The Horseman Rides Again! A Halloween Wacky Wednesday

In honor of, and playing into of course, our famous Halloween locale, today's hike took place in the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in search of some hidden letterboxes. For those of you who have never heard of letterboxing, it is definitely worth exploring. It is the unplugged version of geocaching, a game which involves searching for hidden containers called 'geocaches' with the aid of a hand-held GPS device. Although their is a small plugged component of letterboxing in that one must visit the official letterboxing website http://letterboxing.org/ to search for exisiting letterboxes and obtain the clues to find them, the majority of the activity is about creativity, imagination, teamwork, outdoor adventure, resourcefulness, appreciation and care for the natural world, and connection to other human beings.

Today's hike was Kids Unplugged's first foray into the world of letterboxing and judging from the enthusiasm of the kids it is an activity we will certainly be revisiting soon. We started out sitting in a circle on the lawn of the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow. The church has it's own burial ground, one in which Washington Irving, the man of the famous Legend, is laid to rest. In our circle we talked a little bit about the legend of the Headless Horseman and I explained about letterboxing and what we were going to be doing on the hike. We read the mysterious clues together and then set out along the path in search of the wood-planked bridge which may have been the one Ichabod Crane sought to cross on he and Gunpowder's fateful ride.

Today's Wacky Wednesday actually took place on Thursday this time, as Wednesday was a washout. Happily, postponing by a day gave us a beautiful autumn afternoon for our foray into the cemetery's beautiful grounds and the foliage and views along Gory Brook were gorgeous. We did encourage the kids to keep their voices a bit lower than normal, but hills to climb, headstones to hide behind and rocks to toss into the brook below continued to draw from them shrieks of glee. What can you do?

There was a great deal of excitement upon reaching the old bridge, and after referring to our clues the kids began counting out the 30-paces mentioned in the narrative. This opened up a conversation about the difference between steps and paces because they all stopped at various points along the trail having reached their personal 30! When it was determined where the average of 30-paces was, they began searching in earnest for the pile of rocks which should have been 5-paces off the trail to the left. And while at first it seemed that the box might have been removed by a letterboxing foe, our group remained undaunted and continued their hunt. A shout from among wet leaves indicated success, and a damp, humus covered plastic box was brought up to the trail for all to see.

After examining the contents, looking through the stamp journal and leaving our own mark, we found a spot to sit for Halloween cookies and a theatrical reading of The Tale of the Headless Horseman, a wonderfully accessible adaptatation of Irving's Legend. And though the second box did appear to be missing, we were able to find the third letterbox hidden within a stone wall on our hike back out of the cemetery.

I joked today that I have been thinking about this hike for months and I was so delighted that we were actually doing it--and with such success. The scenery was beautiful and the activity great fun. The perfect Wacky Wednesday to celebrate the spookiness of Halloween in Sleepy Hollow.

Pumpkins & Scarecrows--Halloween with the Garden Sprouts

Today, rainy as it was, marked our last meeting of the autumn Garden Sprouts program at Fishkill Farms. While there was a part of me that thought about staying cozy in the house today when I looked out the window at the thick clouds and cold drizzle, but I took heed instead of my own mantra--There's no bad weather, just the wrong clothes--and bundled up for a soggy morning on the farm. It turned out to be a lovely time, and the rain did let up long enough to allow us a nice walk to visit the chickens and explore the garden for a while.

We started our day with a baking activity, as we have each week, preparing the snack we would later share. Today, to celebrate our time together these past weeks, we baked a pumpkin pie. It was a treat we would enjoy later, warm from the oven, after our garden walk and outdoor crafting.

When the pie was in the oven and everyone was snuggled in boots, hats and raincoats, we headed out in search of the farm's "scarecrows," really just large, inflatable balls with lots of eyes to watch those pesky crows. The children took a great deal of delight in sneaking through the muddy rows of blueberry bushes in search of the balls and shouts of "I see another one!" rang through the field. We saw the remainder of the farm's summer sunflower patch, finding the petal-less brown centers picked clean of their seeds. We sought out other signs of autumn on the farm, old corn stalks, dormant berry bushes, and cozy burrows hidden in the garden. We talked about who might live in those burrows, what they might eat and why they might need to hide underground. We also found a few late season strawberries in the strawberry patch that was well-blanketed with hay to protect them from the coming frost.

