Climbing Mt. Monadnock, NH

Yesterday my family and I climbed to the summit of Mt. Monadnock located in NH. It was an experience that my children will remember for the rest of their lives and so will I. That was our first climb up the mountain and we met some wonderful people. At the summit we met another family who also had their 8 year old boy the was making his first summit climb. When he found out it was also my son's first trip to the summit of a mountain he put his hand out they congratulated each other. It was great to see other families getting outside together. My children came down with such a sense of accomplishment. My son kept saying he couldn't believe he did it. We talked about now that they have climbed a mountain, if they get overwhelmed at school by a test or schoolwork all they have to do is take a breath and say "I can do this, I climbed a mountain." I think this especially hit home for my son because he is very intelligent but struggles with severe dyslexia and gets overwhelmed quickly. This was just the kind of confidence booster he needed even though that wasn't part of the original plan. Doing something together that is a first for the whole family (it was my first time up Mt. Monadock too) really bonded us together. And I had a blast adding to some beautiful landscape pictures to my photography portfolio!

Some hiking side notes:

Please be prepared! My son is a cub scout so we used planning this as a way for him to earn a belt loop, but plan and pack appropriately. There were a lot of people going up without the proper gear if they were to get in trouble.

We researched the trails ahead of time, packed a lot of water in each of our backpacks, I had rope, compass, whistle, extra food, blanket, first aid kit, ace bandages, and bug spray in mine to name a few things. We also talked about hiker safety and ethic. We stayed on the trails, payed attention to what trail we were following (encouraging our children to find the next trail marker), we stayed together, and followed "Leave No Trace" by cub scouts.

Mt. Monadnock- is aprox 3200 in elevation. We followed the white dot trail up (little over 2 miles to summit) and the white cross trail down. Both trails have some pretty tough terrain where we had to use 3 points of contact to maneuver. It took us about 2 hours up and 1.5 coming down.

Backyard Paradise

I am always encouraging my children stop and take notice of what is around them. I hope that I will be able to inspire others to do the same. Here are some pictures I took from my own back yard in Southern New Hampshire. As busy as we all are (believe me I have two children in 2 sports and each in other extra curricula activities all going on at the same time, plus working full time- I know what busy is) take some time this weekend to grab a cup of coffee and sit outside on your porch, steps, deck, etc and just observe your surroundings. You will be amazed at what you see that you had no idea was around you.

Have a great weekend and get outside!!!

Have an hour? Take a Hike!

This past weekend my children clearly needed something to do because they were making each other crazy. Who would think brothers and sisters do that? Anyways I told them we were going for a hike. With a little resistance they came, but as soon as we got to the park in town and took a few steps thier attitudes changed instantly. We didn't have a lot of time because we had plans later in the day, but you don't need a huge block of time to hike in your neighborhood. Our entire hike plus quick drive was about an hour long, but was so much more valuable in the interest it sparked in my children.

We quickly found a rock pile that my children enjoyed exploring and telling me about all the interesting facts they had been learning at school about the different types of rocks and minerals. Their rock and mineral itnersted continued through the entire hike and is something they are still talking about. We are planning on purchasing a field guide this weekend to take with us on our future hikes. My children went from not wanting to go to not being able to wait until our next one. Sometimes it getting children outside and away from the technology takes a little push, but they are usually very happy when the do!

Here are some pictures from our hike.

Don't forget Earth Day April 22nd! The Children and Nature Network has a link to search for acitivities that are happening in your area to get children outside. Check it out.

Click on one of the "Let's Go" Badges to the right to bring you there.

(Sorry for the delay in posts! Compurter problems)

Winter Fun!!!!!

I had the great opportunity to photograph the 1st Annual Winter Carnival at Riverside Dog Park in Raymond NH for the town committee. I am usually not a fan of cold weather but my family and I dressed warm and we had an absolute bast! It was a great event that got a lot of families outside in nature in the community, including the family dogs. They had so many events for the families to participate in together. It made me think why do we always seem to have so many outdoor events in the summer, and hardly any in the winter? If you dress appropriately (just like in the summer months) you can have as much fun outdoors. Here are some pictures took that day.

Fire pit and my children sledding.

Winter Paridise

Tug-of-War next to the dragon sculpted out of snow.

There off!!!! Snow Shoeing Races!!!

