How far will you go for adventure?

Are you longing for the beach and the sound of surf?  Maybe pining for some tall Ponderosas?  What's the farthest you've ever been on an adventure?  How far would you like to go?

I have a hankering to head to the hills, but we're in the throes of getting girls off to college and everyone ready for school.

Daughter #1 has moved from an apartment to a house.  Yard maintenance will be a new experience.   Dark and Mysterious Daughter is moving from a very small town to a very large college town.  Do I have to spell out the worries and adventures going on there?!?!

The Whee is starting Junior High.  That's an exercise in survival more than adventure.

So, possibly like you, I have to look closer to home for my adventures right now.  How about taking a fresh look at the things you see every day?  Lie on the grass and look up at the tree in your yard. Count how many different bird calls you hear. (Notice I did not say can you identify?)

Take your bike for a spin, but take your routine route in reverse!  You'll be surprised at how many things you've never noticed before!

Take your walk at a different time of day than usual and notice the change in light and colors.

Make sure you say hello to your neighbors.  Give 'em a pat on the head if they're small.

If you have access to a five-year old, follow him or her around for an afternoon.  Do everything they do. Now THAT's an adventure!

Sniff the breeze, enjoy the sunshine, it'll be winter soon enough. Try something new for dinner.  An adventure is only as far away as you make it.  Get going!

Summer Creativity

If necessity is the mother of invention, then boredom is the father of juvenile delinquency. But because I'm no longer a juvenile (a recent occurrence, I assure you), it led to attempts at creativity. A camera and too much time on my hands has me wandering around town trying to be artistic.

I ended up at the pond, which is where I usually end up, because it's an awesome place to hang out.

There's a boat there.  And an old bench on the dock. And some hammocks.  And water with fish and birds, and no people.  What more could you want?

The boat was my first target of artistic endeavor.  I have not learned to speak Cherokee as I planned, but I have played with Photoshop enough this summer that I can now duplicate my mistakes.

                     BOAT-basic rowboat type

        BLUE BOAT-wow, that is really blue.  Makes me feel like I'm underwater looking at it, which makes me start to hyperventilate.

SPARKLY BOAT- ahhh. Much better, I can breathe again.

BENCH-before. I love old things in shades of turquoise and teal.  I would have a 50's turquoise kitchen in a heartbeat, however, none of my family would come in the kitchen if it was turquoise.  Hmmm, let's think about that.

BENCH-after.  I love this lighting effect.  I'll try not to abuse it.

I would show you some hammock shots, but I fell asleep in it.

Happy Trails, and may your adventures be picture perfect!

Hotter Than What?

As I was slothing around under the AC yesterday, bemoaning the 104 degrees I was avoiding outside, I said "I've never been this hot."
"Wrong,"  said Philoboy.  "I have one word for you.  Arches."

Ohhh yeah.  That's right.  Arches National Park in Utah.  120 degrees. Big rocks that held and reflected the sun. And my doctor wanted me to have knee surgery.  Instead I ran away and hid in the middle of arid stone where he couldn't get to me with his little scopy thingy.

And walked and walked and walked.  And lived in ice packs when I wasn't walking.  That pack on my back?  Hydration pack.  Nothing but water. All so I could see this.

This is a monster landmark, but you can't see it from the entrance or the parking lot or the trail, until you climb over some big hot rocks and then over an even bigger slab of rock... and there it is.

Apparently the heat makes your ears grow.  Take a look at this guy!

Because the trail goes across hard rock, almost anywhere you walk is low impact on the environment, but it also makes it kinda hard  to follow the trail.  So the solution is some sort of zen-like marker... 

That's what I call art in the desert.  There is other art in the desert too, although I think when it was created it wasn't art.  It was a hard way to record a story.  Pun intended. Sorry.

I understand the horses and the bighorn sheep, and the dog picture. But what's that lizard looking thing over on the right?  Let's hope it's not to scale.

All that wide open space makes a fella want to stop and think about things for a while.

OK, It's only 104, not a 120, I have new ballpoint pens and a computer to record my story instead of a rock.  Can't complain.  I bet if I go outside and start looking for an adventure, I won't notice the heat at all.  Off we go!!

The Wildlifer Challenge

The Whee has embarked on the Kansas Wildlifer Challenge for kids.  This is a great program that encourages all levels of outdoor participation.

