Posts Tagged ‘3 Minute Hike’

Spring Forward

Sunday, March 14th, 2010

Thinking about moving the clocks forward this morning started me thinking about spring. While there are still snow storms to come here in the Rocky Mountains, the weather has ben warming up the last few days. It is hard not to get excited to spend more time outside when the weather is warm and the skies are clear. The extended daylight makes it even more tempting to go outside.

I spent yesterday at a very busy park in Denver. There were all kinds of people walking, running, playing, and strolling. The people that stood out most to me were the parents with children. A mom was running while her son happily rode his bike. A girl was helping push her own stroller. Then there was a boy stomping his feet in protest behind his mom telling him to “hurry up.” I have been around enough small children to know there are times you want them to move just a little faster. In the park though?

There is an article in the new April issue of Real Simple. The author writes about taking his toddler for a walk and just letting him explore. He admits to being a busy person, and probably would like to move quicker from place to place most of the time. However, he realized the benefits of slowing down and taking time to explore and letting his children enjoy their time outside. He mentioned Nature Deficit Disorder and how to combat it. I’m not doing the article justice here – it is on page 216 so you can read more.

I read this article last week and it jumped back to my mind while I was watching the families at the park. While I’m sure the mom with the unhappy toddler had the best intentions by taking time to go to the park, I wondered if the time was beneficial to either mom or son. The children that appeared to be having the most fun were those who were meandering, exploring the sidewalk for cracks, looking in the grass for bugs, and mostly leading their parents. I’m sure some of these parents would have liked to move a little quicker and say “hurry up,” but they didn’t.

While I don’t have children to take wandering in the park, seeing these families made me slow down. Rather than running as quickly as I could to finish my loop and move on with my day, I slowed down. I finished running my loop, then took the time to walk a second loop. It was amazing the things I missed the first time. I noticed the mountains in the distance, big trees, Geese in the ponds, the spots with brown versus green grass. I know I didn’t get the same physical exercise with my second, slower loop, but the mental awareness was worth it.

As we spring forward this weekend, I think it is a good time to remember to take time to take in our surroundings, slow down, meander, explore…

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Posted in Outdoor Education, Parenting | 4 Comments »

Raven Raindrops

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

This morning, I was feeling extra cabin-feverish, but didn’t have the time to go on a full on hike before heading off to work.  Instead of shrugging my shoulders and pushing the urge out of my mind, I decided that rather than starting the car and heading back inside until it warmed up, I would take a short walk down the road in front of my cabin.

I headed toward Pike’s Peak, crunching through the snow.  Enormous black ravens circled over my head ominously.  They squawked, “CAAW! CAAW!” an ugly sound, I thought, from an ugly bird.  So much for my peaceful three-minute hike.  I reached a patch of sunlight and stood facing it, absorbing the warmth.  “CAAW!  CAAW!”  I tried to block the sounds out of my mind.  But then, I heard another sound.  It was familiar, yet not quite something I’d heard before.  It came from above me, like a raindrop, the dripping sound of water into a small pool, but amplified.  I scanned the trees.  It was the raven.

Amazed, I listened.  There it was again.  “Ker-PLOP!”  It was incredible.

I have since searched the National Geographic and Audubon Society websites and the only scientific proof I can find regarding the capability for a Raven to produce this sound is that ravens can vocalize “a sharp, metallic tock.”  Ravens, I learned, are able to learn sounds–even the human voice.  I suspect that this particular vocalist must have had an affinity for the sound of raindrops.

My point is that a short, three minute hike truly fed me.  I was inspired by this species of bird I’d so erroneously dismissed before.  I was in a better mood on my drive to work.  And it only took three minutes.

It’s something that any of us could do, really, with the kids before loading them into the car or on our own down the street in front of the house (there’s plenty of nature to be found in a subdivision, too!).  Too often we get into the mentality of all-or-nothing: if we were to commit to hiking once a week, it’d have to be a substantial distance to a substantial vista in order to be worth the trouble.  Not true.  Creating a small habit that only last for three minutes, one morning per week is absolutely better than not doing it at all.  The secret is approaching it with an attitude of openness, of wonder.  This attitude is something we can practice every day, in any climate, even in the mundane moments of driving the kids to school or walking outside instead of sitting in the break room for lunch.

So I would pose a challenge to all of us: Take three minutes out of one weekday to engage with the outdoors in some small way.  Give it the opportunity to become a habit.  Who knows what wonders you’ll find singing just outside your window!

–Jessie Tierney

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Posted in Children and Nature, Fun Activities, Nature Activity, Nature Stories, Parenting | No Comments »