A Sense of Place

The other day my sister asked me what we do about places that we keep wanting to go back to (for hiking), but when there are still other hikes that you want to get to.  I told her that we do keep going back to those hikes that we love.  I told her that if we are going to the U.P., we go to Pictured Rocks no matter what.  We spend a good deal of time there.  Then, we fit in whatever other hiking/camping that we can.  There are other examples around our state as well, since we can't always be in the U.P.  A couple of times a year, I like to get to Harwick Pines where there are old growth White Pine trees.  There are wetlands and we like to return to for birding.

When I first started hiking with the kids, I think I felt much the same way my sister does (only maybe there are even more cool hikes in Utah than there are here in Michigan!).  I wanted to see it all.  I wanted to hike it all.  I even tried.

I had a fear that I wouldn't keep up the hiking and that if I wasn't out there all the time, then I wasn't really a hiker (weird, I know).

Now that we've been hiking for several years now, I'm o.k. with hitting new trails when we get the chance.  I have hikes in the back of my head that I definitely want to go on.  There's a 20 miler up in the tip of the mitt that I've had on my mind for 3-4 years now (Jordan River pathway).  I'll get there someday.  I made a goal in 2010 for our family to backpack Isle Royale in the summer of 2013.  We aren't going to make it, not all of us.  But, Nathan and I are going!

I can see now that I'm definitely a hiker and I'm committed to seeing and hiking in all of the interesting places.

Now, too, I have realized that there is something maybe more important than going to ALL the places.  That important thing is a "sense of place."

When we lived in the U.P. for a summer, I did something that was scary for me.  I allowed the kids to walk a 1/2 mile down to a trail to three waterfalls.  Hard for me because I was pretty protective.  It was made easier by the kind of culture of people that lives in the U.P.  I let them go down there pretty much whenever they wanted.  I had an idea in my mind that I wanted the land imprinted on them.  They walked down there together, hiked the trail and daydreamed in that amazing place.

I still feel like I want the land imprinted on them and me.  Maybe I'm similar to a farmer who loves his land and has a sense of place.  There are places that call out my name in the winter months as I'm falling asleep.   Even now, I can hear the Hermit and Swainson Thrushes calling.  I can feel the moss under my fingers and taste the wild blueberries.  I can see that emerald water.  It's a land like no other and even though others walk there, no one inhabits it year round.  It's a wilderness and it's mine.

I think that when my kids grow up, no matter where they may go, these places will call out to them, much like our home will call out to them.

I love this sense of place.

Just Show Me For Once!

Over a year ago, Brigham was telling Sariah about how boys have penises and girls have penises.  I decided that I would teach him a little about the biology of boys and girls since he seemed interested.  I explained to him that girls actually don't have penises like boys.  I told him that they have different parts (can't remember if I told him the terminology or not).  He got really quiet for a few moments.  Then, in an interested growly voice he said to me, "Just show me for once!"  :)

Needless to say, I didn't do it!

Flat Stanley came to visit

I think that the Flat Stanley project is such a good one for kids K-2.  Nathan and I spent some quality time with Flat Stanley today and we're sending it off to Luke's class tomorrow (shhh! Jodi, don't let Luke see this post!)

Flat Stanley had a good time while visiting Lansing, Michigan.  He spent part of a day at Fenner Nature Center.  When he first arrived at Fenner, he helped out with some research that is being done in the forest.  He helped to dig some soil that is going to be sent into the laboratory for testing:

Then Stanley asked if he could visit the Sugar Maple area, also known as the Sugar Bush.  Since Stanley had traveled from Utah, he wasn’t familiar with the way that maple syrup is produced.

In the spring when the sap is traveling from the roots up to the branches of the maple trees, people put “taps” into large maple trees so that some of the sap runs out into buckets on the trees.  It was too late in the spring for Flat Stanley to see the taps and buckets, but he did find the hole left behind from one of the taps from just a month ago:

Flat Stanley looked into a pot where the sap can be poured.  A small fire can be built under the pot and the sap is boiled until it thickens.  Once it thickens, it can be put into glass bottles and it is ready to be used on pancakes and waffles.  Here is the pot:

Next, Stanley went into the Nature Center Building.  He had been wondering what the maple syrup tastes like.  Luckily, inside the Store he found some maple syrup sugar candies.  He is bringing some back to your class so that you can try it.  He’s waited all this time.  Will you please share some with him?

