Working Toward Bear

Whew! This has been a flurry of posts! After this one, I'll be all caught up with fall and ready to start posting about the many winter activities we have planned (i.e., Christmas, snow days, New Year, snow days, Pinewood Derby, snow days . . . you get the idea).

Last summer, Phoenix earned his Wolf badge in Cub Scouts, and when he turned nine in September, he moved up to the Bear den.* He has been very engaged with completing goals toward his Bear badge, so we've done lots of activities this fall that somehow relate to Cub Scouts. When he said he wanted to try his hand at building a model, I was all on board. I remember putting together models as a kid and loving it.

So the kids and I went to a hobby shop and picked out two tanks to put together, along with model glue. (Models are more expensive than I remember!) The kids had a good afternoon of it, but a month later we still haven't finished putting on the final touches on their models. Hmm, maybe that's a good activity for tomorrow after Church.

Another fun activity we accomplished for Cub Scouts was visiting the Salato Wildlife Education Center in Frankfort on election day (a day off of school for the kids). We invited some friends, and the kids had a grand ol' time (as did I).

Phoenix and his friend (also a Bear Scout) got to accomplish the "Visit a Nature Preserve" requirement, as well as the "Talk to a Park Ranger about what he/she does," since I dragged them over to the park ranger and forced them to ask him some questions.

The kids especially enjoyed the new Quail exhibit, since they could play in the gigantic quail eggs. I have to tell you, I really enjoy the structure and goal-setting the Scout program provides (as it also works in perfect tandem with Faith in God). Whenever the kids don't know what to do or we are hankering for a new experience, we look in the Scout book and invariably we find something.

* Incidentally, in October I was called as the Cub Scout Committee Chair for our ward, so I have become even more engaged in the Cub Scouting program recently. They didn't release me as Gospel Doctrine teacher, but they did give me a team teacher, so I have the best of both worlds.

Walk with the Animals

During the summer, Stayc and I enjoyed the chance to visit a temple that was only an hour and 15 minutes away instead of three hours by plane. What a blessing!*

While Stayc went to the temple, I took the kids to the infamous petting zoo nearby where Lutece was once pecked by an emu and flapped by a peacock all in one day.

It's such a odd, rag-tag locale, but you sure can get close to many of the animals.

Sometimes, too close.

We brought our own food (a head of cabbage) with which to feed the animals.

There was another small group of children that also brought their own treats for the animals . . . cookies and crackers. No wonder many of the animals are unnaturally obese. So sad.

The emu had jumped over the fence of its pen and was roaming free. The kids steered clear of it. They remember. Yes, they remember.

It was a fun and wacky morning.

* I found all these photos on my iPhone, thus the delay in posting them. It's hard to keep track of everything.

A Quickie Hike

I just noticed that Lutece is wearing this same shirt in the last four posts. She must really like it.

We went for a short hike at Raven Run last Saturday. We had lots of little things to get done, but I knew the kids (and I) needed to get outside, so I suggested a little hike.

"Do we have to?"
"Yes, we have to. We can just do a short one, but we need to get out of the house."
"Fine, but just a short one."
Sigh.

I packed a little lunch and some snacks and we did the shortest loop we could.

And yes, it was good to get outside, despite what the contrary children thought. Poor children whose mother packs them snacks and makes them go on lovely nature walks. Poor, poor children.

Shaker Village or Tick Central

In my quest for new hikes in the central Kentucky area, I took the kids to the trail system at Shaker Village, about 25 miles from Lexington on small Kentucky roads. Shaker Village is an historical reenactment center near Harrodsburg. We've been there once before when we first moved to Lexington. Entrance fees are costly, but the hiking trails are free.

The map they gave us at the gift shop was a little confusing, but we finally figured out how to get to the trail we wanted to take. The longest trail was a six-mile loop that included a waterfall, and the kids insisted we take that one. I tried to dissuade them because, seriously, six miles is a long hike for children, but they were adamant about seeing the waterfall.

Fortunately, there were a few "connections" between trails, so by taking a couple of these connections, I was able to cut the six-mile hike down to a more moderate four-mile hike. It was a good thing too, because much of the hike was through restored prairie, and the sun was beating down on our shadeless trail.

The forest trails were much nicer, but we ran into a problem when we got to the stream and the trail ended. Well, it didn't exactly end, since it led into the stream and we could see it start back up on the other side.

There was nothing to do but remove our shoes and socks and wade into the river.

It had rained the two days before we went hiking, so the stream was nice and full and the water was chilly. Phoenix and I enjoyed the chance to clean up our muddy ankles.

Lutece was just glad to get across and warm up her feet again.

The recent rains made for a beautiful waterfall though, and we were all glad we made the effort to see it.

After the waterfall though, we realized that the trail once again crossed the stream. Off when the shoes and socks again.

