Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Nature Study Outing :: A Tale of Two Hikes

As I've mentioned before, I am thankful for our nature study group, not only because it includes a BIG group of enthusiastic kids of various ages and interests, but also because it includes a group of eager and thoughtful moms.

Our usual schedule is a Friday morning group nature outing together.  But one week, we decided to go back the next morning to the same spot and do a moms-only hike!  It was so much fun to explore without the kids around.

This outing was at a county park that begins at a field and ventures up into the foothills on a 4-mile loop that circles back down to the field at the end.  With the kids, we made it an out-and-back of about a mile, with lots of stops for climbing and exploring.  With the moms, we did the whole loop...with lots of stops for climbing and exploring. ;)

Friday morning, with the kids:

xavier said, "it's the tree in the trail!!" :)

a very moody-weather day: cold, windy, alternating between bright and dark

vetch leaves -- no flowers yet



part of the group




milkmaids

And from the moms' hike, early the next morning in the same county park:


the first miner's lettce blooms!







taken by my friend Malgosia

taken by my friend Malgosia
love these ladies <3
The star of both outings was the fungi, which were present in all kinds of awesome forms and made their way into my nature journal...



Once the nearly-incessant rain clears, I'm going to put out the call for another moms' hike -- I think we need to make it at least a quarterly event.  If you haven't done one with your group yet, give it a try!

12 comments:

  1. What a beautiful place for a walk and a hike!! The morning light peeking through is just lovely.

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    1. The moms' group went early and it was so lovely out. :)

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  2. This hike looks absolutely wonderful. It must be quite an accomplishment for you to get out by yourself for the morning, with so many young ones at home!

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    1. I have my husband to thank for my mental health! :) He is great about encouraging me to get out while he handles the kids. I have had most Saturday mornings to myself for the past seven years, when I started doing a long run on Saturdays. That has kept up all these years! So I can do a run (or a hike, like the week I'm sharing here) and then errands or something else if needed. It is the secret to my success! LOL

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    2. What a treasure your husband is! I have often wondered how you can do so much and not seem to get tired, but having Saturday mornings free to yourself to run or hike would do wonders I imagine. Good for you! :)

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  3. Absolutely stunning pics. The day itself sounded wonderful, but paired with these images make it seem divine.

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  4. Agh! Can't believe I missed both of these hikes. Your nature journal is amazing. I'm so impressed. We need to do another momma hike!

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    1. We will totally do it again. As soon as the soggy landscape dries out a tad, let's set it up!

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  5. Lovely photos Celeste & what a great idea to do a mum's hike, especially the day after when you can catch up on what you may have missed the first time.

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  6. I *love* the idea of a moms' hike! Thank you so much for sharing. Is that A. V. on the left? It looks like you all had a great time.

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    1. No, unfortunately not Amber -- she is too far to join our group for a hike, but boy, wouldn't that be fun! :) I hope you give a hike with friends a try. We're planning our next one now. :)

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