Oh my goodness! Is Harriet three already? The time is passing so fast! My hike today was to the mailbox and back ..... I will take a bigger hike later. May be I am not a big girl yet, cause the pollen bothers my head! And I do complain sometimes when it gives me a headache. I want you all to stop in and see me when you are up near NYC because I live in Toms River now.... and I love my house! It has two bedrooms so you all can stay overnight. Then we will hike through the woods behind my house. Yesterday my neighbor had a black snake next to her door .... it liked her so much that it would not go back to the woods...., so she called animal control to come take it to another location. I like snakes, but not in the house. My dad would hunt for snakes in the woods because he wanted to put them in his garden. They ate the Moles and voles and mice that chew on the little dwarf apple trees ( and then the trees die). So he taught us to admire black snakes. And I do! You mom has my address, so I will tell you more stories when we visit. I send lots of love and hugs. Pat Hoppe💕💕💕💕
I love to hike with Miles, and I know Beth and Miles go hiking, too. We don't have a name for ourselves, but our mantra is "it's okay to cry" ( show your emotions). We love to look for interesting rocks, plants,sticks, pieces of bark, trees, flowers, insects, animals, and nests. Miles and I went on a "hike" in my neighborhood yesterday. We borrowed Robinette's small backpack to carry fruit, peanut butter crackers, and water, and also because of its many pockets for Miles to store anything he found to add to his many "special things" collections. He carried it to our destination, and I carried it home. Miles always says, "We're a team. Why should you have to carry everything?" We like to sing songs when hiking. Yesterday we sang " The Ants Go Marching" about a bazillion times, and we pretended we were at summer camp. Miles doesn't know what summer camp is but he was wearing his favorite shirt which says YMCA Summer Camp on it. Technically it could be considered a costume but it was very appropriate for the weather and this particular hike.
I love these posts and following your adventures! Thank you. I like to consider myself a tough girl, too, though sometimes I have been guilty of staying on break under a tree for too long!! ( especially when hot!) I will look forward to your next post and hope to see you soon. Lately I’m watching the bluebirds, and have spotted a few hummingbirds this past week. A little wren has built a nest in my window box and a buzzard has built much bigger next in an old shed. She’s hatching an egg and if I can get close, will send you a picture!! Thanks again!
I'm pretty sure you're a tough girl, Jill--we've seen you catching goats! Bea and I wanted to share too that when we were rafting down the Haw on Sunday (also with Catey and Julian), we saw a man sitting in an inner tube holding a baby goat! He'd had to bottle feed it since its mom rejected it, and he was just taking his goat for an outing. Can't wait to see the wren's nest!
I love these tips, Bea! It's my birthday, and David and I are headed into the mountains. And I was a tough girl, and still am. But David doesn't like hiking quite as much as I do because he grew up in New York City. (When we are there, David is my guide because I'm not a fan of lots of people and traffic.) So I think I'm going to take some of your tips and try them out to see if they work with David! He likes to identify things -- having names for things makes them more interesting. So I'm bringing a wild flower identification guide, a guide to birds of North Carolina, and a Southeast tree identification guide. And I can point things out...he does know what poison ivy looks like!~
Hi Guys. I love reading your stories. Your mom is so wonderful. I also got to meet her mom, who is also amazing. I hope you will get to meet my daughter one day. She has 2 sons, but if they were girls, I know they would be just like you! Enjoy your nature hikes and I hope to see you again one day!
I like playing games on the trail. My experience is that kids don't actually get tired, they get bored. One of my favorite games is a variation on the game "sardines" which is kind of an inside out hide and go seek--- ONE person hides while everyone else closes their eyes and counts. Then everyone tries to find the person who hid, and when you find them you hide WITH them, in the same spot.
When I play sardines on the trail, I ask the person who is hiding to hide near something they think is cool. When we've all found them they can share about the cool thing. It's lots of fun.
Ooh, good point about boredom, Louise! Bea loves the games she learned at Clapping Hands, and has taught them to everyone she knows. I'll try sardines with her... that game is also referenced/used in Kathryn Davis's THE SILK ROAD (an amazing, mysterious, very short novel). Maybe Bea could interview for a round-up of kids' outdoor games?
