Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Happy New Year!
It’s a New Year, with new ideas and new hopes and plans. It’s been pretty quiet in this space lately, as we focused on the holidays. I also took a writing class with Christina Katz from the end of October through Mid-December. Most of my writing energy went into that class instead of this blog,…
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Gifts for Nature Kids
Just popping in late this evening to let you know about my latest article for ParentMap. It’s got a bunch of ideas for gifts to give to your nature-loving children. If your kids are interested in birding, stargazing, camping, gardening, or rockhounding, I’ve got ideas for kits you can make to encourage them. My kids…
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Life On Ice
Last Monday I had the chance to go see a presentation called Life on Ice. You may have heard of this family, Bretwood “Hig” Higman and Erin McKittrick. They live in Alaska with their two young children, and run a non-profit called Ground Truth Trekking. The talk that they gave was about a trek they…
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Thinking About Fall and Winter
Well, we had a hike planned today. I even had the kids pick where to go, and they were looking forward to it. But when we woke up this morning, my most sensitive and emotional child burst into tears at the thought of hiking. I couldn’t get him to budge on the idea, even with…
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Lake 22 Trip Report
Buoyed by our success last week hiking to Talapus and Olallie, we decided to join our hiking friends again this week for a trip up to Lake 22. It had been 8 or 9 years since I was there; I didn’t enjoy the hike the first time. I had a toddler Gabriel on my back,…
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Buggin’ Out at Brightwater
Last Saturday we had the chance to go to a nature event at the Brightwater wastewater treatment plant. We looked in ponds for bugs: We looked at pond life under microscopes: We did some art projects: We enjoyed the art around the campus: We learned a bit more about the water cycle and the uses…
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Talapus and Olallie Lakes, Trip Report
My friend Kirsten and I have been wanting to hike together for awhile, and we finally had the chance last Friday. She invited me join her and her other friends and their dogs for a jaunt up to Talapus and Olallie Lakes. We got super lucky with the weather; Friday was supposed to be the…
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Whidbey Island Field Trip
My husband has been in between jobs, and started a new job on Monday. I wanted us to have one more family outing before he went back to work, so a week ago Friday we went up to Whidbey Island to poke around. We thought we might check out some trails, but the rain and…
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Tips for Fall Hiking
We were fortunate this year that our warm, sunny weather extended well into October. We were able to get out into nature without too much preparation. But now the rains have started, bringing cooler weather and snow to the mountains. Our attentions will turn closer to home, as we explore trails at lower elevations. We…
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And A Child Shall Lead Them: A Nature Walk
Sometimes my kids know better than I do what they need. Lately Annika has been asking every day to go out into nature, to have a peaceful walk in the forest. We are fortunate to have a green belt behind our home (it was one of the reasons we picked this house) and it makes…
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