Imagine Childhood : Magic & Memories That Last a Lifetime

... nature walk: finnsnes, northern norway

This Week's wonderful nature walk comes to us all the way from Finnsnes in northern Norway where Hege and her family often explore and camp together.  On a recent rainy day hike they walked through the woods, examined wild berries and made some artwork.  Thank you so much Hege for sharing this adventure!

If you would like to contribute to our weekly Nature Walk series, you can learn more about submitting photos here, or you can also visit our new Nature Walk Group Pool on Flickr to add your adventures to the collection.

Thanks again Hege for sharing!

 

... grandma's rock box

These five letters were carefully burned into the lid of this wooden box by a little girl over 70 years ago. 

It's a simple object really.  The wood isn't sealed or finished apart from some light sanding and there aren't any dividers or even a latch to make sure it stays closed.  It's just a couple of boards nailed together and finished off with two hinges... but it's so much more.

It's a place where days spent wandering through fields, climbing trees and playing games with friends are stored inside the jagged edges of a crystal or the smooth surface of a rock. It's a place where the excitement and curiosity of getting to know the world, grass stain by grass stain, bug by bug and stone by stone, is kept safe to be remembered and re-lived in future days... and...

... it's a place where the treasures of one childhood, passed from parent to child to grandchild... can inspire and nurture the treasures of another.

We love rock collections.

Pocket Guide to Rocks and Minerals

Sample Rocks for Rock Collectors

... giveaway forum: eco-friendly back to school kit

Summer days are coming to an end and the school year is quickly approaching.  This year why not send your little learners back to the classroom with free high quality school supplies that are great for the environment too! We love our Stainless Steel Reusable Lunch Set, Artemis Plant Dyed Color Crayons and Organic Cotton Backpack so much that we want to give one lucky winner one of each! To enter for a chance to win this wonderful eco-friendly back to school set simply respond to the forum topic in the comments for this post.
Forum topic: What was your favorite subject in school as a child, or what did you love most about going back to school in the fall?

The giveaway will close next Wednesday August 26th at 11:59pm MST and the winner (picked by a random number generator) will be announced Thursday August 27th! Good Luck!

... barn stories: harvesting wild sage

Sometimes... depending on the rainfall, I can harvest sage as a cash crop for our farm.


Some time... in August.  I wait until the prairie dogs tell me.


They seem to know just the right moment before it bursts forth with pollen and it smells its best!


I wrap it just like they do at the Taos Pueblo.  I don't know if they watch for the prairie dog too....

It might be just me...

I've done this for years...  but when I think back I wonder, maybe the prairie dogs cut it just because they can't see!

... moonscape... landscape...sunset

Wind and water make their mark in the soft stone...  moving and changing with each storm... ... slowly revealing history inch by inch... fossil by fossil.

The Badlands are so good.

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To learn even more about this amazing place look here too... just click the "About our Park" link at the top of the page to find lots of great information.