Road Trip to MA

The kids and I took a road trip to the Boston area earlier this week. Here are some highlights ....

 L. taking charge of the camera in the car on the way down. How many pictures did you take? Ooh, lots I see....

Going to the car wash with Grandma. They acted like it was the first time they'd ever seen one before. Well actually by the look of our car, maybe it should be a little more often....

Running around Boston in their new ponchos - they were certainly easy to spot in a crowd.

Taking a Flat Stanley on the Freedom Trail in Boston to learn a little history.

Checking out the ice skating rink in Boston Common. Of course the kids were upset with me for forgetting the ice skates but then decided that was OK when I asked them if they would have carried them on the T. That was a resounding no.

Eating a "real" roast beef sandwich. Well that was my highlight. I love them and I haven't found any better than in the Boston area. But I'll leave the blogging about great food to my co-worker, Colleen....

George vs. geocachers

This morning I went to put my dollar into the candy machine here at the office and noticed a www.wheresgeorge.com stamp on the back of my dollar bill. And in a moment of curiosity (and knowing I really shouldn't eat a candy bar anyway) I decided to keep the dollar and log onto the website to find out where my bill had been.

Well, the bill's history consisted of two entries, one of which was mine. And where was it originally logged in?

Westbrook.

A whole 4.6 miles from my zip code. Not nearly as interesting as the kids' travel bugs in New Zealand.

And it was funny I should compare it to geocaching because there's actually a page on the wheresgeorge.com website about geocachers. Apparently the George people aren't so keen on geocachers using bills as travel bugs.

The general rules of this site specifically prohibit trading or exchanging bills with friends, family or anyone known to the bill distributor. This rule is to encourage "natural circulation" of the currency, and to prevent multiple "fake hits" from happening on any bill. Afterall, the purpose of Where's George? is to track the manner in which currency naturally circulates throughout the country and the world. Allowing people to arbitrarily enter multiple hits to track that a bill was traded among a circle of friends and family defeats the entire purpose of this site.

Poor George, feeling threatened by geocachers. Where's this game's sense of fun? Oh I know, it's with their related Where's Willy website....

New season, new road sign

A couple of weeks ago, snowmobile crossing signs were put up around our town. Since we don't have a snowmobile, the kids found an alternative way to introduce a Flat Stanley we're hosting from France to the snowmobile season in Maine.

Please sing to a snail

Tonight at my tap class (it should be called a talk-and-laugh -with-a-couple -minutes-of-actual-tapping class) my friend Darnell said that if you sing or hum a tune to a snail you find on a beach, it will come out of its shell.

OK, I have never heard this and I am skeptical. Before Darnell shared this bit of snail trivia, she had been talking about how she duped her young children into believing she made home-made oreo cookies. She went so far as to create the illusion of assembling the cookies and warming them in the oven as her children arrived home from school. She even explained away the oreo word stamped on the cookie, saying she had worked hard all day making it perfect for them.

So can you see why I question her information?

With winter upon us here in Maine and the fact we're unlikely to wade in the ocean when it's 10 degrees Fahrenheit, I am writing to request that my warm weather friends go to the beach, pick up a snail and try singing to it. Then tell me if it really comes out of its shell.

I really would like to know if this is another homemade Oreo cookie story...

Screaming for the Pirates

Yesterday we met some friends to see a Portland Pirates game. Bunny and the Flat Stanleys we're hosting came along for the fun.

This was G. and L.'s first live hockey game and they weren't sure they liked all the checking and fighting.

"Ooooh mommy his face smashed against the glass! That rat guy wasn't very nice."

"I am happy the Pirates won but I feel sad for the other team. They look sad."

Yeah I know, they need a little more exposure to live sporting events.

The highlight of the game was the slapstick goal by the Pirates at a face-off and everyone jumped out of their seats to cheer. And of course, Crackers, Salty Pete, the popcorn, nachos and soda were big hits with the kids - and Bunny had his share of popcorn too.

But I think the best part, particularly for L., was screaming her lungs out along with her friend - something I don't generally encourage at home....

Cross country skiing and disc golf, an interesting combo

What do you get when you combine cross country skiing and disc golf? An entertaining afternoon with a lot of laughs, especially when I heard G. lamenting ducks. But you'll have to wait until my next column is finished to find out what that was about....

