Hi, welcome back and happy mother's day!
Today just Maisy and I hiked in the morning. Halfway through the hike we found a leaf that was more than a foot long and smelled horrible. I couldn't tell what kind of leaf it was, so I carried it home. I asked my dad if he knew what it was, and he had no idea.
This afternoon I hiked again with my dad and Maisy. We didn't go all the way up the hill, but because I lost my headlamp when I was sleeping last night, we went up through the trees to look for it. We couldn't find it. When I was taking my sleeping bag out to the tent, though, I found it at the bottom of my bag! That was a big relief.
When we got to the pond we saw that there are still a lot of tadpoles in the puddle. Some of them have worked their way across the little breaks between the puddles and gotten closer to the waterfall that will put them in the creek, but I'm worried that the puddles may dry up before they all make the trip.
I scooped some of them up and put them in the pond, but dad and I are going to take a cup or something tomorrow and try to get the rest of them.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Don't forget the Great American Backyard Campout is just a little more than a month away. I'm going to set up an email address so you can tell me about your plans to camp out and then send pictures after the big day.
Last night instead of sleeping in the tent I bivouacked on the hill. "Bivouac" is a French word that means "a temporary camp without tents or cover." I just rolled out my sleeping pad and bag and slept without anything waterproof on me, so thankfully it didn't rain overnight. Maisy slept with me so I rigged up a chest harness that had her leash attached to me. That way she wouldn't run away. I slept well through the night until Maisy literally pulled me out of my sleeping bag at 5:15 in the morning.
Today just Maisy and I hiked in the morning. Halfway through the hike we found a leaf that was more than a foot long and smelled horrible. I couldn't tell what kind of leaf it was, so I carried it home. I asked my dad if he knew what it was, and he had no idea.
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| Saving Tadpoles |
I scooped some of them up and put them in the pond, but dad and I are going to take a cup or something tomorrow and try to get the rest of them.
Thanks for reading!
P.S. Don't forget the Great American Backyard Campout is just a little more than a month away. I'm going to set up an email address so you can tell me about your plans to camp out and then send pictures after the big day.
Hey LRC, hope you get that eMail Adress up and running soon :-)
ReplyDeleteGreetings from another Outdoor enthusiast from Germany!
Thomas
Thanks, Thomas! You will be the first to know when it's running.
DeleteHey LRC - I love your blog!!! I'm also a big hiker and backpacker and snow-shoer (is that a real word?) mostly around Mt. Rainier in Washington State. Keep it up, I wish more kids would do what you are doing and enjoy being outdoors so much :)
ReplyDeleteAMR
Thanks for commenting AMR! Since you do a lot of snowshoeing around Rainier, I was wondering if you've ever climbed it. Oh, and I think snowshoer is definitely a word.
DeleteHi LRC,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Ammon McNeely. You're the coolest, most adventurous kid I've seen, ha ha. I've been a climber pretty much my entire life and have mainly been doing big walls for the last 15 years. I've slept hundreds of nights hanging on a portaledge, thousands of feet in the air. Maybe someday I can take you and your dad up on a wall.
Anyway, I saw a link on facebook that a friend posted and just wanted to tell you that I love your inspiration and passion for the outdoors and adventure. I wish more kids were like you.
I'll check back and see how your doing from time to time. I can tell you're going to go a long way in life.
Have fun! Ammon
Oh, I forgot to tell you. I took my son Austin up El Capitan, in Yosemite, when he was 11 and spent 6 nights on the face. He became the youngest (at the time) person to climb the face.
ReplyDeleteAmmon
Thanks for commenting Ammon! I've never slept on a portaledge, but I'm willing to try it if you take me up El Cap! My dad says thanks for the offer, but he'd rather not sleep that high off the ground. How old is Austin now? Has he done any more climbing since that?
DeleteI just found your blog from a link on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteYou rock! Like Ammon, I've spent dozens of night sleeping on cliffs and on the ground. In fact, sometimes when I'm laying in bed, looking outside, I want to get my bag and pad and sleep out in the grass, under the stars.
How old are you? I'm 57.
Thanks, Mark! That's a great picture. I'm just 10, but I know exactly what you mean about wanting to sleep outside. Last school year there were a lot of times I wanted to sleep outside, but my parents didn't think I would get enough sleep. That hasn't been a problem this year. Actually, I sleep better outside!
DeleteAlso, I was wondering where you took that picture. How high up are you?
DeleteGood evening, LRC! My name is Spryte - I just found your blog yesterday, but I'm so intrigued by your topic that I've already caught up on all of your past posts!
ReplyDeleteI suspect that the long, squiggly things that you found in the puddle were in fact TOAD eggs. Frogs and toads both lay eggs in the water, but frogs lay their eggs in clumps, where as toads lay eggs in long strands. I suspected that when I read your first post about the "long squiggles", and wasn't surprised at all to hear that tadpoles have appeared. You should keep an eye on them if you can, and see if you can watch as their legs start to grow!
Kudos on your tenacity in sleeping each night out-of-doors, I can tell you are determined to complete your goal! I will enjoy following your tale as you tell it... have the spring flowers started blooming in your woods yet?
Thanks for commenting Spryte! Thanks for telling us those are actually toad eggs. We brought some of them back from the pond yesterday (I'll be posting about that later tonight), and I will let you know what happens to them!
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