With their little pumps primed for a good scarecrow story, we headed back to the farm store to read one of my Halloween favorites, Jeb Scarecrow's Pumpkin Patch by Jana Dillon, about a young scarecrow working to protect his prized patch from the crow's annual harvest celebration. After the story, the kids made their own scarecrow puppets and learned a few Halloween songs and rhymes. And then it was time for pie.

We really had a wonderful time of crafting, baking, storytelling, exploring, and playing on the farm these past weeks. I hope that many new (and returning!) families will join us for our next series of the Garden Sprouts!

Running Free at Untermeyer

Recently I was re-reading that wonderful book From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler when I came across the description of the bed that the kids sleep in while they're hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to Mrs. Frankweiler, the bed was donated to the museum by Untermeyer. Whether or not this is true I'm not sure, but considering the opulence of the Grecian gardens at the historic estate site in Yonkers, an antique curtained bed is easily believed. And I was delighted that I knew who Untermeyer was when I came to that passage--information that I surely did not have when I read the book nearly 30 years ago (aack).

Untermeyer's glorious gardens were the site of our Wacky Wednesday romp on a perfect October afternoon this week. And though we bypassed the trail leading toward the Old Croton Aqueduct, the grounds and the remaining structures provided us with plenty of diversion.

The gardens are arranged on two tiers, the uppermost tier being home to a huge cross-shaped configuration of canal-like fountains as well as to a truly enormous columned Greek temple. There is also an ampitheater, statues and more columns around the perimeter. The focal point of the lower level is a now-empty, mosaic tiled pool flanked by expansive lawns on either side. It wasn't clear whether the fountains on the upper terrace drained down to the pool, but that seems likely.

On the northern side of the garden is a long stone staircase leading down toward the OCA. I imagine that it is accessible from the trail below, however, the top of the staircase ends at at a gated garden entrance which was locked. The entire garden area sports sweeping views of the Hudson River. We could only imagine it at it's heyday. For our intents and purposes, it was a wonderful space for running, climbing and a long game of tag.

Seeds, Seeds, Seeds!

Has anyone heard the Native American folktale about the Three Sisters? It's a wonderful story to share during the months of the autumn harvest as it celebrates the important roles played by three essential crops: corn, beans, and squash. Today in the Garden Sprouts we talked about, touched, explored and search for all different kinds of seeds--from those cultivated in the garden to those blowing wildly in the meadow breeze.

The children arrived to find the terrace tables covered in all sorts of interesting things. There were pumpkins and squash of various shapes and sizes. There were acorns and beechnut husks and horse chestnuts both in and out of their prickly
casings. There was colorful Indian corn and bowls of all different kinds of seeds. We started our day talking about all of these different kinds of vegetables and seeds--where they come from, who they feed, and why each is important.

In honor of one of these harvest crops, the day's baking project was to prepare a pan of cornbread for the morning snack. We touched the cornmeal and learned how it was made, mixed in some fresh eggs from the farm and some other ingredients and popped it in the oven before heading out for the day's hike.

Today we would be hunting for seeds. We hiked out along the orchard path to a meadow at the edge of the woods. There the children discovered seeds hiding everywhere they looked. They searched in the tall grasses and unearthed the green cases of fallen black walnuts and sniffed at their strong scent when we cracked them open, revealing tiny white worms. They found plantain weed seeds, and apple seeds and, much to their delight, some pods of fairy-like milkweed seeds that were carried away by the wind. We talked about the way that seeds can travel--on the breeze, by sticking to animals' fur--to find a home and grow someplace else.

We returned to hear the tale of the three sisters and make some fabulous cedar-disk three sisters medallion necklaces. The caregivers took special interest in the craft today and all of the grown ups wanted to make their own bean, corn & squash mosaic jewelery!

After a read-aloud and some songs and rhymes about seeds, squirrels and harvest time, we headed back to the terrace to gobble cornbread and drink some cold cider. Much fun was had by all!

Halloween on the Farm

Today was the second in our Autumn series of Saturdays on the Farm in Fishkill and we spent the morning in the All Hallow's spirit. In keeping with the ancient Celtic tradition of wearing masks to discourage menacing ghosts from wreaking havoc on their households and next season's crops, the children painted and decorated their own
masks.
We had the very good fortune of dry weather despite the forecasted rain and were able to spend our morning out on the terrace crafting and baking. Those patient rain clouds also enabled us some solid adventure time around the farm grounds. Luckily everyone arrived today properly bundled and ready to be outside, which made for happy kids and parents all around.

