The Mud

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You can take the boy out of the wild, but darn if you try to take the wild out of the boy…

The day after we returned from Asheville, this is what happened.
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Let’s just say there was a deck pre-bath before the actual bath. Check out the mud caked inside Oliver’s ear! DSC_0105Nothin’ better than a little mud fest.

Happy Weekend. And speaking of mud (and nature and all those good things), if you’re up for a short read this weekend, here’s a little article I wrote for the Washington Post: 10 ways to get your kids out in nature, and why it matters.

8 thoughts on “The Mud”
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  1. Love these muddy boys, and the article as well! We work really hard at connecting with nature, despite not living in a rural area… but whenever we go to my mom’s I realize there is really no substitute for living in the country. There is just so much casual freedom in getting outside for W that’s not possible here. But there are obvious trade-offs, so we just do our best. I do have fantasies of packing it all in and heading up to the mountains too!

  2. Lilly, you are one of my biggest inspirations for getting our boys out camping. You are doing an amazing job exposing your kids to and making a priority of nature. It is going to be in the very fabric of their beings!

  3. Love it! I remember getting muddy with my younger brother and we were about 4 and 5 years old; your photos bring back great memories.

  4. I especially liked the parts of the article about finding nature in the everyday, and everywhere. I feel a strong pull to live in the city, old and busy and tight and imperfect. It means that we are near all the things that we do each day, and we don’t spend very much time in the car at all. But living in the city does not have to mean being separated from nature, exactly as you say. I recharge in the morning on my twenty block round trip walk to the little one’s school. Everyday, things change and we notice them. I recharge in the evenings on the way home from work, running on crunchy gravel paths through Forest Park. There are new places I discover each time, and I challenge myself to take one photo on each run to share on Instagram with close friends and family, changes in the park that occur throughout the year. Even connecting that way (through social media) can be a reminder to get outside and see what’s changed since yesterday. I’m continually amazed at how my daughter’s school has them outside of the classroom more than inside it. We do a spring and fall group camping weekend, and I’m so blown away by the beauty we have in a two hour radius from this place. And whenever I can escape to the sea, I do it.

    Those muddy boys are fabulous.

  5. Well said, Kristin! I too love the social and walkability aspect of living in a city. And nature is all around us! I am always struck dumb by the call of a falcon or hawk (and there are so many!), and we always point out to each other when we see or hear them. My good friend lives even more in the city than we do, and they can see a bald eagle’s nest from their kitchen window. The eagles return and rebuild their nest every year at the top of a sycamore tree. It brings me to tears watching them. So beautiful!

  6. My coworker arrived home late last night in Maplewood and there was a gigantic owl sitting on the roof, watching her as she walked into the house.

    Owl Moon is one of my all time favorite books.

    Another good book about nature (and music) in the city is Symphony City by Amy Martin. I think you’d like it.

  7. Fantastic! and I oved your article. I really identified with #3. On our bike, its really easy to do this. Its one of my favorite things about it. also i am loving seeing you pop up other places on the internet! Great work mama!

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