Before leaving Fenner Nature Center, Flat Stanley stopped by the bird watching window.  There were some pretty yellow and red birds outside, so he picked up the binoculars and took a closer look:

Then, with a little help, he put the maple candies into a box, slipped inside himself and began waiting for the box to be opened back in your classroom! J

Drum roll.......Elijah's project has been approved!

Elijah is going to do a project for the Young Birder of the Year this summer.  It's in the same category that Nathan's project was last year--Conservation/Community Service related to birds.  We sent in his registration by April 15th and last night Elijah wrote and emailed his project proposal to Bill Stewart at  the American Birding Association.  We worked out a couple of glitches today and he has approval to move forward.  I won't say more just now, but stay tuned for more on this exciting project!!

I'm really really good at something!

From a very young age, I remember looking around me at people who excelled at things and felt that I was less than.  I was average at ballet, average at gymnastics, average at the piano (despite being told that I was talented), average at singing.  Never mind that I was actually very privileged to be able to do all of these things.  I think I was allowed more activities than most of my siblings.  I had no idea that I was spoiled and that to be more than average, you have to put in lots of time and practice.  Good thing I've learned that since then and have told my kids what they have to do to be more than average (while I still go along my average way).

But, wait!  Don't go away yet.  Guess what?  I'm actually not average at one particular thing.  I'm a great mom-taxi driver.  I have been practicing over the years and just today, I drove what I think might be a record: 130 miles.  This is all around town driving.  Driving to and from schools.  Driving to and from choir.  Driving to choir director interviews. Driving to a Wild Ones meeting.  It's so great.  I can partially hydroplane and still keep us all safe.  I can turn on autopilot and make the same mistakes every day (forgetting where the road construction is) and still get people to school nearly on time.  I can read brochures and drive at the same time!  NOPE!  Not that one because Brigham asked me how I could possibly drive and read at the same time.  Oops!  I told him I couldn't and promptly put the brochure away...

This is going the wrong direction now.  I really am very good at this driving around thing and I'm proud of it!  My skills will take me to places I never dreamed I would go!

A long letter (link)--Maybe one of my final posts about having been LDS

A man left the LDS church and his grandfather hooked him up with the CES director to see if he could work out some of his concerns.  Before the meeting, this man wrote a long letter with his concerns to the CES director.  It can be found here:

Letter to CES guy

I don't believe that there was any response.

This is a hugely long letter and I can't see many people taking the time to read through all of it.  You have to want to know badly enough that you will give away some time to pursue it.  You are probably getting tired of this kind of information on my blog.  Truth is, I'm tired of it myself.  I don't see myself continuing to post much at all about my past LDS life.

I do like the thoroughness of this letter, though as one friend said, she had a hard time believing that I would knowingly put someone through the questioning of their faith.

This is an ethical dilemma.  I believe that if someone had given me the choice, "Would you want to know if the church wasn't true," I would have answered that I would want to know.  That's me.  As I've had programmed into me all my life, we are here in the pursuit of truth.  We seek after truth.

However, as I've also mentioned on this blog, what I went through was extremely painful and even life-stopping for a while (in the sense of being very absorbed in learning about true history).  I wasn't sure that things would get better.  I had a good community around me at the time telling me that things do get better.  I'm now on the "better" side.  Looking back, I'm feeling extremely lucky to have stumbled upon the information I did, but also that I'm finally through this worst of the hard times.

I don't think I'm done grieving, but I don't think that I will encounter a dark night, such as I experienced in 2011.  And, I wouldn't change it.

I'm also almost to the point that I can be thankful for being a Mormon for a good chunk of my life.  Some good did come of it, though I think more effective morals can be taught from a secular perspective.  I'm happy that I can use what I learned to teach my kids.  A wise friend once told me that your kids can only be as emotionally healthy as their parents.  At the time, I believed myself to be moderately emotionally healthy (what a laugh!).  Now, several years later, I've gotten some help and consider myself moderately healthy (hopefully less of a laugh!).  Unstitching myself from the church has allowed me to see emotional health in a new light.

Like Bob (from "What about Bob?"), I can shout, "I'm FREE!"

Trifold Posters

I almost had a little meltdown today (Friday).  I have signed myself up to do three trifold poster presentations within the next two weeks.  On top of that, I'm trying to help Elijah plan a project he wants to do, complete with a fundraiser.  If that's not enough, Nathan and I are finishing up our Conservation Stewards class (one of the trifolds is for this) and have to put together a presentation, such as a Prezi for that, plus get some work hours in at the nature center.

