Hiking Northshore Trail

Some of our homeschool friends got together today for a hike on Northshore Trail.  It was a little cold but it was nice getting out in nature while getting some good exercise on the trail.

The ground was a little soft in areas and we found some neat animal tracks.

Although most of the bushes and trees had either brown leaves or no leaves, this beautiful holly stood out with its bright red berries which are a special winter treat for the birds.

The trail is really interesting in that it constantly changes elevation and there are interesting features like creeks and bridges.

Nicholas said it would be fun to ride this trail on his mountain bike.

Nicholas is loving his new camera that he got for Christmas.  He enjoys taking nature pictures.

He takes some really great pictures and I love how he slows down from his usual high speed pace to really slow down and zoom in on some good shots.  I think photography is really good for him.

A friend of mine always takes pictures of where she stands. It is an unusual perspective of the places she has traveled.  Here is mine for the day.  Exploring in my hiking boots.

I know this tree look barren and boring.  However, I still like looking at it.  With all of its crazy branches it just seems to be busy and active even though it looks rather dead.

I'm not sure which type of tree this is below.  It is likely a cypress or cedar tree.  I enjoyed it's colorful blooms.

The teens managed to mingle together and avoid the parents and siblings.  Nicholas has a great group of friends and we are blessed to be "doing life" together with them.

I love this picture.  It was still and quiet here but you can actually "see" the wind as it creates ripples on the water.

An idyllic little scene.  I'd like to paint this picture when I have some time.

Although we were staying warm walking, I was glad to have my coat and hat, especially when we were in open areas that were breezy.  I do not like being cold, even when exercising.

Ahh!  Wood sorrel!  Rachel's favorite edible plant.  It is all edible but if you find it early in the season these little yellow bulbs taste a little bit like pickles.  It grows all over here and is really easy to recognize in this stage.

I just love pictures of trails in the woods.  It just invites me to explore a little more down its path.

Although there doesn't seem to be a lot to look at in the woods in January, you can see from the pictures that there are still pretty colors and interesting plants to study.

This has been a fun trail to explore.  It is really long with lots of different entrance points.  We only covered a small part of it today but I plan to come back and hike other areas of the trail soon.

Fall 2018 Family Campout

We go on a family campout with our American Heritage Girls and Trail Life USA friends every fall and spring.  We have usually done tent camping with sleeping bags and all.  However, when they moved the campout location from Bonham State Park to Possum Kingdom State Park and we discovered that there are cabins for rent at this location we had to try it out.

Call it "Glamping" if you must but we like it!  No more worries about wind blowing over our tent in the middle of the night.

There is a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and an extra bed with trundle in the living area.  There is a lot of space which is great when the kids have friends come over and hang out with them.

Or sometimes they just hang out on the porch!

But usually they are too busy running around playing games or going hiking to hang out at our site.

I love our campouts because it lets me spend the weekend with my family without the need to do laundry, school planning, etc.  I get to hang out in nature which is just good for my spirit and my soul.  This was the view of the lake by our cabin.

Stuart and I went on a short hike along the trails. What beautiful weather we had!

I love going on adventures with this man!  We wandered off the trail a little way and found some huge boulders and some interesting plant life under the canopy of the trees that was very different from what we saw out on the open trails.

Back at the cabin, this beautiful monarch butterfly enjoyed hanging out on our window screen for a while.

Rachel and her Explorer troop found this mama wolf spider with an egg sac.

They also found a fish skeleton!

This interesting guy was found on the outer wall of our cabin.  He was beautiful but we didn't know what it was so we researched it.  He is a plume moth.  They roll up their wings while they are resting during the day.  I would have loved to have seen his wings spread out.

Of course, there are always creepy crawlies to be found at a campout!

Nicholas has been studying fungi in his biology class so we got excited to find this fungus growing on the side of an old tree stump....

And this crazy looking puffball fungi that had already burst open to release its spores into the air.

This weekend was Rachel's birthday so she asked to have shrimp for dinner.  She got a big bowl all for herself.  She loves all kinds of seafood.

The rest of us had a more traditional camping meal of burgers cooked on the outdoor grill.

There is always a dutch oven dessert contest after dinner.  Everyone gets a sample of each dessert and then we get to vote on the best one!  

We always look forward to nightfall at campouts because the moms and dads gather around the campfire to listen to music and visit with each other while they kids run around like banshees in the dark.

Choose Nature

Rachel had a friend over to play for a while.  I thought they would probably play outside some, play with dolls, make a mess with craft materials.  I had been feeling a little down so I was looking forward to just enjoying some time to myself while they played.  I made plans to sort through that ever-growing pile of random papers and books that have been neglected in the corner of the school room.  It would be to finally have some time to just get that pile cleared out and I thought that might help to lift my spirits.