I would admit that it would have been handy to have been an octopus while playing the game. I needed the extra hands to manage the ski poles (which I ended up ditching in the parking lot), score card and pencil, golf disc and camera. And we all agreed that it was no small effort to make tracks in 11 inches of ungroomed snow on cross country skis.

We took a lot of wipe outs on the course and ended up dumping the skis after 6 holes. It was a serious cardio workout and we were wiped out with the duck-walking up the course's hills. But we did play a few more holes in our boots before we headed home.

We took Robot Bunny out to play the game with us. He's been a bit neglected lately with all the Flat Stanley comings and goings. But he's back in action. There is something to be said for being able to stand up on your own.

Flat things require a lot more hands-on attention....

Waxing away the night

When I got home from the office yesterday afternoon Fino and the kids were already out on their cross country skis. The kids' skis arrived on Thursday (we rent them) and we were psyched they came in time for the snow storm yesterday.

But when the kids came through the door after their ski adventure around the neighborhood, they were wiped out. Along with using muscles they hadn't used in a while, they told me that their skis weren't working correctly.

They aren't sliding right, G. complained.

It turned out Fino hadn't waxed the skis before the kids strapped them on so last night he spent a couple of hours taking care of the wax issue for all of our winter gear - 4 pairs of cross country skis, 2 pairs of downhill skis and both of our snowboards.

Fino's thoughts after he was done with the task? "Man, that's a lot of f***ing gear to wax."

The dog and seal controversy

We were driving past Hadlock Field the other day and decided to stop to take a photo of the Portland Sea Dogs statue with some Flat Stanleys we have been hosting. Both flat friends came from boys so we thought a photo with a sports logo would be a fun picture for them.

The kids jumped out of the car, we took a quick picture and then went on our way.

Then last night L. was working on the journal she was writing to send home with the Flat Stanley and mentioned the "seal" picture.

What seal picture? I asked.

The baseball guy, L. said.

G. chimed in, "He's a Sea Dog. You know, a dog just like his name says."

No he's not! He's a seal, said L.

But he has dog in his name and he looks like a dog.

G., I was sitting by his feet and he has seal feet. He does not have dog paws. See look at the picture!

After some searching, I came up with a story about the logo.

"I read him the whole list of names and he asked me what a Sea Dog was," Eshbach said.... Gilchrist said the logo of a spunky seal pup poking its head through the letter P and holding a bat in his teeth borrowed from the Chicago Bulls for the eyes, the San Jose Sharks for the bat in its mouth (the shark has a hockey stick) and the Durham Bulls for the animal through the letter.

So give L. a cigar, I thought he was a dog too.

Figuring ski boots sizes = ugh

I'm not a fan of math. The day I learned that computer science courses met my undergraduate "math and science" degree requirements, I never took another traditional math class again.

I can figure out sale prices easily, having spent my entire life in search of a good sale. But when faced with figuring out cross country ski boot sizes, I realized I had forgotten basic math.

I collected foot lengths for each child in a ski club I organized for my kids' 4-H club. I was told by a friend that the best way to figure out accurate cross-country boot sizes was to have the child's foot length in inches.

Everyone in the group emailed me their sizes and I sat down last week to put in our group's order to rent all the boots and skis through the Healthy Hometowns Program.

Originally I thought I could skip my own kids' measurements because I knew their downhill boot sizes. Nope. Cross-country ski boots use Euro sizes.

I did a web search for a conversion chart from MONDO (downhill boot size chart) to Euro but that proved time-consuming because G. wears an adult size and L. wears a child's size. Finding a chart that included the full range of sizes wasn't a quick thing to find, although I did track one down.

But that really was a waste of time. I should have just measured their feet in inches like everyone else.

I moved on to the other kids' sizes. According to the directions from my friend, I had to take the length in inches, add 1/8" and then convert that number to centimeters to figure out the Euro boot size.

Note to self: Have everyone send me their foot size in centimeters next year.

But OK, I could do the conversions as soon as I figured out first how to convert fractions to decimals and then figure out how many centimeters equaled an inch. This was not something I knew off the top of my head. Actually there was not one person I asked last week that knew the answer to either equation.

1 inch = 2.54 centimeters
1/8 = .125

I did the first size conversion with my trusty calculator and then decided to do another web search and found sites that did the fraction conversion and another for the inches to centimeters conversion.

