Free at last!

After our trip to 100 Acre Woods the other day, we made a surprising discovery: Hermie had hatched! It's truly amazing to watch the first flutters of a butterfly's wings, as it tries to dry off. The kids were anxious to see the first flight, cheering it on ("Fly, butterfly, fly!"). But eventually as the rains picked up, it left its comfortable cage for a new adventure.

One chrysallis down. Two to go.

Realizations after our camping fiasco: Surviving with a preschooler

Perhaps fiasco is too harsh of a word, but as a mom who in her past life loved to camp, I walked away from this weekend's 20-hour camping trip a little bit smarter.

After having a good night's (or two) worth of sleep in my own bed, I came to a few conclusions about camping with a precocious preschooler:

1. Know your location. Check out the web, brochures, online reviews, your friends...anyone you can to get their sense of the location and why their families liked and didn't like it. The reality for us was our Girl Scout council is trying to build the family camping program, so we didn't know people who had gone. Had we, we would have known that the platform tents area near the lake had less room for preschoolers to roam, and our money would have been better spent reserving in the "primitive camp" area, still not far from the lodge, where there would be space for the little guy to run around.

2. Nap time is futile. Maybe it's easier if your preschooler isn't in the middle of transitioning out of naps, but couple the excitement of sleeping away from home with the lack of naps, and you've got a recipe for "not listening" moments.

3. Realize your restrictions. The pint-size restrictions. Even though they can stare at a worm for 10 minutes at a walk at home, hiking for half an hour in the morning may not be as thrilling.

4. Plan for a little home essentials. Please, don't be like one of our platform tent neighbors and pack your DVD player, but bring a few comforts of home to make your trip more bearable. Like your preschooler's "tag" (or lovey). Or a football. Or a book or two to help them settle down if needed. Or crayons and paper while you're cooking over the gas stove.

5. Focus on the bright side. Yes, we had to bypass the latrines about 15 times to go to the indoor plumbing at the lodge, but at least I got my steps in!!
For your first few adventures, stick with sites closer to your home. It makes needing to cut your trip home short a little more bearable.

Any other tips you can share about camping with little ones?

Welcome (back) Hermie!

We had a little bit of excitement in our family today. No, it wasn't that tooth, still clinging on, or the first day of kindergarten.

No, it was Hermie, who emerged 14 days after he (she) cocooned.

As my husband was cooking lunch, he noticed poor Hermie beating its head against the top of the container, trying to get out, so the kids said their goodbyes and sent the black and gold, spotted and striped butterfly off into the world.

It's a happy ending for at least one of the Hermies.

"Hermie Hermie," as my toddler calls it, was the only caterpillar our children got to see turn into a butterfly. Two fuzzy caterpillars, Jack and Lucy, met their ends in unpredictable ways. Jake escaped (but we think turned over a new leaf by getting into the other container.) Lucy was unceremoniously tossed into the trash with the container's contents after mom freaked out over Jake's escaping (not my brightest moment, true). Hermie Jack, our latest addition to the family, was another green caterpillar who sadly passed away one afternoon. As there was something liquidy in the bottom of Jack's container, what might have been Jack's chrysallis went out as well.

When you consider all the predators in this world, seeing one out of four reborn isn't bad. And I'm glad the kids got to see nature at its finest.

Wasting nature's beauty

Each summer, my family would take two vacations. The first to see our grandparents. The second, to go camping.

Often this involved a trip to Colorado, but we also were blessed to have a few excursions to Yellowstone National Park. Yes, it meant an extra day of driving - both ways - for three frustrated children crammed in the back seat of the car. With no air conditioning. Listening to Peter, Paul and Mary for hours on end.

But the trip was always worth it. Words can't do justice for the amazing sights a person can see at Yellowstone. We saw the park, charred the year after the fires. We saw its beauty as wildlife started to return.

But we the stop prized most was the one to see Old Faithful and Morning Glory. If you've never had the opportunity to see either, Old Faithful is an incredible geyser that used to shoot off like clockwork on the hour. Or at least it used to.

Now, it shoots off anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half, due to earthquakes and vandalism.

Morning Glory Pool is a thermal pool that used to be a deep blue. It's still beautiful, but it's changed.

Years of trash, rocks, coins and more that were just thoughtlessly tossed into the pool have had significant effects. The natural vents were blocked, impacting water circulation, accelerating the loss of thermal energy and dropping its temperature. Orange and yellow bacteria that used to be on the outside of the spring is spreading toward its center.

It's been more than a decade since I've last been back to Yellowstone, and I wonder how things have changed. And I wonder what it will be like when my children are old enough to truly experience and appreciate its wonders.

Here's what amazes me about this world. We can watch nature's beauty in its finest and toss our trash right into it.

If we can't look nature straight in the eye and appreciate and respect God's creation, what is wrong with us as a people?

In a few short weeks or months, the signs of spring will start to return. Flowers will bloom. Trees will bud. Greenness will return.

And as that happens, take a moment to appreciate the beauty around you. And think of ways to preserve it for those around us.

Maybe it's as simple as planting a tree. Or participating in a trail clean-up day at a state park. Or visiting a lesser-known national park to experience the quiet and the wonder, away from the traffic of the more popular parks. Go for a hike in the spring. Go for a hike now - and enjoy the beauty of winter. Enjoy the beauty of this world, away from the traffic, the subdivisions, the headaches.

Get back to where we came from, and see for yourself the reasons why we're trying to be more environmentally friendly.

And please, if you have to carry something with you, be responsible with your trash. A little slice of the world depends on you.

My contribution for this month's APLS carnival on Nature and the Environment. Read other thoughts on the subject on Feb. 20 at the Green Phone Booth.

Photos from the National Park Service.

It's National Get Outdoors Day: What are you doing here?

Turn off the television. Say whoa to the Wii. Step outside for an hour or two!

Today is National Get Outdoors Day (yes, they have a day for everything). It's a day to remind ourselves to get out of our sendentary ways and enjoy the greatness of nature.

Still on your computer reading? Here's another reason to get off.

According to Joanne Ditmer of the Denver Post:

American youngsters spend up to six hours a day watching TV or movies, on
the Internet and playing video games, and a scant 30 minutes a week of
unregulated time outdoors. They should have 60 minutes of physical activity a
day. Our kids are nature-deprived. When they are outdoors, they're more apt to
be involved in some team competition, not just becoming acquainted with flora
and fauna, or enjoying the peace brought by special places.

...With that lack of outdoor activity, children have become more overweight. For the first time in our nation's history, kids' current life expectancy is 3 to 5 percent less than that of their parents. We can't lose a generation to "house arrest." And if our children are blind to the values of our irreplaceable natural lands, who will be the stewards of our future?

So spend a few hours or two outdoors today getting back to nature. Ride a bike, hike a trail, do something. Today, we're likely going to be taking a hike through our neighborhood park, hitting up the farmers market, possibly swimming at the neighborhood pool and just taking advantage of the pleasant 80-degree, sunny forecast.

If you need additional ideas or inspiration, 54 national and state parks and recreational areas will have activities associated with National Get Outoors Day today. Find the complete list of locations at http://www.nationalgetoutdoorsday.org/locations. And then get off the computer.