I got some sad news today too.  It put me in a somber mood.

However, I came home and got to work on two of the three trifolds.  I've got a lot of the material together and plan to get those two done this weekend.  AND, I'm still getting to bed by 11:20 p.m. or so.

Whew!  Bet you're glad that you know all of that!

Sariah's idea about the afterlife

A few weeks ago, Sariah asked me a question.  She asked if maybe the way things work is that what you believe (specifically about the afterlife) will come true for you.  She used the example of reincarnation, "So, if I believe in reincarnation, maybe I'll be reincarnated."  I told her that was a possibility.

Then, it really hit me just a couple of days ago.  What if it really was like that?  What if believing in heaven made it so that you go to heaven.  I realize that the way I'm saying this, makes it sound a lot like magical thinking.  I can't express it like I felt it.

So, then, I had to stand back and ask myself if it would be worth it for me to believe in an afterlife so that I could have the chance of going there when I die.  I worked through that question before I was sure for myself that Mormon Doctrine wasn't for me.  I asked myself whether it wouldn't be worth it to live it just in case it really was the Truth.  I decided it wasn't worth that amount of pain.

And, funny thing is, given the possible chance that believing in something would give me the option of not being totally obliterated (well, except for those pesky physical atoms of my body), I don't choose believing.  Weird?  Maybe.

I really, really like my life.  I'm doing better at living in the moment than I ever have before.  All of that focusing on eternity did not make me happy in the past.  Why would I pick it up now?  Doesn't make logical sense and it doesn't make emotional sense either.

It was an interesting thought experiment though.

Congratulations 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan!

Joseph posted on his Facebook that our van had turned over 200,000 miles.  Wow!  I have loved this van.  So much so, that I broke my own rule not to put bumper stickers on a vehicle.  We plan to let her roll as long as she can before buying a hybrid of some kind.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that hybrids will take great strides over the next few years.

Congrats, van!  Don't fail me now! :)

Congratulations, May!

May decided to try her hand at applying for scholarship money for an event that she wanted to attend.  We are very fortunate to be connected with amazing people and organizations that encourage youth to get involved and also offer scholarships.  The scholarship forms and essays that my kids have had the chance to write are giving them practice for applying to colleges and for college scholarships.

We were thrilled to get the following email on April 3rd, while we were in Florida:

Hi May,

It is my honor to inform you that Columbus Audubon's John Wilson Memorial Education Fund Committee has approved your request for $482 to pay for lodging and meals for three adults and four kids for Eco-Weekend. I will forward the names to the Eco-Weekend Committee tomorrow, but you and you family members will have to register. Enjoy the weekend and congratulations!

WIG 
Warren Grody 

This was not only exciting, as we would not have been able to attend Eco-Weekend without the scholarship, but highly rewarding for May to have her hard work pay off!

Congrats May!

Congratulations, Joseph!

Joseph recently posted this on his Facebook wall:

While we were out this week, the Michigan State School Superintendent asked me if I would become his Deputy Superintendent for Educational Accountability, one of four deputies in the department. I am now responsible for all statewide student testing, school accountability, teacher certification testing, educator preparation institution performance scoring, standards for educator preparation, educator prep institution accountability, and state activities in support of educator evaluations. 

I am honored to be appointed to serve the needs of the children and educators of Michigan in a broader set of areas. And humbled as well.

 I would  like to add that Joseph graduated with his PhD in May of 2004.  At that time he was hired by the state of Michigan as a Psychometrician (this is a fancy word for educational statistician).  Every few years with the retirement of colleagues and with his superiors seeing what a great job he does, he's been eligible to move into a new position.  Ever since he left his initial position he has been a manager.  Managing is not something he loves to do, but I found out that he is very good at it.  He has taken his department and transformed it into a beautiful machine where nearly all of the employees are doing good work and are satisfied with the working environment.  Now he will have another department in addition to the original one.  A large task, but I know that he will succeed.

It's rare for the position of Deputy Superintendent to be offered without the formal interview process, but that's just what happened in this case.  It's also rare for someone to be offered the office of Deputy without having actually taught in the schools.  But, I think what we are seeing here is that Joseph is not only highly intelligent, he also has the ability to learn what he needs to know for the position, have compassion, create good and safe boundaries and succeed in his work!

Congratulations Joseph!  Well deserved high five!!!

Special Florida birds and trees

Like I said, I didn't take photos this trip, so I'll have to rely on one of my favorite bird sites, allaboutbirds.org.

