Boot Lake Nature Preserve Hike 2016

My dad is officially retired...well, at least from one job.  He'll be starting  another one soon, but for now, he's enjoying some free time with his wife and with us!  Jonathon happened to have the day off on the day that I had planned to meet my parents at a nature preserve in Elkhart.  He had other work around the farm to do, but decided to go with us and work when we got back.  A morning hike was just what we all needed.  

Boot Lake Nature Preserve in Elkhart, IN is a great park for hiking!  It's tucked away with great birding, trails of various kinds, and it's quite large, so we got in approximately a 2 mile hike.  Thanks to our friends the Brothers for letting us try their ergo for the baby.  With a big hiking trip in June planned we wanted to see if this would be easier on the shoulders.  Sure enough, it's much easier. 

 A tree for boys to hide in.  Just what they needed. :)

 I love loading Alegra's pics onto the computer to see what caught her eye to capture on her camera.  She truly delights in the little things and that delights me!

 Such small details, but life was thriving within every facet of these woods.

 There was some off trail hiking going on to look for mushrooms.

 This big bull frog somehow caught my eye as he tried hiding himself within the weeds.

 The sandhill cranes were amazing!  Their sound echoed through the woods all during our hike.  It was so lovely!

 I don't know how she spotted this tree frog.

 Ah, spring life!

A sandhill crane sitting on her nest, while a goose swims by.  Such wonderful birding!

 The first butterfly of the season, spotted here.  Lots of little blue ones too.

 Chipmunk

 Butterfly and bee.  They are doing their jobs and enjoying the warmth.

 Blue jay

 And then mushrooms were found.  This was the first time my mom has ever hunted for mushrooms.  We always had them when I was growing up, but it was always us children and my dad that would go.  Snakes and poison ivy kept my mom far from the woods.  This one was along the trail that she saw.  A moment of history right there!  :)  

 The older children took off ahead of us and didn't realize we weren't going the same way.  We just cut across the field some and took their picture on the other side.  They are getting old enough that I don't worry about their skills with finding where to go on trails.  They do really well!

 There were a few signs like the one above with information to learn about the park.  This one was of the various birds that can be spotted.  One a little further back was about fire restoration.  That one was quite interesting and we all learned a few things about how they control the fire and why.

 After Hadassah took a nap, she woke up thinking she should hike like her papa.  Jonathon said while he walked, she kept hold of his stick and laughed with every step.  She sure is a joy!

Another enjoyable hike!  Trying to squeeze in the time with my parents to help encourage all of us to get up and move while the weather is nice.   We'll see where our next adventurous hike takes us and who will join us!  School is almost out and the garden a little bit started.  Once those 2 things are done and completed, we'll be ready to explore the summer away!

If you know of any other really great parks with interesting trails or educational boards to read and learn, we'd love to hear about them!

Rum Village 2016

My dad got free tickets to a Notre Dame baseball game and the girls didn't want to go along, so we girls headed to Rum Village in South Bend while the guys went to the game.  It's a lovely park with great plant life and a nature center.  The trail has about a 1 mile loop with other connecting trails and a mountain bike trail across from where the actual park entrance is.  We enjoyed our day there and got in some good exercise.

 Saphira is always our map holder.

She knows the way!

 Sleepy baby.

 Jack-in-the-pulpit, one of our favorite plants in the woods.

 I don't know how Alegra sees some of the things she does.  A little chipmunk in this log caught her eye.

 A red bellied woodpecker.

 The trails in this park are marked very well.  We always appreciate when we know right where we're at according to the map.

 This is a grafitti tree.  Now I don't encourage carving in the trees, but this one has been being carved in for a long time.  As the tree grew, the names that were carved into it, grew too.  Way up above our heads were names that didn't look recognizable anymore, but were there.  I wonder how long ago the first carving was.

 When the game ended the boys met up with us at the park.  What fun to run into them along the trail.

This park is really enjoyable.  It's in town, yet tucked away where it can still be quiet and peaceful.  The trails are most level, but there are some hills that are just enough of an incline to make it bearable yet not exhausting.  Let us know if you swing by there and what you think!  Since we didn't get to as many parks last summer as we wanted to because of me being pregnant and having some complications, we decided we'll try again this year.  So far we're enjoying the weather and creation, and looking forward to more of it!