Places to Go - Huntley Meadows in Summer (Alexandria, VA)

We spent the last day before school started at Huntley Meadows, one of our absolute favorite places to explore. We picked an incredible time to go - snakes, turtles, and frogs were everywhere, more than I've ever seen there before, and a huge beaver dam sits right off the boardwalk. Before we left, F made a scavenger hunt list and we found almost everything on her list (four leaf clovers proved tricky, especially in a wetland, and we didn't spot any deer).

For those of you who have visited before, you walk approximately a half mile through a beautiful and stroller-friendly path to arrive at a huge boardwalk through wetlands. Usually this boardwalk takes you through a huge pond, full of geese and egrets, but this summer the pond dried up, leaving behind a vast green meadow. Sort of crazy to see a whole body of water just disappear. Sort of disorientating. But, as always, the wetlands as a whole are beautiful.

Anyways, if you're looking for something to do this week/weekend, I highly suggest a trip to Huntley Meadows, as you're sure to see something new and exciting. (For past posts on Huntley and for a chance to view the wetlands in different seasons, click here).

Happy Monday!!

RANDOM LINKS:

*These photos of the paralympics are both amazing and inspiring.

*50,000 toys become art.

*Jessica Snow. I really her work.

*This photography exhibition at George Mason looks fantastic. More images are on the website here.

Places to Go - Huntley Meadows in the Winter (Alexandria, VA)

I have not posted on any places to go lately, mainly because we haven't really gone anywhere. Between moving and making the old house market ready (we just signed a contract. yay!!), we've been busy on weekends, even nice weekends, with 60 degree days (we seem to have those a lot lately). Which is making me sad. Adventures must be planned.

Anyways, while perusing my online files, I found these pictures from January and February 2009, so I thought I'd share. I've written about Huntley Meadows before, but never during the winter months (click here to see pics from summer and fall). In the coldest months, when the cattails are low, the vistas from Huntley's boardwalk become breathtaking. Temps are predicted to reach 50 degrees on Saturday, so if you're looking for something to do, I highly suggest a visit.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

WEEKEND LINKS:

*At home with Kelly Wearstler. I could live here. Really.

*Egypt, A Year Later, Still young, Still fighting. Beautiful photos.

*Who knew you could have this much fun at the Golden Nugget hotel?

*I love these sort of videos (the kind where one thing knocks over something else, starting a whole long chain of events), they have one at the Hirshhorn and every time I go I watch it over and over again (the kids love it too).

*Tree line.



Amazing how much changes in three years. Dora is long lost and F would never wear a princess dress out in public. But we still collect a lot of sticks along every walk.



Looking back moments like this always seem so precious. But then I remember how randomly such moments would arrive. How all of a sudden one of the girls would sit for what seemed like forever exploring a stick and they'd scream like bloody murder if I tried to move them along. And there were always two. One who wanted to sit and one who wanted to go. And who wanted to do what would change on any given day. I'm exhausted thinking about it.

Places to Go - Huntley Meadows in Spring (Alexandria, VA)

I've already posted about Huntley Meadows in the fall (click here for my previous post), but this place is so beautiful and kid-friendly that we try to make it once each season (at a minimum). My kids love the number signs/maps that show where you are on the trail (#5 is pictured above), they like to race from one sign to the next. Huntley especially rocks in the spring (yes, I just used "rocks" as a verb, I'm tired today) as all the green starts to peak through the blankets of dead leaves (soon, if not already, the wildflowers will bloom). On the day that we went, all three kids ran and ran with F proclaiming "wow, mom, I never realized it was THIS pretty here." So we'll be back. Of course. We didn't spot any major wildlife but we ran into a family who saw two turtles and a bunch of frogs, so I guess we just didn't look closely enough. Maybe next time.





By the way, the girls decided to buy and wear matching dresses, I had nothing to do with it.

Places to Go - Huntley Meadows (Alexandria, VA)

Huntley Meadows Nature Preserve is one of our absolute favorite places in the DC metro area. You begin your visit walking down a beautiful forest path, surrounded on all sides by REALLY tall trees (don't forget to look up, the view is amazing) after about 0.5 miles you arrive at a boardwalk through a wetland - prepare to see turtles, geese, butterflies, heron, and frogs. Plus, cattails - lots and lots of them. Every time we visit, we search for a mongoose, but we haven't found one yet (the fact that we're noisy doesn't help). Seriously, it's an absolute gorgeous place. We try to come here at least once a season, to check out the changing scenery (I love how the forest becomes a blanket of green mixed with white wildflowers in spring). After the boardwalk (which is quite lengthy) you can turn around or walk further ahead, so that you'll eventually make a loop through the forest. The whole place is stroller friendly and, though rarely crowded, there are always enough people around that you never feel uncomfortable. If you want to take your children to a nature place that they're sure to love, this is the place. There's also a visitors center, which is mainly geared towards older children.

Have a great Monday everyone!
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And if you need some inspiration, here are some great links from around the web:

*The guerilla knitting movement is so cool, to learn more about it and see some great photos, check out this blog.

*These globes are so so beautiful. I really want one. (courtesy of DesignSponge). Plus, I'm in love with this ugly cabinet to beautiful playkitchen remake.

*Erica Jong's article on motherhood has been making its way through the internet. I know it really pissed some moms off (or hurt their feelings), but the sentence "[w]e need to be released from guilt about our children, not further bound by it" really hit the right chord with me.

*I started following Yosigo a few years ago, when I first joined flickr. I emailed him about buying a print (and remember his prices being reasonable), but I never managed to purchase it (this happens to me a lot). Anyways, he seems to be popping up everywhere these days (for example, one of his photos was in Real Simple a few months ago), as he should be. His stuff is amazing. Check out his website if you have a chance.

*This blog always makes me smile. I love the photos and the list of life's simple joys. It's a sure-fire pick me up.