We only got lost once (the trails weren't well marked and they criss-crossed a lot) and had to backtrack a quarter of a mile. It was a very pretty area, with a nice mix of prairie, forest, and even cultivated horse farms. The real problems started on our drive home when I felt something on the back of my knee and pulled off a small insect* that I instantly recognized as a tick, despite never before having a tick on my person.

Ack! A tick!!!! It gets worse though.

I checked myself and the kids for any more ticks when we got home. The kids went swimming at a friend's house later that day, which helped, I'm sure. That night, at midnight, I woke up to something crawling up my back. I reached back and grabbed it. Another tick!!!

I was seriously creeped out by this point. I stripped down completely and put on some new clothes, checked myself again (especially my hair), and then I checked Phoenix again, who had woken up to go to the bathroom and was half-asleep.

At one o'clock in the morning, I woke up one. more. time to something crawling up my neck. ANOTHER TICK!!!! I was beyond freaked out by this point. I got in the shower and scrubbed (and checked) every single part of my body. Afterward, I went into Lutece's room (at 1:30 a.m.) and checked her again.

I checked all of us for two days afterward as well. No more ticks. Whew! I felt very grateful that none of the ticks chose to attach to me, but it was really creepy having them crawl all over my body. The kids and I agreed that the trails at Shaker Village might not be the best place to take Dad hiking when he returns. If we go back, we'll bring lots of bug spray.

* Phoenix just informed me that ticks have eight legs, so are not, technically, insects. I believe they are in the arachnid family.

Hiking the Kentucky River Palisaides

We have a family tradition of taking at least one "field trip" each week during Summer. This, of course, does not include vacations or longer trips. It applies to our weeks spent at home in Lexington, and it ensures that we get out and SEE some things.

Over the years, many of these field trips have turned out to be hikes (a personal favorite), even though we have done many other things as well. So far, this summer has been no different. I can't seem to get enough of this whole "nature" thing we have going for us in the United States. Truly, it's a marvel.

I've been scouting out some new hikes, and the Tom Dorman Nature Preserve seemed like a good place to start at a short 30-minute drive south. The hike took us down through forests to the edge of the Kentucky River, and then back up again in a three or four-mile loop.

Despite seeing a snake in the middle of the trail in the first five yards of the hike, it was a really great hike. The whole area (indeed, much of Kentucky) is made from limestone. The trail criss-crossed over large exposed areas of the limestone throughout the forest floor.

We also passed several smallish sinkholes along the trail. This one was deeper than the others and very close to the trail, so it had been covered with small trees to keep people from falling in.

To get this close to the river we had to take a small 1/2 mile loop attached to the larger loop, which was definitely worth the effort. 

I had read that this was a great hike to do in the winter because the bare trees allow you to see the limestone cliffs on the other side of the river, known as the Kentucky palisaides, as you descend through the forest down to the river. Frankly, right now I preferred seeing the lush greenery of the trees, but being this close to the river allowed us to see what their foliage had been hiding.

We squatted by the river and ate our lunch. We couldn't get too close to the water because the banks were quite steep and formed from shifting sands. It was better to enjoy the water from a further vantage point anyway.

We were the only hikers on the trail the whole time.

We will definitely be taking Stayc here when he gets back to Kentucky. Hey, we might even do this hike in the winter as advised to admire the palisaides from a distance.

In the Greentime

Our first week back in Kentucky saw us at Raven Run, our most favoritist local hiking spot (by local, I mean within 10 miles . . . Kentucky is an awesome state for easy to moderate hikes. It would be hard to choose a favorite Kentucky hiking spot).

The lovely stone wall lets you know we're in Kentucky. Oh my goodness, I love where we live!

I know I've mentioned it before, but I just can't get over how GREEN everything is. I find myself in a constant state of wonder at the sheer beauty of it all.

I can't help but feel profoundly blessed to live in a place where abundant plant-life and clean, pure air is a way of life. It is not so in all parts of the world, believe me!

On this fresh spring day, the kids wanted to take the trail that leads to the lookout over the Kentucky River, a fairly easy three-mile hike.

 

It's been raining a lot, so the trail on the way to the lookout was extremely muddy. Fun stuff. We decided to take a different trail on the way back. Phoenix acted as navigator. (We actually know the trails at Raven Run so well that we have no need for a map, but the kids enjoy taking turns being "navigator." Who am I to deny them a little fun? . . . Oh HA! Who am I kidding? I deny them all sorts of fun every day!)

The Meadow Trail was decidedly less muddy.

A rare smile. I think I had to pay for this one.

The kids have been enjoying all their old Ranger Rick magazines since we got home. Lutece has been adamant that she wants to submit a nature shot to Ranger Rick's photography contest (it must be a regular Ranger Rick feature?). She spent a good part of the hike scouting out good nature shots of flowers and insects. When we saw this deer, she was over the moon.

It was hard to get up close for fear of scaring the deer away, but Lutece got as close as she could. Who knows? Maybe she'll win the contest . . . either with this shot or the one of the daisy :).