So far she has completed five of the fifteen challenges (actually, she's probably done more than just five, but you have to provide pictures as proof, and for some reason there's no photos of some of her activities.  Stolen by elves, I imagine). 

Each challenge gives you an overview of the challenge, the specific task to complete, safety tips, and suggestions for places in Kansas to complete the challenges. Here's her progress to date:

The Boat Challenge 

She's completed this one several times over; this particular time was the 'on-the-water' easter egg hunt.  Note the competetive intensity.

Climb a tree. 

Are you kidding me?  When is she not in a tree?  Or on top of the garage?  According to her, she thinks better when she's high up.

Take a hike! 

I loved this one, because the places to go link gave us lots of new ideas for trails and waterways to try out.

Swim in a lake.

OK- she's here more than she's up a tree.  She'd be here all day every day if I'd let her.

Take a picture of something outdoors. This was actually one of the tougher challenges. She's my favorite photo subject, and most of her subjects are her cats and cousins, all of which are indoor creatures.

This assignment encouraged me as a mother.  Looking at our pictures I realized my child is getting outside a lot.  She is getting exercise.  She is participating in a variety of activities and learning many new skills.  We are doing things as a family.  What more could Mother Nature ask for?
Not a thing.

Happy Trails, and may your adventures bring you new challenges!

The Nature of School Supplies

I took the Whee shopping for school supplies.  Can you say ouch?  Not only have prices shot up, but the list put out by the school was two pages long!  Apparently entering junior high is a very complex event.  I remember junior high as something I couldn't wait to get out of.  Let's not even talk about those lockers...

As an environmental advocate, I push for supplies made from recycled materials, sustainable materials, and supplies that can be re-used for several years (yes, I'm one of those horrid mothers who think you don't need a new backpack every year).  So when we do find those items I have to put my money where my mouth is, because invariably the recycled stuff is more expensive than the fresh-killed trees stuff.

There is a dearth of notebooks made from recycled paper. I found one brand, after looking through three stores.  They're pretty plain jane, but they fit the environmental bill.

And then I found some made from "well-managed forests and other controlled sources."  WHAT does that mean?!?!  I really wanted to know, so I looked them up.  (I love the internet.  Legitimate stalking).  I found their mission statement, but it still doesn't tell me WHERE those managed forests are or who's managing them.   I prefer full disclosure.

Still, I bought a couple based solely on their aesthetic appeal to my nature side. For me, not the Whee.  Cause the fun thing about going back to school is the new notebooks and the clothes.  And friends.  Not the homework part.  Look at these gorgeous colors.  Almost as good as the real thing.

These make me want to write something Walden-ish.  Something profound, and so beautiful it moves you to tears. My grocery lists moves me to tears, but it's not the same thing.

And pens to match, of course.  With flowery designs.

Do your part- ask your local retailer to stock products made from recycled materials, then shop shop shop!

Painting the walls and sky

I have spent the last three days in Oklahoma helping Daughter #1 move into her new abode.  It's adorable. She has done an amazing job with colors and pictures.  It feels like a very comfortable, very sophisticated home.  It feels like I moved a heck of a lot of boxes in three days.   Oh. Dear.  I'm aching in places I forgot I had.


She got a lot of other help too, like a Whee who cleaned like a little dust devil,

and proved she can paint like a pro.  I told the Whee never, never, let people know you have a skill like that.  You'll suddenly have waaay too many friends.

I'm very excited that she has moved from an apartment to a house because now she can have a great yard and a garden!  Working in the dirt with my girls is a wonderful experience.  Flowers, Herbs,  Veggies.  Bugs.  Oh!  Don't tell her that, she won't come outside.

On my return to the Sunflower State, I was blessed with an Oklahoma thunderstorm.  I love storms in Oklahoma.  It's intense. It's exciting to watch.  You know why Oklahomans have storm sirens, right?  So we know when to go outside and watch!

The storm building up makes for some great sunsets.  Like this.

I recently asked an elderly gentleman what his favorite outdoor activity was, and he told me, "Collecting sunrises."  I think that's an excellent outdoor pursuit.

The drive also provided some doubly wonderful rainbows.  I love how the grain towers are framed between the rainbows.  It seemed like a fitting statement of blessing for all those farmers who needed the rain.

and then it made for four hours of driving in pouring rain at 40 mph.

