Family

Family Travel: Good for Kids, and the Soul

March 4, 2011 | 6
Family Travel: Good for Kids, and the Soul

I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of nature travel compared to your typical middle-aged mother with two boys to raise. I’ve chased feisty Red-capped Manakins in Belize, the critically endangered Honduran Emerald in Honduras, Aplomado Falcons in coastal Texas, Chestnut-collared Longspurs in Rocky Mountain National Park, and traversed miles of natural near-shore [...]

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Slice of Life with The Village Kids

March 12, 2010 | 0
Slice of Life with The Village Kids

What happens when the sun shines and a work-from-home mom finally feels caught up with work? First warm day of Spring I closed my laptop on a good week of work And turned my intention to two simple truths: Kids and sunshine. My boys hopped off the bus I met them in sock feet at [...]

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Feeding Chickadees by Hand and Head!

January 17, 2010 | 9
Feeding Chickadees by Hand and Head!

Our local park here in Rochester, NY (Mendon Ponds Park) has a songbird trail where chickadees, titmice, and even nuthatches gather to eat from the hands of chubby-palmed children and wistful adults.

We visited Saturday in order to get the family outdoors on the first sunny day we’d had in a long time. Why stop at the hand? thought my husband, and offered his balding pate as a serving platter of black oil sunflower seeds.

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Kids in Nature: Proud Warriors of Chimney Bluffs

January 11, 2010 | 4
Kids in Nature: Proud Warriors of Chimney Bluffs

This essay, which I first wrote in 2007 not long after I moved to Rochester, NY, seemed worthy of resurrection after my last post about kids in nature. I wasn’t sure whether to title this post: Be Careful What You Wish For or, Believe in the Law of Attraction. So I decided to leave it [...]

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Our Mission: Get More People “Out There” With Nature

January 8, 2010 | 7
Our Mission: Get More People “Out There” With Nature

I recently renewed contact with a long-lost friend who said “What you do [for a living] sounds so interesting. Getting out there with nature.” It was a kind, thoughtful comment. But I thought, how funny. Getting “out there” with nature. As if I and nature were not one in the same, were not cut from [...]

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My Christmas Challenge: Publish A Recipe

December 24, 2009 | 4
My Christmas Challenge: Publish A Recipe

This post is for my friend June, who is not much of a bird enthusiast but is an enthusiastic foodie. She writes a not-your-every-day food blog over at Mendonfoodie.blogspot.com. Check it out. If you think this person with a larger-than-life personality is just joking, think again. She means every word, every delicious word, and I love [...]

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A New Birding Tradition: First Annual Turkey “Hunt”

November 28, 2009 | 2
A New Birding Tradition: First Annual Turkey “Hunt”

Life is too easy these days. Used to be you’d wake up Thanksgiving morning, hunt for a bird, and return home only when you had enough game to feed the children and nearby kinsfolk. I love the feeling of having earned a meal. Too bad that feeling normally resides in the foggy chambers of my [...]

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Birding With Kids: The Raw, Unfiltered Truth

August 25, 2009 | 12
Birding With Kids: The Raw, Unfiltered Truth

I’m ALL FOR getting kids inspired by nature, but as I’ve said before, here at Birds, Words, & Websites, I’m all about the truth. Therefore, I must beg you to consider the raw, unfiltered reality of birding with kids before you attempt this yourself.

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Five Reasons to Climb a Mountain This Summer

June 17, 2009 | 3
Five Reasons to Climb a Mountain This Summer

Another installment in my Adirondacks series:  I want to show you five reasons you should climb a mountain in the Adirondacks this summer:    And now I want to give you five easy Adirondack mountains to climb. So head on over to Rochester’s City Newspaper Summer Guide ’09, which just published my list of Five Easy Hikes [...]

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Today I Got My Game (Bird) On

April 6, 2009 | 0
Today I Got My Game (Bird) On

Unless you’re a hunter or live in the boonies, it’s unusual to spot more than one game bird species on a typical outing. Today, in addition to the ever present Canada SkyCarp, I bagged (figuratively) at least six American Woodcocks and a Ring-necked Pheasant. The Am. Woodcocks were not a surprise. Males of the species are have [...]

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