First Camping Trip With My Son

November 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Post contributed by Martha Case
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The week my son turned four years old, I took him camping for the first time. I don’t think he even knew what camping was at the time, but I could tell he was very excited to go when I told him about it. First we went to the store to go pick out some supplies to use. My son is admittedly pretty smart for his age, and he actually caught on pretty quick. He was helping me choose items to bring with us, and while some of them seemed kind of random, he did a decent job for the most part.

So after we got all of our supplies we headed home to get them all organized and packed up. We made sure the cats had plenty of food to last them through the weekend, I set the SecurityChoice home security alarm, and we were off to our camping trip.

I took him to a local camping grounds that was actually only a few minutes from home. It is a beautiful park with trails that go back into a thick forest, a pond where you can fish at, picnic areas with BBQ pits, and a recreation center. We stayed there all weekend and had a blast. I taught him to fish and we saw a lot of cool wildlife back in the forest trails too.
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That sounds totally awesome – love it! 🙂

Filed Under: Nature

Wildlife morning in Alabama

September 21, 2007 by Leave a Comment

We had a rather exciting, wildlife morning the other day while getting the kids ready for school. It started out when I was in the kitchen alone, before the kids got out of bed. I was standing in front of one counter, and I heard something in another counter on the other side of the kitchen. It sounded a bit like plastic hitting plastic. But you know how when you’re alone, and you’re lost in thought, and then you just barely catch this noise, over the drone of your thoughts? So I sort of second-guessed myself about hearing it.

And then Shawn had come into the kitchen, and he is standing in the same place I had been standing, when I first heard the noise. He is preparing his breakfast, and I am sitting at my desk – and we both hear this scratching noise. I didn’t look up, because, I just assumed it was something Shawn was doing. And then he says, “Mom – did you hear that?” And I sorta freaked a little bit, “Omg, yeah, but, I thought you were doing it!” He told me it hadn’t been him, and that it came from ‘that cabinet over there’ – the same one in which I’d heard noises twenty minutes earlier! Yeeeks!

Mouse
At this point, I’m convinced we have a mouse or a rat.

Shawn and I bravely go over to said cabinet and slowly, ever so cautiously, open it up

– FrightenedAND JUMP BACK!Frightened

But there was nothing in there, nothing, that is, but, some pots and pans. So I figure the little guy must be behind the oven. Mark is unconvinced, and we haven’t heard anything since. Shawn and I know what we heard, though! And hell, there are deer across the street – we can watch them from the balcony – we are a lot more rural than Garland, TX – so it wouldn’t be shocking at all. And heck, plenty of people in Dallas get rats in their pools/houses/garages. It just wouldn’t be surprising. But I guess Shawn and myself and our bravado scared him off!

Getting back to our wildlife morning, though – this was one of those mornings that I had to drive them to school. Somebody wakes up late, and that knocks back the whole schedule for everyone, since they all want a turn in their bathroom. And plus that puts them bumping into each other in the kitchen. Staggered awakenings are really a good thing – especially when they work! So, anyway, we get in the car – and the whole thing – ON THE INSIDE – is covered in ants!!! The freakiest part about it is that on the dashboard, there is a swarm of them POURING out of the vents! It looks like some 1970’s horror flick! And if you’re a kid of the 70’s, that’s a freaky thing – scarin’ your inner child and all, you know?Frightened 2

It was nuts, totally nuts, but we wiped away the ants that we could (though they continued to spout out those vents, the rotten buggers) and went on our freaked out, paranoid way.

And not too long before this, Mark and Patrick were vacuuming the basement, and when they moved the big chair – they found one of these guys:

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The North American millipede – living in the room that is serving as my living room! That’s living room for people, dude! Not millipedes – now hit it! Sure, they’re not all that dangerous, but, they can do this to you:

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OUCH!! And to top it off, later that day, I joyfully discovered that these crazy people I call my family had ‘saved’ him in a little tupperware bucket! Yikes. I don’t know about you, but, to me, there is just something creepy about those things!

And a few days later, they were asking me to show someone the little guy, so I popped off that tupperware lid – Yuck Little did I know one of their defense mechanisms is a horrible smell. (And it is horrible!) And I guess when they die, out comes the smell. It was so bad, just lifting that little lid for a second, that the whole kitchen STUNK! We had to open the windows and light a candle!

So that’s a little bit of our wildlife life – just wait till I tell you about the ticks!Shocked

Filed Under: Alabama, Nature

September contest on Just Not Martha

September 20, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I’ve been meaning to tell you about this contest at JustNotMartha.com for over a week now! Ok, longer than that – much longer. Eeks!

Well, I guess it’s better late than never. And especially for this one, you guys – this is a good one! This month you can win a $25 gift certificate from Mountain Rose Herbs!

I went window shopping on the site, and I found a really groovy board game that I would love! While playing, the kids and I could learn all about all kinds of edible and herbal plants! That would be super cool! The game is called The Wildcraft Boardgame.