But at the first, right when it started, and the big, fat drops were stretched out and streaking at an angle through the dark, headed for my windshield,  the headlights caught them and they sparkled like supersized glitter, and I felt like I was inside a giant snowglobe with the sparkles falling all around me.  And it was totally cool.

And between the girls, and the glitter, and the rainbows, and the sunset, it was all worth it, even the backache.

Grow Slowly, Little One

This is my baby girl's first ATV.  It was (is) an outside activity we can do in all sorts of weather. This was her training wheels. Where she learned about safe operation of a four-wheeler.

                               And speed.

                And racing old people.


That was a couple of years ago.  We're saying bye to the little blue ATV this week, because my baby girl has outgrown it.  "It's for babies, Mama.  I need a big girl ride."

Yep, that's my baby.  Wears my high heels, and they fit.  But she still fits on my lap.

On the phone to her friends, talking about boys, but she still runs through the kitchen like a heathen, shouting "Love you Mama!"

We sit and discuss books we're reading.  That's really awesome.  But she still likes to tickle wrestle.

I know it's gonna happen- she's going to grow up no matter how much I kick and scream.  But I hope she does it really, really,  really, slowly.
Grow slowly, Little One, grow slowly.

When you can't get outdoors

What to do when you can't get outside?  Make pictures of things that are outside, of course!

This is a really fast chicken.  That's what the three lines behind the chicken mean- fast chicken.

This is a not-so-fast chicken.  See? No lines.

This is a lovely flower.  Made by a lovely child with a wonderful imagination and a lot of creativity.  Who knew a bag of marbles could bring the great outdoors in so well?

This is another beautiful flower, made by a wonderfully patient child who was forced to stay inside and wait on the grownups who were doing boring adult things when they should have been outside doing fun things.  Whew!

Being inside stinks

Not going outside all day stinks

Waiting on boring adults stinks

Tomorrow better not stink.

Be a Wildlifer!!!

The potential for unexpected and wonderful surprises is limitless in the great outdoors, such as Whee's close encounter of the baby armadillo kind. A litter of five of the little armored rooters surrounded her, and a couple got up close and personal. All prejudice against armadillos and the damage they do aside, how cool is this?  And dang it, they're cute!!! 

She still talks about this, so I would say it made it to the Great Memories box.  Being outdoors gives my offspring such a fantastic memory bank to call on; I wish every child could have this experience.

Here's one way to encourage your rugrats to get outside and make some memories. The Kansas Wildscapes Foundation sponsors a program called Wildlifer Challenge for kids. Members participate in a variety of outdoor activities at their own pace, and at their own comfort level. To participate, the kids take digital pictures of themselves (well, probably mom or dad takes the picture) completing tasks like pitching a tent (even a clothesline/blanket one counts!), planting a tree, bird-watching, etc. and submit the photos.  Your progeny can win some great prizes and it's all free! Have your kids check out the program at Wild Life.

One of the things I really really like about this program is the 'nature light' aspect. This blog runs exactly in that same vein- there are occasionally items for the hard-core hunter or the fishing fanatic, but the mission statement I hold to as the goal of nature blogging is "everyone can find an outdoor activity they enjoy."  Biking, hiking, canoeing, you name it, even walking and hanging out in your hammock count as long as it's outside!

  Happy Trails and may your adventures be legendary!

Patty the Prairie Dog

Patty the Prairie Dog lived underground.

She lived in a most communal small town.
She knew all her neighbors, her friends and her kin.
They often would tunnel and come right on in!


Patty would watch for hawks and other big foe,
When she saw them- down her tunnel she’d go.
Patty ate grass and sometimes small seeds,
Or on occasion even some weeds!


Patty’s six pups would often pop up,
She’d push them down, every last pup!
Patty liked her prairie dog town,
Whether looking up, or staying down.
Copyright Traci Schauf, 2003



HURRY HURRY!  School is almost here!  Get those kids outside!  It's your duty as parent!  (No guilt, right?). Here's today's assignment:  find a map and gather the children around.  Lure them in with cookies if you have to.

Draw a circle indicating a ten-mile radius around your house. Using the map, let the munchkins find all the outdoor sites around your home, and what each offers.  Is it a recreation area with water-skiing?  A fishing-only lake?  How about an historic site or national park?

