I know, I know, you are screaming at me that I'm crazy.
It's not that I can't wait for winter, because I can, it's just that I do love window shopping online, and as I've said before, my secret obsession is buying outerwear.
Yes, I'm weird.
The number of times I actually purchase anything is really minimal, but I can still dream, right?
Anyhow, back to summer.
We have only one week left until school begins, and I'm still unsure as to whether I'm happy or sad about that. More sad, I think.
In an effort to take advantage of the good weather while it's still here, we decided to go camping last weekend in Arrowhead Provincial Park that is in Huntsville.
We had a pretty good time, even though my DH really doesn't like car camping. He says it's not "real" camping, but sleeping in a tent practically on the ground, having to hike to the bathroom and cooking outdoors is real enough for me.
When I was a kid, my dad used to take my sister N and I camping quite a bit. I don't really remember many camping trips involving my younger siblings (S and A), nor my mother, so I'm guessing she declined a lot in favour of staying behind with the littler ones and a comfortable bed and private washroom. We used to take hikes through the woods, and my dad would point out all the flora and fauna and fungi that he could identify, and the ones he couldn't as well. Any love of nature I have is due to him. I think if he had never done this, exposed us to camping and nature, I really wouldn't be very outdoorsy at all. And I'm pretty lacking in that area as it is. So, thank you Dad.
The coolest part of our nature hikes were looking at all the fungi and mushrooms. We really don't know any names of any of them, but always found them fun to look at and poke. Here are some pictures of our trip and wildlife. Sorry they are all out of order and mixed up. I still can't figure out how to get them the way I want...Hope you like 'em!
At the falls in the park. The sign says "no swimming" but everyone does anyway. Who can resist a natural jacuzzi?
Some awesome fungi. I really like the one above, it looks like lacy coral to me.
Above, the boys climbing the falls (probably not the best idea), and below, L holding a salamander found in a rotting log.
Below, a shot from our canoe ride.
The falls again.
R taking a turn to paddle the canoe. He did really well!
This guy (a great blue heron) was hanging out at the bottom of the falls watching everyone watching him.
You comment about not remembering camping with your other siblings or your mom has me thinking. That I *need* to make sure that I join in with things more than I tend to do. As a mom, sometimes it's nice to sit back with the little (and usually less demanding) ones. But the bigger kids need the good memories too! That said, it's also nice that you have such great memories of doing things with your dad :)
ReplyDeleteGreat pics, btw!