Nature Study Outing :: A Tale of Two Hikes

As I’ve mentioned before, I am thankful for our nature study group, not only because it includes a BIG group of enthusiastic kids of various ages and interests, but also because it includes a group of eager and thoughtful moms.

Our usual schedule is a Friday morning group nature outing together.  But one week, we decided to go back the next morning to the same spot and do a moms-only hike!  It was so much fun to explore without the kids around.

This outing was at a county park that begins at a field and ventures up into the foothills on a 4-mile loop that circles back down to the field at the end.  With the kids, we made it an out-and-back of about a mile, with lots of stops for climbing and exploring.  With the moms, we did the whole loop…with lots of stops for climbing and exploring. 😉

Friday morning, with the kids:

xavier said, “it’s the tree in the trail!!” 🙂

a very moody-weather day: cold, windy, alternating between bright and dark

vetch leaves — no flowers yet

part of the group

milkmaids

And from the moms’ hike, early the next morning in the same county park:

the first miner’s lettce blooms!

taken by my friend Malgosia

taken by my friend Malgosia
love these ladies <3

The star of both outings was the fungi, which were present in all kinds of awesome forms and made their way into my nature journal…

Once the nearly-incessant rain clears, I’m going to put out the call for another moms’ hike — I think we need to make it at least a quarterly event.  If you haven’t done one with your group yet, give it a try!

12 comments
  1. I have my husband to thank for my mental health! 🙂 He is great about encouraging me to get out while he handles the kids. I have had most Saturday mornings to myself for the past seven years, when I started doing a long run on Saturdays. That has kept up all these years! So I can do a run (or a hike, like the week I'm sharing here) and then errands or something else if needed. It is the secret to my success! LOL

  2. What a treasure your husband is! I have often wondered how you can do so much and not seem to get tired, but having Saturday mornings free to yourself to run or hike would do wonders I imagine. Good for you! 🙂

  3. Lovely photos Celeste & what a great idea to do a mum's hike, especially the day after when you can catch up on what you may have missed the first time.

  4. No, unfortunately not Amber — she is too far to join our group for a hike, but boy, wouldn't that be fun! 🙂 I hope you give a hike with friends a try. We're planning our next one now. 🙂

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