Outdoor Mom’s Journal – December Edition
It isn’t until I look back over my photos for each month that I realize just how many outdoor related activities fill my days. I love taking photos of my backyard birds and I really do take a lot of them throughout the month. Many are blurry and not worth saving but every now and then get lucky and capture a beauty like this grosbeak.
November is always exciting because I start participating in Project Feederwatch. I think this is such a simple way to remind me of all the beautiful birds that come to visit my yard each week. I don’t spent lots of time sitting and watching the feeders out the window but I do it consistently each week. We have lots of birds to count and I think I will create a recap of my lists later in the month.
The highlight of our month was a trip with our two sons to Pinnacles National Park. Of course I will be sharing more thoroughly about our visit in an up-coming blog entry but I wanted to share a few images as part of my Outdoor Mom’s Journal too. Pinnacles National Park is off the beaten path a bit but it was surprisingly close to our house, only about a three hour drive on really good roads.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you have never heard of Pinnacles National Park. I went there once as a young girl but we had never taken our family there. It is a beautiful place to hike and explore. The rock formations are so pretty and unique in that they form a perfect habitat for the endangered California condor! We actually saw one from a distance on our trip!
We did quite a bit of hiking during our stay. It was cold but the sun was out…at the beginning of this hike, the thermometer in our truck said it was 27 degrees. Now that is cold!!! We set off on the shady side of the mountain but within the first mile you break out into the sunshine and from going uphill you generate quite a bit of your own heat.
Happy mom! I love hiking with the boys…they make it a lot of fun. We did a little over seven miles on this day and I lived to tell all about the High Peaks Trail, especially the “Steep and Narrow” section where there are stone steps and handrails.
We also made a visit to Sunset Beach…it has a long stretch of sand to walk. What is it about beach walking to relax and rejuvenate your spirits? There was this rather large flock of gulls taking over this area of the sand but they let us walk on by with no issues. Some afternoons you wish you could just bottle up for a cold winter’s day and this was one of those afternoons. Perfect!
We were surprised by the number of intact sand dollars we found, many of them with some sort of plant growing on them and some barnacles too! This one was purple and pink…amazing!
Outdoor Mom’s Journal
Whether your family spends a few minutes a week outside or hours at a time, share what is going on in your world. I hope you have enjoyed your October nature adventures.
How Do You Join?
Answer all or just one of the prompts in a blog entry on your own blog or right here on my blog in a comment. If you answer on your blog, make sure to leave me a link in a comment so that I can pop over and read your responses.
- During our outdoor time this week we went….
- The most inspiring thing we experienced was…
- Our outdoor time made us ask (or wonder about)…
- In the garden, we are planning/planting/harvesting….
- I added nature journal pages about….
- I am reading…
- I am dreaming about…
- A photo I would like to share…
I will be posting my Outdoor Mom’s Journal entry once a month. Look for it during the first week of the month each month.
The sand dollar you found was actually a living sand dollar. They have a fuzzy coat, if you will, when they are alive. When they die they lose that fuzz.
See…always learning! Good thing we left it on the beach!
I wish we lived closer to National Parks. It seems like you have so many around you which would be nice. The live sand dollar is amazing! What a find! I’ve only seen ones that are white and no longer living.
Did my Outdoor Mom’s Journal for January 2016 here: http://harvestmoonbyhand.blogspot.com/2016/01/outdoor-moms-journal-january-2016.html if you’d like to stop by to see what’s happening in a significantly more frigid part of the country.
That is some really cold weather!!!! We have started adding state parks and historic sites to our list of things to do and they are just as interesting as national parks. Of course, a national park has its charm and we will always try to fit some in where ever we go. Thanks for sharing your link, enjoyed reading your entry this morning.