And all you have to do to enter is post about Just Not Martha and/or post one of her cool buttons or banners on your site. I love Loretta’s graphics she creates – I think they ROCK! She made the header for this site, even!

Filed Under: Nature

The spelunking hippie went spelunking!

July 3, 2007 by Leave a Comment

Well, sort of, anyway! We went to the Museum of Natural History on Sunday and they have a large section chock full of information on caves. They even have a fake cave in the museum that you walk through! It is really cool – literally and figuratively, so it feels like a real cave. And they have a lot of information on the caves of Alabama. They have this section with all these different tidbits of information on caves – it is so cool! I tried to get a picture of it, but, the camera battery died. I don’t think I could really do it justice, anyway, as it would have taken about five pictures just to get it all in there! It was just really cool – I was very impressed with all of their information on caves!

And so then, of course, hubby gets to talking about and thinking about the cave he visited around here as a youngster. And then, we were lucky enough that he felt like taking us there!!! I’ve been dying for him to take me there for over 15 years! I’ve heard plenty of stories about it – and heck! We’ve lived out here for 12 months now, and we haven’t been yet!

It was so AWESOME!!! And there was an extra added element of spookiness to it because it was thundering quite a bit when we came out of the museum. So it was cloudy and dark and the sky was rumbling and it was just the perfect day for my first visit to this cave I’ve heard so much about! It was muddy, we had the kids with us, and we didn’t have a flashlight, so we didn’t get to go in very far. But it was still really fun to finally see it! I doubt I’ll be going into the ‘big room’, though! You have to crawl on your belly through a tiny hole to get to it. No thank you. I have enough claustrophobia nightmares as it is!

It has been a very long time since I’ve even been near a cave. We saw a few as kids with my folks in Colorado. I think we did. If any of my sweet kin are reading, they can correct me if I’m wrong. But I do know that my brother, David, would just moan, and my dad would know he was having the urge to climb! And he would pull the car over as soon as he could, and out of the car Dave would scoot – and up the side of the mountain he would go! And I think it was in one of these times – David’s climbing moments – when we sometimes come upon some neat caves. Oh wait – I’m remembering an old mine shaft, too, that we all just easily walked up to. I think we didn’t actually get to go into it, though.

So I would occasionally come upon caves in my youth, and it’s been a very long time. I’ve been cave-deprived. Perhaps one day soon, Mark and I will stash the kids somewhere, find me some good, sturdy shoes, pack a flashlight, and wander back into that wonderful cave!

You know what is so horrible, though? Darn kids – have actually spray painted on it – on it! On the beautiful rock wall that is the outside of the cave, and into the entrance of the cave. That is one major difference between Alabama and Colorado. Alabama is a beautiful place, and I have met some really wonderful people here, don’t get me wrong. But in Colorado, the amount of litter and graffiti is WAY less! My brother says there isn’t any in Colorado. I’d like to say that, too, but, just as soon as I’d publish that on the internet, someone would send me a picture of a highly littered, and spray-painted area of Colorado! But seriously, litter – in a National Forest? Spray paint on a waterfall in a National Forest? Spray paint on a chimney from an old homestead in the National Forest? It is truly, truly heartbreaking! But you know what, that is a rant and a whole ‘nother blog post altogether.

This is spelunking and cave-love. (No, not ‘love in a cave’, love of caves!! Silly!) And the spelunking hippie’s been spelunking! Woohoo!

Filed Under: Nature, Spelunking

Finding ‘your way’ in the wild

April 23, 2007 by Leave a Comment

I know that I have blogged about it here before, but, I can tell you without a doubt that a large part of my spiritual foundation comes from having spent so much time in the woods. I will rattle on all day about it if you let me, and I’ll probably cry a few times while I’m doing it, too!

My extremely strong feelings about this are exactly why I think Wilderness Programs For Troubled Teens are just about the most perfect solution!

I remember as a teen, one of my cousins was sent to one, and she is a total ‘I need running water and mascara’ girly girl – and couldn’t stand it – and I was so jealous! I wondered how I could get in enough trouble to be sent there! LOL! (And trust me, I did get in plenty of trouble…yikes!)

I really believe, though, that teaching children about surviving in the wild, and living without modern conveniences, and about the true force and beauty of nature – by a qualified individual, can be a lesson to strengthen their heart for their whole life!

My husband is just such a qualified individual, and the lessons he has taught my children on their trips out in the wild (before they’ve really even gotten in any trouble) have been invaluable! And I can tell you, also, that my children are totally different creatures when we are out in the wilderness. Being with just THE EARTH – and without concrete and bricks, is a profound experience.

Now see – I told you that I would rattle on about it and I’ve tried to just scratch the surface, but, once I get started, I just can’t help myself.

I, for one, firmly believe in the power of Wilderness Programs For Troubled Teens!!

Filed Under: Nature, Parenting