The Beach isnt Just for the Summertime

The weather warmed up for a few days so I went to the beach on my lunch break to see if there was any interesting to photography. It was a clear day and the visibility was great. I was able to take some pictures of the Isle of Shole, and some practice shots of birds in flight. I definitely have Spring Fever now and I am starting to research different places that I to explore with my family and camera this year!

It's Been a While but I am Back to Blogging

Wow, I can't believe I haven't made any posts since October! Life has been busy to say the least. Both my children have been involved in school sports, scouts, and my son has been diagnosed with a learning disability, most likely moderate dyslexia. So most of my time has been spent on the Basketball court side lines, being assistant leader to my son's cub scout den, and researching special education laws and learning strategies for dyslexia. ( I am considering starting another blog about what I have learned, and techniques I am trying with my son for other families that may be going through a similar experience.)

We had some wildlife visitors in our backyard visible through our kitchen window. We think they are after our chickens that we got last spring. Seeing these guys outside my kitchen window reminded me of the title of my blog "Outside Your Window" and made me realize I have been so busy taking care of everyone else I haven't been taking care of myself and the things I enjoy.

So I have made a point to get back outside with my camera (even though winter is in full force here in New England). I have been doing some hiking in the woods behind my house, and my children have joined me for some. They haven't gotten the whole quite in the woods to see the wildlife thing, but we have been able to see lots of tracks that we have identified and it has released some of their built up energy!

So here I am back to photography and blogging!

My son starting out on our hike and tracks we found in the snow.

Weekend Hiking

I decided to make it time to go hiking up in the White Mountains, NH this past weekend. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see the foliage in all it's splendour. I was a little disappointed to see that I had missed the peak, but it was still absolutely beautiful. My children were amazed by the snow cap mountain peaks while they were only in sweaters at the base. We took a small hike at Franconia's Notch Waterfall Trail and then we Walked around at The Basin. My children got a kick out of following the river. My son noticed that part of the river looked like a natural waterslide. It's also funny how when we think of waterfalls we think of warm, exotic places. Until I picked up a NH hiking map, I didn't even know how many waterfalls were in my home state, and they are just as beautiful. I can't wait to explore and photograph more of them!

Fall is Here!

We couldn't have asked for better weather this weekend. We spent a lot of time outdoors enjoying the fresh air and the beautiful fall foliage. We went on a few hikes this weekend, and took some time to look at the color patterns in the leaves. My children even noticed that leaves have some similarities to snowflakes. No two are exactly the same and they too float down to the ground. Hoping the weather holds out for next weekend, we have some more local places that we want to explore. I would love to get up to the White Mountains, especially the Flume or Lost River, but I am not sure if that is going to happen before the foliage peak is over. If my family has weekend that isn't filled with sports activities, you know where we will be going! Until then we will use the smaller amounts of down time to enjoy what is right around us.

NH Polar Caves

We took a ride up to the White Mountains here in NH to go explore the Polar Caves. We had a blast. We hadn't been there in about 5 years, and I wish we had gone sooner. The sights were amazing and climbing through the caves and learning about the different minerals in the rocks was very interesting. We also visited the Maple Sugar Museum that was on their property. The old tools and machines they used to make maple syrup were amazing. I was nice to not only have a fun family outing, but I also had the opportunity to teach my children about history and geology. We read the signs that described what the minerals were in the rocks and how the caves were formed by glaciers. It was again a place that is in my own state that I had taken for granted and forgotten about. I encourage everyone to explore what is right around you. You will probably be surprised at what you will discover.

Little Bit of Everything

It has been a while since my last post. I have been enjoying being outdoors with my family. We have been doing a little bit of everything. Camping, hiking, beach, and so much more. I also have been putting together my website (www.treasuredmomentsbydaniele.com) when I have had some free time. Last week my children and I enjoyed a nice picnic dinner on the beach after work. It was so nice to do something different and enjoy the evening air outdoors. My children enjoyed it so much they want to do it again this week. This week we are going to go to a local state park, have our picnic, do a little hiking, and if it's warm enough a little swimming. Most places in my area do not charge an entrance fee after a certain time, so it is a very inexpensive way to enjoy the outdoors and it breaks up the weekly routine. We are probably going to make this a weekly event until it gets to cold (which I hope isn't for a long time!) Climbing the rocks at the beach

Dragonflies we saw on one of our hikes around a pond.

More pictures from the pond.