Now, pull yourself away from the AC, pick one of the places, pack a picnic and take off.  If for some reason, God forbid, it's not possible, then take the kids out in the backyard.  Have a contest to see who can find the most leaves of different types, or spot the most birds.  Dig around in moist dirt in search of toads.  Toads are nice. Make it fun, make it a learning experience. Ask them to show you their favorite outdoor spot.

Take a deep breath and unplug the TV, the computer, the Playstation, turn off the cell phones, dsi's and Ipods. Imagination should not have to fight for space in your kid's brains.  Hand them each a stick and give them 30 seconds to come up with five uses for that stick.  Conductor's baton?  Bravo.  Rifle?  Dead on.  A magic wand?  I like your thinking. A light saber?  May the Force be with you.  Winner with the most ideas gets to squirt you with a water hose.

Do whatever you gotta do, but whatever you do, do it outside while you can!

PPE for fishing

For a while, this was the hat I wore when I fished with Philoboy:

This is Personal Protective Equipment for the bass fisherman fisherwoman.  You think I jest.

One Thanksgiving Day in the not too distant past, after gorging ourselves on the traditional feast of plenty, Philo and I slipped away to a local pond in his uncle's bass boat.  Nice little boat, two man job with swivel seats, live well, trolling motor.  Kind of the RV of the water.

The fishing was going well.  Crappie and bass were enjoying the Indian Summer day as much as we were, and the stringer and live well were filling fast. Then it happened.  I hooked the biggest crappie of my life.  And Philo hooked the biggest catch of his life.

When it hit, all I knew was there had been a dull thud and pressure on my head, at the same time I was trying to reel in my trophy fish.  All Philo knew was that his lure had never hit the water.

"DON'T PULL!"  I said, as quickly and forcefully as I could.
"What?  Why?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE FRIGGIN' COMET IS IN MY SCALP. SIT. STILL. VERY. STILL."

I landed my beautiful, gorgeous, catch of the day crappie, and with tears brimming, let it go. I didn't even get to take a picture. And took everything off the stringer. And emptied the live well. The tears were not from pain, but because I had  to release all those fabulous fish, since I couldn't take them with us to the Emergency Room.

Yes, I knew it was the ER for me, judging by the fact the comet was not budging at all, and Philo was whiter than a bass's underbelly. I had him cut his line close to my head and we drove to nearest ER, where I checked in with my jaunty new hair accessory.

The nurse gasped, the doctor laughed.  When he brought the syringe with the lidocaine, I told him don't bother, the anesthesia would hurt worse than the hook. He laughed, sprayed on a little topical anesthetic, cut the treble and pushed it through. A little sting, a little blood, a little antibiotic, a tetanus shot, and good as new. You can't even see the scar.

We went right back and fished the same pond after my minor surgery, but we didn't quite make up the same stringer as before. Still, what kind of fisherwoman would I be if I let a little fishhook ruin my day?

Now, if I'm in the same boat as Philo's whiplash cast I wear a hat that's impenetrable to hooks, with ear protection.  And a face shield.  But mostly, we fish in separate boats, well away from one another.

But I would still say he got the best catch.

    Happy Trails, and may you get hooked on adventure!

I've been robbed

Today I just had to get out and fish.  It was 104 degrees, the wind was blowing enough to send my kayak across the waves at trolling speed, but it had been tooooo long. I didn't care about breeze or burn, I had to fish.  But first I had to find my tackle box. Someone had removed it from my boat. 

Looked in the truck. Nope.

Looked in the barn. Nope.

Looked in the garage. Nope.

Finally found it in a relative's garage, although I'm fairly certain she didn't put it there. 

My tackle box was a gift from Philoboy last Christmas.  Two-sided, filled with wonderful shiny things, one side for the pond, one side for the river. (WOW, a man that gets you exactly what you want for a gift! Not to mention gets you things he'd like to borrow). 

I like to check my tackle box before I get in the middle of the lake. I like to prepare. Preparing and organizing are what I do for relaxation. So I opened the pond side. 

Bobbers, check.  Although not as many as there used to be... Maybe I'll make some earrings from the little guys.

Lures, check.  Although that comet in the middle has seen better days.  But the popper on the right caught my biggest bass to date.

