Work and Play

I was reading back through some of my posts regarding stream cleanups, and it got me thinking a bit about my kids interest in picking up trash.  It's been a funny progression, and it's at a point when we go out paddling or hiking, picking up litter is almost like fishing to them.  Like an avid angler casting a line with their sites set on hooking a specific kind of fish, my son is now obsessed with (ironically enough) snagging discarded, left for dead, fishing bobbers.  I find this humorous, and completely awesome that he is developing a real and good thing (picking up litter), into a fun game and adventure.

Thinking about this I remembered an afternoon last week. We were hanging out in our front yard with some family and friends, when Miles (my son) started picking Cleavers and sneaking behind people and putting them on their clothes.  Once the other kids discovered the amazing velcro qualities of Cleavers, they joined in, and as one might guess the front yard hang-out time descended into Cleaver chaos.  This lasted maybe 15 minutes or so before all the Cleavers in sight had been plucked, passed from shirt to shirt, to head to head, until they were just non-grabby, mushy, clumps of plant matter.  Our little front yard gathering dispersed, and as i was walking into the house i looked back and realized the yard didn't look like it needed to be mowed for another week :)  The Cleavers are what had gained the most height the quickest, and our actual grass was still at quite a nice level (OK so, now it's no secret that my yard is not just grass but a mix of odd and interesting plants, grass, and weeds that make for a fine surface to play on and look nice when groomed :)  But without a doubt, every Spring we will now hold our annual Cleavers Chaos Throw Down.

Hmm, what other work can we turn into play for the kiddos?     

Paddling the lower Eno River (AKA the Three Rivers Area)

I love this time of year in NC!  One day we're wearing fleece jackets and thermal underwear, the very next we're stripping down to shorts and t-shirts.  It keeps things interesting :) This time of year also typically means, rain.  Our local rivers have been blessed most of this past winter and early spring with nice water levels which has been great for my line of work.  When water levels are up it also means one of my favorite flat water paddling locations has access opened up to tons of small creeks and floodplain forest that can be paddled.  This is what i refer to as the 3 Rivers Area.  This is the lower Eno River nearing Falls Lake, and there is a great Wildlife Resources Commission Boat Ramp called the Eno Boat Ramp that is smack in the middle of a huge swath of undeveloped game land (if you want some specifics on the location, message me, and i can fill you in on more details).  Anyway, i have found this and similar areas really allow for kids and adults imaginations to run wild.  The mix of wide flat-water rivers, tiny creeks, open lake, and flooded forests, makes the perfect combination of environments to keep any flat water paddler happy.  If you decide to check out this area, a map is extremely helpful (here is a link to a topo map of the area http://www.froghollowoutdoors.com/MapThreeRivers.pdf ).  Looking at the map, every little creek you can see, can be paddled (when water levels are a bit up), and are part of what makes this area so awesome.  Anywho, enjoy the Spring.  And dress appropriately for the day :)


 

Coming out onto the Flat River after paddling through floodplain forest off of Cut-Through Creek

Our trash haul for the day