We had such a rainy weekend that we had to put aside all of our big yard and garden plans and go with the flow. On Sunday we decided that even though it was cool, gray, rainy and more storms were on their way, that we wanted to get OUTSIDE!!! So we packed up the rain gear, boots, snacks and GPS and headed out to a local state park. We love this park because it has prairie, woods, beaches and is right on the big lake here in Madison, yet feels remote (you can see downtown wayyyy across the water).
The boys were so happy to get outside - and after so much record-setting rain there were TONS of earthworms out. They counted, relocated, and looked at worms before heading down to the beach. We skimmed rocks, found walking sticks, dug in the sand, and ... plotted our location in the GPS as we went (starting with the car).
After an hour or so at the beach, we wandered along the lake and connected with a nice wooded trail. The ground was wet, but the rain had (temporarily) stopped, so we were able to see so much along the way. The boys found caterpillars, flowers, green thick wet moss, fresh animal tracks and many familiar trees and plants.
We had the trail all to ourselves since we were about the only ones out in that weather. The birds were the loudest creatures around - so busy overhead - and we saw woodpeckers, bluejays, red winged blackbirds, and so many more busily collecting bits and building nests. The air smelled amazing, and we wandered and explored for a long time.
We continued to mark out position as we went along the trail, and could track ourselves on the GPS along the way...the boys loved stopping here and there to check how far we had gone!
After a few hours of exploring we were finally ready to head back. The boys held the GPS, and watching the position as we walked, they oriented themselves towards the first coordinate marked on our path, and found their way back to the car as we followed right behind them! Super fun. And a great day to be outside enjoying the weather.
14 comments:
Yay for lovely violets! Did you eat them???
:)
Sounds like a delicious rainy day.
sounds like awesome fun! rain!, woods!, beach!, exploration!, gps-ing!....yep! i don't think it oculd have gotten any better.
Yeah for earthworms! They are all the rage right now at our house. My boys are digging them up and wondering if they can sell them. Don't you just love the wonder that boys carry with them?
Hope you are feeling a little better!
I've never used a GPS. Sounds like fun. Love the picture of the wet, spongy moss. I can almost feel it from here!
what a beautifully wet day...love all that good exploring. and well worms rock...we love playing with them too!
oh and those green gloves...i want them! they look like they would have made great good fish cutting & gutting gloves with that texture on the palm.
Looks like a nice day! Ah, moss ... my kids love touching all the moss patches in our back yard.
Great day out with the worms and birds and pretty violets!!
I'm thinking Owen would really love the gadgety goodness of a gps...we'll have to work on that.
I love that photo of the giant earthworm! That sounds like a fun day. Following the GPS sounds like a great learning opportunity for the boys.
My son and I just read in a book that a baby robin eats about 14 feet worth of earth worms EACH day! Looks like if the worms there are that big it wouldn't take too many to make 14 feet worth. ;-)
Oooh! I miss Madison. It's nice to hear about outdoor rainy-day adventures -- I know so many people who won't go out when it is wet. If you don't go out in the rain, you don't get to wear those fun boots!
It was super rainy here as well...and we slashed in puddles at school...it was rather fun!
Lots of rain here too. Do you ever use your GPS for geocaching? Your boys would love it I bet.
Oh great, the earth worm is just gorgeous, they are so cute. Your days wet, dry, sunny or grey they always look so precious...xx
How's it going getting the Earth Scouts group going? This sounds like a lovely outing...looks like a fantastic park~
:)
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