Happy First Day of Summer and Taking a Micro-Hike

Happy first day of summer!  Today we are having a much needed break in the rain, and the sky welcomed in the summer with nice warm sunshine and lots of big white fluffy clouds.  They were so pretty I had to take a few pictures.

I also thought this sunny day lily was a pretty sight.

I am so eager for the sunny weather to begin, I love getting outside, and taking time to explore nature. I love exploring during all of the other seasons as well, but the sunshine really draws me out, I just love it!  Today I pulled out a book called Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell, this is a classic book about sharing nature with children, written for parents and teachers.  There are so many wonderful ideas for exploring nature.  One idea caught my attention today- The Micro-Hike.

All you need to take a micro-hike is a piece of string between 3 and 5 feet long, and other helpful items might be a magnifying glass, and a pencil and sketch pad.

Find an interesting spot in your garden, or a park, or when you  are out exploring nature, and lay down the string.  Then carefully inch by inch really explore that space.  Pretend you are a small bug walking through the space, think of the space from that view point.  Be sure to look nice and close.  With children, have fun talking about what they see, and what they imagine about that space.

I decided to try this out in my backyard, but sadly couldn't find my magnifying glass anywhere.  It is really interesting to look at a small space and really explore that space, it really gets you to look a the details of the individual plants, in this case, weeds that have filled up my corner garden bed, there were so many different plants it was interesting.  As well as all the little insects that you start to notice are present in that space.

We did a similar activity with one of my favorite teachers in grade school. Instead of exploring along the length of a string, he gave us a string tied into a circle, that we laid out on the ground at a nearby forested park, and carefully observed what was inside the string circle.  I remember we spent quite some time observing and sketching out what we saw in our nature journals.

The micro-hike is an idea meant for a children's activity, but I think it can be just as enjoyable as an adult as well.  Sort of a nice relaxing little nature activity, and a good time to pull out the sketch pad, or camera.  I love getting outside, even for just a few minutes and get a little dose of nature, it is always rejuvenating.

Have a wonderful summer day!

I would highly recommend Sharing Nature With Children by Joseph Cornell you can read more about it through my Amazon link.