After figuring all the sizes out and placing our group's order, I treated myself to a nice bowl of chocolate cookie dough ice cream and thought about how much I love the web .....

Re-stocking our geocache

Yesterday we went to re-stock the geocache we hid this past spring at the Lowell Preserve in Windham. It was a little muddy on the trail with all the rain we had the day before but that made the "fun stones" on the trail even more entertaining for the kids.

Don't fall in the lake, L. yelled to me while she was jumping around the stones.

The geocache was pretty well stocked so we only added a few new items, including a Travel Bug. Over 40 people have visited the cache and wrote in the log book since we hid the cache in June. That's a lot more people than logged their visits online but some first-time geocachers noted in the log book that they used the cache's treasure map instead of a GPS. I'm guessing the newbies weren't familiar with the geocaching.com website yet.

No matter. The kids and I enjoyed reading the cache's log and recognizing some familiar names. The kids thought people had left some "really cool trades" so I have to say thanks to everyone who has visited and taken such good care of our cache!

Kid Tracks Column: Distractions enliven day of playing disc golf in the snow

"I hate ducks," my 9-year-old told me on the third hole of the disc golf course.

Why was she lamenting ducks?

Because she was tired of duck-walking up the hills on the disc golf course with her cross country skis.

OK, you'd be right to question our sanity at combining cross country skiing and disc golf. And although it was clear we hadn't thought things through, it made for an entertaining afternoon.

Last fall we tried our first round of disc golf at Enman Field in Brunswick. We had a great time and the kids thought hiking through the woods to track down our wayward discs was as much fun as throwing them into the chain-link cages (dubbed "jail" by my kids).

We were told by the staff at Enman Field that disc golf was a year-round sport. I asked how you could possibly find a disc in the snow and was told to look for the smiley face imprint the disc made when it landed.

Bennett's Disc Golf course in Gorham opened this past summer and since it was closer to home, we decided to give that course a try for our winter disc golf experience.

We paid our course fee and received bright red discs to use. I asked if we had to follow the holes in order and was told since there was only one other group on the course, we were welcome to go out and play the holes in whatever order we wanted to.

That's one of the things I love about disc golf, the people and the game are casual and laid-back.
We strapped on our skis in the parking lot, which took a while because we're out of practice putting on our gear, and gathered up our polls and discs to head to the first hole.

The first thing I realized before getting on the course was that I needed to get rid of my poles. I couldn't manage them along with the score card and pencil, disc and camera. But OK I thought, I could still do this, it was just going to be a little tricker than I had planned.

The first hole led us down a hill that the kids were excited about. But then we discovered we all sort of forgot how to ski down a hill with cross country skis. The kids fell down every five feet or so before they found their balance on the skinny skis.

"I think I used the wrong wax on these skis," said my husband after his second fall. Excuses were easy to come by.

But we all made it, albeit a little wetter than when we started. We recovered our discs after our first throw without much trouble (except for the skiing part), seeing the smiley faces in the pristine snow pretty easily.

After another throw we had to climb a hill, which took a lot of effort on cross country skis. But we managed that challenge well and all of us made that hole as a three or four par.

We made our tee-off for the next hole and proceeded down another sloping hill, this one a little bigger. The kids skied ahead to retrieve their discs and then made their next throw.

Ah, but that's where we made a mistake. The kids were skiing down the hill willy-nilly and disturbed the snow all around the area my husband and I had thrown our discs.

"Where's your disc?" I asked my husband.

Slowly he looked around and then back at me, "I have no idea."

After about five minutes of searching we came up with the disc. That's when I made a new rule. Everyone tees-off together, spots their disc and doesn't forget where it went.

On the next hole we started to get into a rhythm throwing and spotting the discs. But then we were faced with going up another hill.

The kids immediately started complaining and I reminded them again about "duck-walking" their skis so they wouldn't slide backwards. My 9-year-old started muttering to herself as she made her way up the hill.

"I'm walking like a duck. I don't like walking like a duck. I don't like ducks.... I hate ducks."

But she did it. My 8-year-old however decided to take off her skis and walk up the hill. She had the biggest grin on her face and started laughing as she passed her sister.
"Look. I took off my skis. It's easier." My 8-year-old is a firecracker and often tries to find the easiest way out just about everything.

After the next hole, we were all wiped out and the kids and I had decided to take off our skis. The course was hill after hill and had been a serious cardio workout.