Oh my goodness! Is Harriet three already? The time is passing so fast! My hike today was to the mailbox and back ..... I will take a bigger hike later. May be I am not a big girl yet, cause the pollen bothers my head! And I do complain sometimes when it gives me a headache. I want you all to stop in and see me when you are up near NYC because I live in Toms River now.... and I love my house! It has two bedrooms so you all can stay overnight. Then we will hike through the woods behind my house. Yesterday my neighbor had a black snake next to her door .... it liked her so much that it would not go back to the woods...., so she called animal control to come take it to another location. I like snakes, but not in the house. My dad would hunt for snakes in the woods because he wanted to put them in his garden. They ate the Moles and voles and mice that chew on the little dwarf apple trees ( and then the trees die). So he taught us to admire black snakes. And I do! You mom has my address, so I will tell you more stories when we visit. I send lots of love and hugs. Pat Hoppe💕💕💕💕
I love to hike with Miles, and I know Beth and Miles go hiking, too. We don't have a name for ourselves, but our mantra is "it's okay to cry" ( show your emotions). We love to look for interesting rocks, plants,sticks, pieces of bark, trees, flowers, insects, animals, and nests. Miles and I went on a "hike" in my neighborhood yesterday. We borrowed Robinette's small backpack to carry fruit, peanut butter crackers, and water, and also because of its many pockets for Miles to store anything he found to add to his many "special things" collections. He carried it to our destination, and I carried it home. Miles always says, "We're a team. Why should you have to carry everything?" We like to sing songs when hiking. Yesterday we sang " The Ants Go Marching" about a bazillion times, and we pretended we were at summer camp. Miles doesn't know what summer camp is but he was wearing his favorite shirt which says YMCA Summer Camp on it. Technically it could be considered a costume but it was very appropriate for the weather and this particular hike.
I love these posts and following your adventures! Thank you. I like to consider myself a tough girl, too, though sometimes I have been guilty of staying on break under a tree for too long!! ( especially when hot!) I will look forward to your next post and hope to see you soon. Lately I’m watching the bluebirds, and have spotted a few hummingbirds this past week. A little wren has built a nest in my window box and a buzzard has built much bigger next in an old shed. She’s hatching an egg and if I can get close, will send you a picture!! Thanks again!
I'm pretty sure you're a tough girl, Jill--we've seen you catching goats! Bea and I wanted to share too that when we were rafting down the Haw on Sunday (also with Catey and Julian), we saw a man sitting in an inner tube holding a baby goat! He'd had to bottle feed it since its mom rejected it, and he was just taking his goat for an outing. Can't wait to see the wren's nest!
I love these tips, Bea! It's my birthday, and David and I are headed into the mountains. And I was a tough girl, and still am. But David doesn't like hiking quite as much as I do because he grew up in New York City. (When we are there, David is my guide because I'm not a fan of lots of people and traffic.) So I think I'm going to take some of your tips and try them out to see if they work with David! He likes to identify things -- having names for things makes them more interesting. So I'm bringing a wild flower identification guide, a guide to birds of North Carolina, and a Southeast tree identification guide. And I can point things out...he does know what poison ivy looks like!~
Happy Birthday! I hope you have a great trip!
Happy Birthday, Cat!
Hi Guys. I love reading your stories. Your mom is so wonderful. I also got to meet her mom, who is also amazing. I hope you will get to meet my daughter one day. She has 2 sons, but if they were girls, I know they would be just like you! Enjoy your nature hikes and I hope to see you again one day!
Thank you, Barbara! Hope we get to meet her too!
I like playing games on the trail. My experience is that kids don't actually get tired, they get bored. One of my favorite games is a variation on the game "sardines" which is kind of an inside out hide and go seek--- ONE person hides while everyone else closes their eyes and counts. Then everyone tries to find the person who hid, and when you find them you hide WITH them, in the same spot.
When I play sardines on the trail, I ask the person who is hiding to hide near something they think is cool. When we've all found them they can share about the cool thing. It's lots of fun.
Ooh, good point about boredom, Louise! Bea loves the games she learned at Clapping Hands, and has taught them to everyone she knows. I'll try sardines with her... that game is also referenced/used in Kathryn Davis's THE SILK ROAD (an amazing, mysterious, very short novel). Maybe Bea could interview for a round-up of kids' outdoor games?