The Next Generation of Roamers

It's important to me that my children have the same love of the outdoors that I've had all my life. We live in a town home community so they don't have the acres of land I had at my disposal as a small child on a farm or my adolescent in Georgia, but I do try my best to find small areas in the neighborhood that we can enjoy.

We take walks in the Compost Wood and enjoy the stream that runs under the train tunnel. We once found a turtle in our yard and released it there. We always go there to say hello even though we haven't seen him since. Buddy Lee does have a fear of ticks, so I try to assure him that since we've already had Lyme Disease once in our family, we should be safe statistically.

The kids like to forage for fruit as much as I did. We really only have black raspberries and blackberries to pick, but that's plenty for any kid. I remember when I was in labor with my daughter, I took my son berry picking to keep my mind off of the pain. No, it did not work, but it was better than pacing endlessly around the house.

We have a nature preserve a few miles from the house and we often go there to watch the beavers and avoid run ins with the Canadian Geese that live there. (An animal attack featuring them will be coming soon!)I rarely see anyone come out to visit the preserve, but with an outlet mall a few miles in the other direction, why would anyone go there?

Although spring hasn't been as warm as I would like here, we still are going out and enjoying it. The wild mint has popped up and my son and I love collecting it to use with tea. It's thrilling for him to realize that their are edible plants out there, that you don't always need to rely on a supermarket. I always stress though that I'm the only one who can show him what plants are edible or not.

Yesterday, we spent the afternoon in clover patches. At first we were trying hard to find a four leaf clover. I found one once when I was a kid and foolishly wished that my mother would beat The Legend of Zelda. The wish came true, but if I had known it would have been my only clover wish in life, I would have used it on something other than a Nintendo game. Buddy Lee asked me what I would wish for if I found one and I said "to be rich". He immediately started asking "If we're rich, can I buy lunch every day? Can I buy breakfast too?" His thoughts were full of the crappy sticky buns they pass off as breakfast at his school. I guess it's just as well we didn't find a four leaf clover.

After a futile search, we sat down and I made necklaces, bracelets, and crowns out of the blossoms. It was a cool day with a lot of wind and no other people in sight; a good day for me! It was nice to just enjoy the afternoon with my kids in a quiet patch of suburbia.