Nature's Playground
Parenting debate that has been running through my head for most of the summer: do I brings toys to our Wisconsin property or do I encourage the Lotus Bud to explore the lush wilderness? Of course the answer is to let her enjoy the woods, but I had an experience in the beginning of July that scared the heck out of me. I was swarmed by hornets. Luckily my little love was napping in the Jeep and blissfully slept through the whole incident. Nonetheless, the experience left me shaken and reconsidering all the advise from my families to show restraint while exposing Lotus Bud to the outdoors.
Fortunately after the pain subsided, I came back to the notion that she is best off in the woods and that I need not be so over-protective. And fortunately a friend had loaned me Nature's Playground, a fantastic book about crafting and playing in the woods.
With supplies from the local hardware store, we were off. Prompted by an Autumn activity in the book, I took some carpet tape and attached it to some poster board I had cut up into a manageable size.
Soon we were touching things, finding things, pondering the outdoors. Together. It all started with a number of feathers we found on the road, which led to blooming wildflowers. We even found several tufts of bear fur surprisingly close to our trailer. I have never been so aware of all the activity around our retreat. Sure, I knew there were bears, I had heard them stomping around, but seeing the fur brought home the reality of their proximity, or rather the reality of us in their space.
We did find yet another extremely large hornets nest, but it was way up on the power transformer and from a distance I was able to observe their activity. They seem to have no interest in us, so I got some badly needed mental healing.
Best of all, she got a chance to explore the area close up. She ended up with a mighty pretty wall hanging. And, I got to feel like I'm finally becoming the sort of Mama that I want to be.
Fall is already on its way. It's great to record a bit of this seasonal transformation.
Exploration and creativity - a great way to spend time in the woods and a great way to spend quality time together.
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This post was also prompted by Iron Craft!
Fortunately after the pain subsided, I came back to the notion that she is best off in the woods and that I need not be so over-protective. And fortunately a friend had loaned me Nature's Playground, a fantastic book about crafting and playing in the woods.
With supplies from the local hardware store, we were off. Prompted by an Autumn activity in the book, I took some carpet tape and attached it to some poster board I had cut up into a manageable size.
Soon we were touching things, finding things, pondering the outdoors. Together. It all started with a number of feathers we found on the road, which led to blooming wildflowers. We even found several tufts of bear fur surprisingly close to our trailer. I have never been so aware of all the activity around our retreat. Sure, I knew there were bears, I had heard them stomping around, but seeing the fur brought home the reality of their proximity, or rather the reality of us in their space.
We did find yet another extremely large hornets nest, but it was way up on the power transformer and from a distance I was able to observe their activity. They seem to have no interest in us, so I got some badly needed mental healing.
Best of all, she got a chance to explore the area close up. She ended up with a mighty pretty wall hanging. And, I got to feel like I'm finally becoming the sort of Mama that I want to be.
Fall is already on its way. It's great to record a bit of this seasonal transformation.
Exploration and creativity - a great way to spend time in the woods and a great way to spend quality time together.
--------------------------
This post was also prompted by Iron Craft!
So glad you're liking the book!
ReplyDeleteManisha --
ReplyDeletePlease email me -- I have great news for you over at Chookooloonks!
My address is karen@chookooloonks.com
K. :)