We carried all our gear to the next tee-off while my husband stayed determined to keep his skis on. But by the next hole he was all set with the skis.

"Let's dump the skis and then come back out to finish playing," he finally said.

I liked that plan so we hiked back to the car, dropped off our skis and grabbed something to drink before heading back out to the course on foot. But here was another example of an error in judgment - I drank seltzer water on our break. Why was it a mistake? Because I had the hiccups for the rest of the afternoon.

I was trying to shake the hiccups as we made our way back to the hole we left. The kids were gleefully running through the snow and making snow angels, happy to be free of their skis.

After we played another hole, we had a snowball fight. Another hole was played and the kids made pretend snow make-up and ate handfuls of snow (I tell them not to eat the snow but as soon as I turn my back, they've got it in their mouth anyway).

Even though we veered off course with our round of disc golf as the kids found a variety of distractions with the snow, we decided unanimously that disc golf was a great winter game.

If you're a family that's looking for a new sport to enjoy in the snow, disc golf may be just the thing to put a little excitement into your winter - and a smile in the snow.

Trip: Winter Disc Golf at Bennett's Disc Golf
Town: Route 114, Gorham
Hours: Wednesday - Sunday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m.; if the clubhouse is closed, players with discs are welcome to play on the course without charge
Fee: $5/person, includes disc rental
Phone Number: (207) 839-9177

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, December 2005

A snowman with Texas connections

The kids discovered our first snowfall this past week provided ideal snow for building a snowman so they got right on it.

G. found a hat, scarf and carrot nose for their nearly completed creation. I saw one of their cousins put on the branch arms but then there was a big ruckus outside.

We need acorns for his eyes and mouth mommy! yelled L.

No one could find any under the snow after looking for a few minutes. But then I remembered the package we received from a Flat Stanley family in Texas. They had sent us some pecans from their backyard tree...



I've never made a Texas pecan snowman before but I think it worked perfectly.

Kid Tracks Column: Bald Pate Preserve

My family has speculated for some time about how many mountain summits in the lakes region we could see Sebago Lake from. Our curiosity was piqued after we hiked Douglas Mountain and then Rattlesnake Mountain and saw the state's second largest lake from each summit. We've also been learning how to identify some trees and wanted to test our new skills. With these goals in mind, along with the prospect of enjoying some fall foliage, we set off on an early November day to Bald Pate Mountain Preserve in South Bridgton.

The kids wore bright colored jackets and orange hats since we chose to hike on a Saturday afternoon during hunting season. The orange hats don't bother them nearly as much as the prospect of someone shooting a "cute little deer." My animal-loving children don't care much for hunting season and I'm always a little concerned about hiking at this time of year. But we didn't hear any shots or see any hunters the day we visited.

We took a direct route to the summit along the Bob Chase Trail and appreciated the wide, mostly graded, well-marked trail. It was about one mile from the trailhead with a steady incline that the kids managed well. I would gauge their ability and endurance at the intermediate hiking level now but with a couple of stops, most beginners and younger children could reach the summit without much difficulty. We did it in about 30 minutes.

Once we arrived at the summit, we tried to find an unobstructed view of the area. There were lots of trees at the top of Bald Pate Mountain and we couldn't find a clear spot, so we took a snack break.

While eating, we saw on the map that we could take the South Face Loop Trail that circled around the mountain at a little lower elevation. It turned out that we found a great view of the snow-capped Mt. Washington on that trail but never did find a better spot to see Sebago Lake. But the kids didn't care.

"OK mom, the lake is there through the trees. We can see it. It's far away. Now, can we go jump on the rocks again?"

So much for capturing their interest on the view for this hike. The large rocks and boulders were much more interesting. They started a rock jumping game similar to hopscotch and laughed and giggled all around the summit.

While the kids were playing, my husband and I made a notation that we had in fact found another place to see Sebago Lake. And after 30 minutes of watching the kids' rock jumping game, we pried them away to test our tree-identification skills.

We have been taking small steps with this project since I know nothing about trees. There are so many kinds that it felt a little overwhelming initially. But we narrowed our focus to four types of coniferous trees and it has worked out well. The kids have developed their own way to help remember each tree and offer these tips to help other kids:

White Pine - "There are five in a bunch and they are very long and soft." Red Spruce - "The needles are as flat as Flat Stanley. The needles grow up to the sky and they are sharp and hard. I don't like getting pricked by the needles." Balsam Fir - "They have longer, flatter needles than the eastern hemlock. Balsam fir trees are used for Christmas trees." Eastern Hemlock - "They have darker needles than the other pine trees and they have two white stripes underneath. They are short and flat."