I had forgotten that we got to see a Worm-eating Warbler.  Nathan was telling us that he was seeing a warbler (can't remember which kind).  I got my binoculars on the bird I thought he was talking about and was instantly confused because of the stripey head.  Nathan had been hoping for this bird for years and finally, we were seeing it:

They do spend their time in particular forests, mostly on the forest floor, which is where we found it.

We were able to see a Flamingo, though Nathan thinks it wasn't a totally legit sighting.  He's thinking it's a feral bird or possibly an escapee.  There are all of these technical things you have to consider when you are a bird lister.  I'm not into listing, so I just look at the cool bird and shrug a little while he battles with the idea of whether or not the bird belongs on his ABA Life List.

A couple of the birds were very entertaining to watch.  First is the Reddish Egret.  We had been told about these birds and seen many pictures, so we were happy to see it at our very first birding location, Ding Darling.  Incidentally, Florida has some of the coolest named birding locales we have encountered.   Try these on for size:

Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge
Corkscrew Swamp Audubon Refuge
Fakahatchee Strand
Snake Bight Trail
Gumbo Limbo Trail


Back to the Reddish Egret.  This video shows what they look like while hunting:

 

Another beautiful bird to watch during feeding is the Black Skimmer:




We got to see an American Alligator eat a juvenile White Ibis.  It is the highlight of the trip for a couple of the kids.  Not because it's violent, but because it attests to the food web and cycles of Mother Nature.

Another bird I enjoyed, because I found it myself, was the Yellow-throated Warbler.  I pointed it out saying that it was a Black-and-white Warbler.  Elijah (I think?) said he could see a yellow throat.  If I were a better birder, I'm sure I wouldn't have made the mistake:

Yellow-throated Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler

A particular beauty that we saw on the Anhinga Trail in the Everglades was the Purple Gallinule.  These sometimes venture all the way to Michigan, but none of us have ever seen one before:

What a gorgeous bird!

Roseate Spoonbills were an all-around favorite too:

Maybe I'll post more of the birds we saw as the mood strikes.  I also wanted to give mention to some of the trees we saw.

Being in a family of one naturalist and six naturalist wanna-be's is fun.  We tend to look closely at just about every aspect of nature.  It's great to have all the extra sets of eyes to see things that otherwise might be missed.  It't also awesome to have a total smarty pants who not only knows most of the plants, trees, birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, ferns, etc, etc. of Michigan, but also knows tons about all of that stuff way down in Florida.  How does he do this?  I have no idea!!

The tropical forests in Florida are very different from our temperate forests.  There is very little overlap in the plants and trees.  Here are some of the common ones we got to know:

Royal Palm:

Gumbo Limbo:

Mangrove (special trees that can survive in salt water):

Live Oak:

Saw Palmetto:

One of my favorite hikes was in the Pinelands in Everglades.  There was an incredible amount of diversity.  My favorite part were the snails that suction themselves to the trees in the dry months and go dormant:

Oh, Florida!

I've made camping reservations to visit Florida for the past three years and then ended up canceling them each time due to finances or other obligations.

This year, we gave the kids a trip to Florida for Christmas along with a car-top carrier.  And...we went! Spring break was a blast!

We visited Collier-Seminole State Park which is on the northwest side of the Everglades.  Next, we camped in the Everglades at the Flamingo Campground.  Finally, we camped way out on the keys.

We hiked, birded, visited boardwalks, examined plants and trees, saw butterflies, reptiles (including an awesome diamondback rattlesnake), visited national wildlife refuges, got bitten by lots of mosquitos and no-see-ums, ate fresh coconuts, drove for hours and hours, fought, laughed, lost things, canoed, snorkeled at a coral reef, went on a glass bottom boat tour, were amazed.

I love Florida.  I love the Everglades.  I feel sad at the way humans have changed the way the water flows AND that climate change is likely to swamp this whole area and the biodiversity that depends on particular circumstances to thrive.

Just a few of the amazing birds we saw and heard:

Roseate Spoonbill
Black Skimmer
Flamingo
Wood Stork
White Ibis (we actually saw an alligator EAT a juvenile White Ibis!)
Reddish Egret
Glossy Ibis
Yellow-throated warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Purple Gallinule
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great White Heron
Swallow-tail Kite
Black vulture
Grey Kingbird
Royal Tern
American Avocet
Black-necked Stilt
Painted bunting
plus many, many more!!