Family
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 [...]
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 [...]
