greenhouse of squash for me to explore. ~