the magic of snow

Something magical happens when you bring together kids and snow. A landscape that can illicit groans of boredom from your average child, once blanketed in a layer of snow is a limitless wonderland of possibility that no child can resist.

Otherwise mundane activities take on a whole other dimension when done in the snow. Sitting on a piece of plastic and riding down a hill, digging a hole and jumping in it, rolling around on the ground, perhaps mildly entertaining under ordinary circumstances, become downright intoxicating when done in soft white powder.

This truth can have some unexpected results. As soon as we arrived at the chain up area off the Strathcona Parkway last month for our Second Annual Snow Spectacular both my kids dashed for the piles of snow before the car had barely come to as stop, so irresistible was its lure. Unbeknownst to my husband and I, as we unpacked the sleds and snowshoes from the trunk of the car, our youngest son was testing the depth of a creek on the other side of the pile. Lou, responding to a muffled cry, found him thigh deep in the freezing cold water moments later. And so the fun times were cut short for the two of them, as Lou was forced to take Malcolm home.

For those of us lucky enough to stay, we were able to surrender ourselves to the snow's spell, to a much happier ending. We sledded, dug, built and played until we were wet and cold and tired. A few hours later, reluctantly and with much convincing and cajoling, we loaded the kids back into warm vehicles and brought them home.


A wonderful afternoon made possible by the magic of snow.

second annual snow spectacular

Weather forecasters are predicting a cool and wet winter, but that's nothing to be worried about. All that rain translates into lots of snow in the higher altitudes. There's already more than a metre of the white stuff up at Mt. Washington. And all that snow means lots of fun for our next event - the Second Annual Into the Wild Snow Spectacular.

For those of you who didn't join us last year, the Snow Spectacular is a free-for-all party in the powder. Snow forts, snowballs, sledding and snowshoeing. Whatever your idea of snow fun is, bring it along.

Meet at the parking area off the Strathcona Parkway about 10 km up the mountain at 1 pm on Saturday, December 10th. We will bring along some hot chocolate, you bring the mugs. This promises to be a great time for everyone and a fun-filled way to get into the spirit of the season.

snowy walk at snowden

Oh, the unpredictable nature of the weather. November is supposed to be cool and wet. Perfect for mushroom hunting, right? Well, the end of this November has turned out snowy and downright cold - more appropriate for frost than fungus. Fortunately the cold weather did not deter the hearty souls who joined us at Snowden Forest for a hike and mushroom hunt last Sunday.

Though it didn't feel mushrooming weather we still managed to find quite a few varieties. As one of our hikers said, once your eye gets trained you start to spot them everywhere. We saw some bright yellow witch's butter,

a type of false morel,

a coral mushroom

and even a nice fat chanterelle!

But, I think my favourite was this diminutive specimen of bird's nest mushroom.

It was only a few millimetres wide and filled with lots of tiny "eggs" (actually spores packets). The word "mushroom" is hardly adequate to describe the variety and diversity of species in the Fungi family. What too often overlooked treasures of the forest they are. And what fun to go out and spot them with our own eyes.

Mushroom hunting was not the only fun we had. The trail itself was quite lovely, too. We hiked along Lost Lake and then followed a bike trail up a high ridge. From the top we could see Lost Lake below and mountains beyond, and were able to enjoy the sunny skies and amazingly crisp, warm light.

The cold weather lent a magical air to the whole forest, with the frost, rime, and snow glistening in the late afternoon sun. By the time we had returned to the parking lot we were tired out from two hour walk, but I for one was reluctant to leave such a beautiful time and place.

(Thanks to Mark Wunsch for the wonderful photos)

snowden forest mushroom walk

The forest is looking decidedly less green these days. All that remains of the brilliant leaves of fall are wet leaf litter on the forest floor. But every season holds it's delights, and November is when the lowly mushroom takes centre stage.

Our recent forays into the forest have turned up all kinds of mushrooms. Like so many things, once I began to actually look for them they seemed to be everywhere. There they were on trees trunks, rotting stumps and poking out of the mossy forest floor in a seemingly limitless variety of sizes, shapes, colours and textures. These cheerful little fellows have certainly brightened up what for me can be a dreary time of year. So I say, hooray for mushrooms!



Which brings me to our next event. For our next gathering we'll be heading out to the Snowden Forest for a hike and mushroom hunt. Meet at the Lost Lake Parking Lot off of Loveland Bay Road on Sunday, November 21st at 1:30. I am no mycologist, but I'll bring a fieldguide along and we can try our hand at identifying some of the fanciful fungi we find. There are edible mushrooms to be found in our region, but it's best to go with an experienced guide, which I am not, before you actually plan on serving them up. So while we won't be picking any mushrooms to eat, it's still fun to check out the many varieties that one can find along the trail. We hope to see you there!

salmon spotting at quinsam river

Living where we do one can't help but think about salmon at this time of year. Throughout the fall months you are bound to catch glimpses of spawning salmon on any number of local creeks, rivers and waterways. Each time I witness the marvel of salmon struggling upstream I am as amazed as the very first time. Some miracles of nature remain miraculous, no matter what.

In this spirit we are planning a hike at Quinsam River on Saturday, October 2nd in hopes of seeing this great migration up close. We will meet at the parking lot just past the bridge on Quinsam Road at 1pm.

This is becoming an annual tradition with Into the Wild. Last season's walk, in spite of the heavy rain, was probably my favourite of the entire year. We really hope you can come out and join us.

fall kick off

After a summer hiatus we are back and ready to kick things off for another season of Into the Wild - Family Nature Club. For our first fall event we are planning a gathering at Oyster River Nature Park on Saturday, September 18th. We'll meet at the trailhead at 11 am for a hike and a picnic.

This is one of our family's favourite parks as it has a little bit of everything - forested trails, a beautiful river and estuary, breathtaking ocean views and a sweet beach complete with driftwood. There are even some nice swimming holes, so if the day is hot you may want to bring your suit to get in one last dip before autumn really takes hold.

We hope to see you there!

wet and wild at willow creek

We sure have been having a wet spring, and the weather for our Saturday walk was no exception. Though we humans may be getting tired of all this moisture, the flora at Willow Creek seems to be appreciating it. The rainforest is fueled by rain after all.

It was a veritable jungle along the trails, lush, green and rather muddy. To add to the excitement, we had an unfortunate encounter with some hostile creatures when the kids disturbed a wasps' nest while exploring along the creek.

It was a good reminder of the wild in wilderness, even if that wilderness is tucked into a residential neighborhood in the heart of town.

By the time we made it back to the trailhead we felt like we had experienced a real adventure, with the wounds to prove it. Thanks to every who came out. We hope to see you next time, if you think you can handle it!