Uh, silver thingy, check.  I have no idea what this is or how to use, but I love it.  It is a piece of modern art.  I really am going to make this into jewelry.

Jigs, check. Yummy yellow sugar frosted jigs.  I keep them because they remind me of lemon cookies. The fish in Kansas do not care for sugar frosted lemon cookies.

This guy is a no biter also.  But they're great to freeze in ice cubes and put in your guests' drinks.

Now these.  These are my mainstays, my go-to red and blue jigs, the proven workhorses of my tacklebox. These are the ones certain fellow fishermen are always begging to 'borrow' from me.  Borrowing jigs is like borrowing toothpaste.  No way is it coming back.

Now the river side of the box.

9-1-1  Somebody call the game warden, I've been robbed.  There's nothing in here! Where's all the sinkers?  The lead lines?  The great assortment of hooks?  This calls for an investigation. 

Philoboy, have you seen my tacklebox?
What tacklebox?
Duh- the one you gave me for Christmas.  Blue, rectangular, used to have a lot of cool stuff in it.
No, haven't seen it.
Have you used it lately?
What do you mean by 'use' exactly?
Did you and Rick go to the river this week?
What river?  Who's Rick?
It's very hard to interrogate a philosopher.

Pushing aside the mystery of the missing filament and habilaments, I fished for a couple of hours. At the end I had a basket full of fish worthy of display in an aquarium.  A five-gallon one.

But you know what they say, a bad day fishing is better than... No, can't do it.  There's no such thing as a bad day fishing.

       By land or by sea, Happy Trails to thee!

Looking for my slot in life

Someone asked me what kind of blogger I was (kind of a personal question, dontcha think?!) 

I know what kind of blogger I'm not. I'm not a food blogger.  If food takes longer to prepare than it does for me to eat it, I'm not interested. Unless someone else is doing the preparing.  Then you can pique my interest.

I'm not a political blogger.  I do have opinions on politics.  I even claim party affiliation. But politics do not lend themselves to a family channel. At least not the way I do politics.

I'm not a sports blogger. Definitely not.  The only comments I can conjure doing sporting events are pass the peanuts (baseball) and words that can't be printed here (OU football).  'Nuff said.


Mom blogger.  Yes, definitely mom blogger because my children say I am. They affirm it like this: "Mother, if you take one more picture of me for that blog, I'm going to break your dang camera!"  Hmmm, well I think I'm a mom blogger 'cause I talk a lot about these.  I mean, how could I not talk about these?  These are the cutest things ever:

That one on the left- I gotta keep an eye on her.  She insisted the other day that I do a whole series of photos of her with red food coloring dripping down her face, in various poses of 'dead'.  It was eerily, grossly, totally realistic and I refuse to show them here.  When I asked why she was doing this, her answer was "I'm practicing being an actress."  For what?! HORROR FILMS?  I really don't always understand how her mind works, but I find it fascinating. Scary, but fascinating. The kid on the right is a little easier.  She thinks about shoes.  And books.  I can relate to shoes and books.


I'm a nature blogger, 'cause I include a lot of pictures about this.  Sometimes because it's the only thing I can think of to do.  Blogging is hard! My creative strings are often stretched to the breaking point. Or maybe that's my last nerve.

I'm kind of a book blogger, 'cause I have opinions on these, and I share them with you:

And possibly in the broad sense (sense of the term, not in the sense of me being broad, although if I keep sitting in this chair blogging all day...) I'm a lifestyles blogger, because stuff like this creeps in all the time too:

Why isn't there a 'wife blogger' category?  Someone explain that please!  Spouse blogger?  Marriage blogger?  Philo would say I'm a blogger, an obsessive one.  Obsessive blogger, yes that works for a category.  "Honey, when's dinner?"  "When  I finish this blog, dear."  Uh, Hon, the sun's about to come up, how's that blog coming along?

Ooooohh, oooooh and don't forget travel blogger!  No, probably better make that adventure blogger. A travel blogger could give you directions to the good hotels and restaurants.

So, I've decided my official classification is now OMNIBLOGGER. Please, you don't have to bow.  Oh, oh you're going to anyway, well alright then. Yes, OMNIBLOGGER.  I think I found my pigeonhole.

  Happy Trails, and may your adventures be of the wonderful kind!