After a frolic in the huge hay pile left over from September's hay maze, we hiked down to visit the chickens to collect eggs--always a treat for the kids--to use for my favorite autumn pumpkin muffins. We filled two baskets and spent some gleeful time among the farm's sweet old laying hens.

After some solid hand washing, the kids all took turns pouring and stirring ingredients. Thanks to a delightful mixing song taught to us by one of our little farmers, everyone passed the bowl around the table with the utmost fairness.

When the muffins were in the oven, we headed out to the meadow to read a story about old Baba Yaga the witch. We finished our meadow circle by stirring our brews to the tune of a creepy witch song before returning to the terrace to decorate our mostly-dry masks. With glitter glue and googly eyes (not very natural, but who can resist googly eyes?), beans and feathers, the children adorned their masks with enthusiasm and creativity. The pictures of their work speak for themselves.

We finished our day with a sweet Halloween story and pumpkin muffins, warm from the oven. Thanks to everyone for helping to create such a lovely morning on the farm!

Below is a slideshow showing some of Debbie Allan's photos of the mornings activities.

Columbus Day on Turkey Mountain

Today's title shot captures one of the things I love the most about Turkey Mountain--letting the kids explore the summit. After a steep, .7 mile climb along the white trail, the summit is a vast expanse of flat rock and scrubby brush that slopes gradually into a series of nooks and crannies that are perfect for hiding out. These three kids found just the spot for that today, nestling themselves into the crevices of the boulders and let their story unfold. When I came upon them they were chatting away about something and I tried not to interfere too much with their play. The mother of one of the kids was not too far up the hill, enough of an eye on them to be comfortable without meddling. There was a lot of that happening up there today, kids marching around, digging with sticks, making their way through the spaces between the trees to their own little spots.

We had more families than usual today because of the holiday which was a good vibe, as well as some folks who joined us for the first time. While it was a little chilly, it wasn't too breezy at the top of the trail and that allowed us to linger with our lunches and adventures a while before heading back down. The overcast skies didn't highlight the autumn colors as much as a sunny day would have done, but the view of the city was still pretty clear. Debbie got some great shots which you can see in her slide show below and the view from up there is fabulous. You really feel like you're up there and the kids really feel like they climbed a mountain which is very cool.

So there was some summit exploring and some caterpillar spotting--though I haven't been able to ID the lime-green, fuzzy critter we encountered today. A log became a ship, walking sticks were found and coveted, oranges were shared. Nice, relaxed hike.

Sunday Stroll at Pepsico

Here's a place I've been dying to get to for a Wacky Wednesday Walk sometime. Unfortunately, the westbound I-287 rush-hour traffic has been a huge monkey wrench in that plan as no one, myself included, needs to sit in it with hungry kids for 25 minutes or more on a school night!

So I headed over there with my girls this past Sunday afternoon and encourage you all to do the same. It's really quite spectacular. And while the sculptures on the property are obviously the big draw here, I was mostly delighted by their thoughtful placement among a wide variety of thoughtfully planted trees and other specimens. The entire space is beautifully landscaped and arranged and makes for a fun place to romp and stroll at leisure with the kids. The only challenge is keeping them from climbing upon the art!

Rockwood Wind!

Today we found ourselves at a favorite spot in Rockefeller State Park, the Rockwood Hall area, though the blustery winds which left my yard covered in a thick carpet of pine needles forced us to cut the hike short. Too many loose branches for comfort today.

We did hike in a bit along the lower trail before heading back out and encountered something new--several lovely rocks painted with a single message or image--and place along the trail. I had recently read a piece in our local paper, The Hudson Independent, about a local woman who has started a business hand painting rocks and shells and was wondering if these might be her handiwork. If it wasn't she, I guess that they will remain a special mystery. In any case, I wish we'd had the opportunity to continue along the trail because it would have been a little treasure hunt for the children to come upon more of these along the way.

Though the kids were a bit disappointed by the executive decision to leave the trail today, they made a bit of fun just digging in the gravel along the path and collecting falling leaves and chestnuts. And it did permit me to prolong having to tell them they can't climb the hemlocks!

Debbie's Slideshow:

Hoofin' it to the Schools!

Join Kids Unplugged this Wednesday, October 7th, as we participate in the International Walk to School sponsored by the National Center for Safe Routes to School.

Gather your friends and your kids' friends, plan your routes, designate meeting times and places (Your child's regular bus route is a good place to start) and walk to the schools. For more information click on either icon and check out their websites.

Here's to hoping it becomes a habit!