There isn’t a time when I can’t remember loving the outdoors. In fact, most of my childhood’s earliest memories...and also some of my fondest... replay experiences had in nature.

My youthful days were spent under ancient lilac bushes, building forts from blankets and chairs under towering pine trees, and ambushing my parents from over a grassy bank at the edge of our property leading to the woods. 

It is hard to choose a favorite memory, impossible really. Would it be the times spent on my old swing-set under the trees with Mr. Woodpecker keeping me company in a nearby tree?  Or the time a black bear prowled the old abandoned dump between a neighbor’s property and ours, highlighted at the crest by the setting sun? 

Perhaps I’d choose one of the times the spring storms would be bearing down on us and my Father stood outside watching before they hit....like a mighty sentinel...winds buffeting him. 

Then there was another time, my Mother saved some raccoon babies beside a remote road, their mother having been hit by a passing vehicle.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t recount the experience of stumbling upon a wounded hawk with busted wing, straddling a rock out in the middle of a waterfall. The mighty creature allowed us to carefully bundle him in a jacket and transport him to a wildlife station for treatment. Along the way, I got to hold him still bundled in my lap...he perfectly still with talons curled...me in awe of him, and of the honor.

So many memories to choose from! I simply can’t pick one over another.....

Times spent canoeing in northern lakes, wading along shores, hiking to remote areas...amazing times all, from the smallest outing to the grandest and most unusual.

This year, I’ve added kayaking to my repertoire. Oh, yes....this middle-aged chick gets around (but in a good way!) So, not only can I venture out across fields and through forests, now the waterways also have been opened up to me. I am in heaven....and am putting some serious mileage on my new, trusty kayak!  Expect many entries from these adventures.

(Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture? Do you see it? That’s right...no PFD! Bad varmint! Even though I was very close to shore, I should have had mine on. ALWAYS wear your PFD when on the water.)

I was raised to have an appreciation, respect and love of the outdoors, of nature... and all of her residents.  I believe that the miraculous occurs regularly, continually, and all around us every day and throughout it.  It doesn’t matter where we are, where we work, where we live. It is there. We miss most of it though, with our busy lives, stresses...the daily grind.  We are rarely "present," and because of this are not aware of the divine and magickal that swirls around us continually. It is there, everywhere, even in the concrete jungles, though it is fainter and much harder to "connect" to it all there. The wild places and creatures however, are a pure fountain and reservoir....a direct and untainted connection to the divine.

"Exploring the Wilds" has been created, in part, to share with you my wild experiences and my family’s, both from the past and on-going.  More importantly, it is intended to encourage and nudge you towards venturing out yourselves....into the wonder and grandeur of it all for the mind, body, and soul nourishment that only nature and time spent there, can provide.