After about 10 minutes I was getting settled into my project when the girls came bounding up to me begging for me to walk with them down the street to the playground.  I groaned quietly in my head.  I didn't really want to leave the house.  I didn't feel like being social with other moms at the park.  I was so looking forward to just getting some things done around here.  Walking the whole two blocks to the playground in the heat of the day just sounded like too much for me at that moment.  But these girls had such sweet pleading eyes and I felt guilty for not being more excited about my mantra that kids should spend more time playing and exploring outside.  Of course, I eventually gave in.  I knew they would have more fun at the playground than at the house plus they would get some exercise climbing around the play equipment.  Besides we could all benefit from some fresh air and sunshine.

So I filled a backpack with bottles of water and snacks and we headed to the playground.  I found a bench in the shade and settled down to watch the girls play and just let my mind rest, hoping that maybe just sitting and relaxing outside might cheer me up.  But alas, that wasn't meant to be either.  We didn't stay long at the playground.  Almost immediately upon arriving, Rachel told her friend about the dry creek bed in the woods next to the playground and sure enough they chose to go exploring in nature instead of playing at the playground.  Again, I really didn't want to go.  I had resigned that I would just sit on the bench and not have to do anything.

But I do love the woods and exploring a creek... In the end, the call of nature was too strong and I chose to follow its call.  I'm so glad I did.

The girls quickly got to the bridge and went down to the creek bed to explore.

Before they got too involved in exploring I stopped them to have my usual safety in nature talk.  Part of this includes reviewing how to recognize poison ivy.  The most common identifier is leaves of three.  Often the outer two leaves look like they are mittens with a thumb sticking out.  There is often red on the stem.  Poison ivy can be found as a vine, on the ground, or as a bush so you have just keep your eye out for it where ever you go.  It is abundant in the parks in our area.

I showed them Virginia Creeper and explained that many people mistake it for poison ivy but it has five leaves and it is perfectly safe to touch.

They soon found some little bugs swimming around in the creek.

We found these furry little balls hanging from a tree.  I'm not positive but I think these could be young osage oranges.  I will have to go back and look for thorns on the branches to be sure of that though.

We watched some bees scurrying around on a rock.  I wonder if someone had spilled a soft drink there and the bees were enjoying a new kind of "nectar".

Here is a picture of part of the creek bed.  Rocks, shade, beautiful trees, and birds singing overhead.  I was feeling happy just being out here.  Nature has a way of doing that and there are scientific studies to prove it.  Just being in nature can reduce stress and improve mood for many people.  It is certainly a "happy place" for me.

We found several little damselflies.  I think this one might be a familiar bluet damselfly.  It's hard to say for sure without being able to inspect his markings and wings more closely. He didn't seem interested in that and he quickly flew away when I tried to get closer.

The girls were constantly finding a new area of the creek to check out.  They found frogs here.

I found some insect galls on this cedar elm tree.  Cedar elm is interesting.  The top of the leaves are rough like a fine sandpaper and the undersides of the leaves are smooth.

This tree caught our attention. It has these bright seed pods hanging down close to the branches.  I sent a picture of it to a nature group that I'm in and learned that the tree is a green ash.  The girls looked closely at the seed pods and realized that their concave shape would help it float better in the wind which would help spread the seeds farther.

Those sneaky girls were trying to hurry up and hide from me under the bridge.  We were all giggling and being silly.

By the time I crossed the bridge they were already on the other side, feet submerged in the creek and big grins on their faces.  I was so happy that they were having fun.  And to be honest, I was having a lot of fun too!

A little more inspection of the water.

They found a damselfly larva swimming around in there!

Then they found this other one who is a little younger.  It was swimming around too but the girls put it on a leaf just to contain it while they kept searching for more.

I noticed this piece of possible fossil sticking out from a chipped piece of a rock.  Oh if only I had brought my rock hammer with us....

I found this black flying insect munching away on a cedar elm leaf.  I haven't figured out what kind of bug he is but he seems to have a long stinger on him.

The girls found this interesting thing which looks like seeds.  It looks spiky but it was actually very soft and pliable, not spiky at all.  I don't have a clue as to what type of plant it came from.  

My favorite part of the day was when Rachel cried out, "Lobster!  We found a lobster!"  I smiled and without even seeing it I told her it probably more likely a crawfish.  Yep, they found two crawfish.  They thought they wanted to try to catch them but I had to remind them that crawfish had pinchers and we probably didn't want to try to catch them with our bare hands.  They were ok with that and decided to just watch them walk around under water for a while.

We were only out in the woods for an hour or two but we had a great time!  The girls got exercise, built some confidence through exploring, and learned some new things about trees, plants, and critters.  When we got home, I was surprised to realize just how much that fog had lifted from me and I felt happy again, almost excited about what we had found.  Being out in nature is an amazing experience.  No matter what I might be worrying about or feeling down about, being out among the trees always helps me see things in a better light.  I'm so glad we didn't just stay at the house or play at the playground.  I'm so glad we chose nature to explore nature instead.  

Imagine if we all just stepped away from our cell phones and video games and spent even just an hour out in nature once a week.  Do you think we as a society might be a little less stressed, a little more focused, and a lot more happy?

This post is a part of the Homeschool Review Crew's Homeschool Link Up. Want to learn more?  Click on the image below: