Sunday 29 May 2011

our adventure continues

It has always been important for me to let the children have as much 'free time' out doors as possible, before we moved, we were the luckiest people there was, we lived in the middle of nowhere with simple countryside and nothing else outside our door, away from the reality that is present for the majority, away from fast cars, and strangers, free to go and do as we pleased with only nature to cause us trouble.

So obviously my three children have spent their tender years experiencing the great outdoors, climbing trees and running through fields, watching as the seasons change and nature paints new pictures, never bothering if it is cold, wet or windy, always finding something outside that could occupy and entertain.

We spent so many happy days flying kites as the wind blew, building snowmen when it snowed, wrapping coats around to keep warm whilst looking into the dim sky, we spent time collecting insects, watching tadpoles become frogs, pond dipping to find what lurked below, we reared chickens and collected their eggs for breakfast, finding our way through trees using the branches to make dens or as weapons to fend off nasties, we watched sunsets and danced in the rain.
Obviously our adventures brought fun, but also lessons learnt finding our boundaries, realising nettles stung and its not wise to pass through thorns taller than your head, testing physics as rope swings broke followed by bones!

then we moved house...

With a heavy heart we had to leave behind where we'd always known, our lifestyle we knew and loved, our outside adventures.

We moved to where the rest of the world lived, we moved to where there are cars, and new dangers and houses outside our door where the fields used to be.

Yet amidst this our adventures continue, the great outdoors is not relevant to where in the country you live, nature is not only there for those who are lucky enough to be surrounded by nothing but its glory, oh no nature is everywhere, and there is an outdoor adventure waiting for everyone.

Now we have a garden with a fence all around it, but there are plants we are growing and insects still visit. Now we walk down the street to get to a nature trail, but once we're there we are emerged in what we know and love, and now there are new places to find and trees to climb.

Children grow and learn so much from being outside, and it is the truly simple things that matter, everyone is near enough to some sort of countryside, some park, some trees, so go find your out door adventures and watch them grow!

if you've got a minute - or ten, feel free to watch my slide show of a few of my favourite outdoors photos :D




I wrote this about a year ago when not many people read my blog...  so I'm linking it to TheBoyandMe's linky
ShowOff Showcase

10 comments:

  1. There really are no reasons not to get out more, only excuses. I need to find my get up and go before my son has got up and gone to school. Thank you for reminding me.

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    1. :) thanks for commenting I hope you find time to get out abit more :) x

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  2. This is a fabulous post, I really love the picture that you've painted of your previous life; it makes me yearn to go digging in the undergrowth and build dens. I'm so much of a townie, I'm not sure I'd ever cope but I'd love to give it a try!

    Thanks for linking this up to ShowOff ShowCase.

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    1. Thanks TBAM, I miss living so close to the woods and fields, even tho we are still only a stones throw away we now live on a street in a smallish village verging on the edge of a little town, where as before we lived in the middle of no where, watching this slide show makes me cry :'(

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  3. What a lovely post, you make it sound heavenly. I live in the country surrounded by trees and rivers etc and have never take my two out to build dens, look at frogspawn etc etc. You have given me a wake up call and I will do my best to make sure we all enjoy it and make the most of it.
    The slideshow is lovely

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    1. Thank you, please do make time to go enjoy the countryside, its an amazing place for children to just be left to explorer the world around them and if you live within driving distance of a wood deffinately make time to go and build a den!!!! :)

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  4. What a wonderful slide show and such a from the heart blog post. I can understand just how you must have felt moving. I can only manage a week away from home before I crave our farm woods, and lovely beaches, I would hate to move far from Coombe Mill. The main thing is you do still get out in the country and your children and Jackson always look like they appreciate the effort you make to take them there. I hope one day you and the children will be able to have the freedom you crave on the doorstep again.

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  5. you are so right and i must make more effort to go outdoors more, even if its a bit cold!! although i don't have s garden for my children, i do live near a park so i have no excuse really not to venture out more in the fresh air/ and Burton loves being out and about. hmmm your post has got me thinking - thank you xx

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    1. oh yes do go out and enjoy just doing nothing much except being outside... we now dont have a very big garden at all (think postage stamp!) but we do still enjoy being outside at every opportunity and if you do get out make sure you take alook at coombe mills country kids linky sharing and encouraging the benefits of being outdoors :) x

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