Nature hikes in fall

My children and I often go on nature hikes throughout the year. It is a great way to see my children appreciating all of nature’s gifts from birds to bugs to beautiful vistas. Last Sunday, we visited one of our favorites, Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills. We even took our 12-week-old puppy, Copper, along with us for the first time.

Irvine Nature Center 10/2012

It was a perfect weather day and my children ran down the trail with great excitement. We stopped at every log to see if we could find some colorful salamanders hiding for cover from my anxious 7, 8 and 9 year olds. In all, I think we rounded about about 17 little lizards and when we carefully placed them back under a new log at the end of the trail, my children had given each a name. Of course, it was a bit of a challenge to keep Copper from eating them. (This puppy eats ANYTHING!)
At the end of our short hike, my children enjoyed playing on the Irvine Nature Center playground which is a wondrous, exploratory adventure that could have kept my children occupied for hours. It is a brilliantly planned landscape with what seems to be all-naturally created climbing fun for the kids. There was a tree that seemed ideally placed for the playground, and a rock climbing wall made of sticks and mud. There were play areas for children of all ages, one more fascinating than the other.
I highly recommend a day of fun at Nature Center if you can get out there before winter really sets in. Happy trails!

17 salamanders

Building block station - Irvine Nature Center playground

Climbing wall - Irvine Nature Center playground