We found plenty of eastern hemlock and white pine trees but didn't spot any balsam fir or red spruce on the one-mile stretch along the Bob Chase Trail where we looked for them. Even still, I was pleased we found at least a couple of trees we recognized. 

It was a rewarding day, having accomplished both of our goals. The bonus of the day was the pretty foliage, even with overcast skies. If you're planning on hiking to the top of Bald Pate to see a panoramic view of the area, you might be disappointed. But we found plenty of other things to see and enjoy on these well-marked trails.

Trip: Hiking Bald Pate Mountain
Nearest town: South Bridgton
Region: Western Lakes & Mountains
Length: 2-4 miles
Difficulty: Moderate
Elevation gain: 1,000 feet
Directions: Take Route 113 and turn onto Route 107. The trailhead is a about 7 miles from the intersection of routes 114 and 107. The trailhead sign is a little hard to spot on Route 107 when coming from the southern direction on the road until you have almost passed it because it's positioned at an angle that is easier to see from the other side of the road.
More: www.loonecholandtrust.org

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, November 27, 2005

It's snowing...

..and the kids are already outside. It's 7 a.m.

They grabbed shovels to clear out the driveway with the dusting of powder that was there.

We're helping mom, see?!

Yeah, like that will last....

Living vicariously

We haven't had time this past week to enjoy the outdoors much. The kids have been busy with school work and various other activities and I'm still getting over a cold.

But we have been living vicariously through our geocaching Travel Bugs (TB) in New Zealand, both of which have been quite active since being released last month.

Hiking Doggie looks like he's had the most fun, having gone to a wedding at Tongariro National Park on the northern island in New Zealand.

There are a couple of photos of the wedding at Tongariro and my daughters - being the quintessential girls that they are - were ecstatic with the photos of our TB with the flower girl and wedding cake.

What's really great is that both our New Zealand bugs, Annika and Hiking Doggie have been logged and photographed by geocachers there. The kids like getting the email notifications when one of our TBs has been picked up (or dropped off) to see if there's a new photo or story about their adventures.

My 7-year-old has been a little disappointed with her U.S.-released TB, Lilo The Swimmer. She was released in southern Maine in June and has only changed hands 4 times. Lilo was placed in a remote cache in Northern Maine (in July) and has yet to be picked up again.

Ronny has seen a little more action with stops in New York and Vermont and has changed hands a number of times during his 5 months on the road.

I love the TBs because even when we can't get outdoors, we can still enjoy mapping our travel bugs' adventures around the globe.

How much will our winter sports gear cost us this year?

Earlier this week the kids and I delved into the basement storage closet to dig out the winter sports gear. I thought it was time to figure out what fits - and what doesn't - for this fast-approaching cold-weather season. And see if we couldn't clean out the closet while we were at it.

DOWNHILL BOOTS AND SKIS
We have 6 pairs of downhill ski boots, in various sizes, accumulated over the year from yard sales, thrift shops and friends. I was relieved to find that the space required to store all the boots was worth it. Both kids have boots that fit their feet and ski bindings.

Score: 2 for 2 on both boots and downhill skis. A huge savings for us this year.

ICE SKATES
We moved on to the ice skate box that had 8 pairs of skates (from those same yard sales and friends) but luck wasn't on my side. We found skates to fit my 7-year-old but none for my 9-year-old.

Score: 1 for 2 but a friend thinks she has the size we need.

HELMETS
As I was sifting through skates that were too small for both my kids and making plans to give them away, my 9-year-old tried on her downhill ski helmet and reported that it didn't fit. It should have occurred to me that this might happen but I didn't even think about scanning yard sales this summer for new helmets. Bummer.

Score: 1 for 2. Definitely need to spend the money for a new helmet, probably about $40 on sale.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIS
Our final winter sports gear fitting included measuring the kids' feet and height for cross-country skis. The kids participate in the Healthy Hometowns program run through Pineland Farms. It's a non-profit organization that offers cross country ski rentals to Maine kids 5-18 years old for $45 for the entire winter. This is the second year the kids are participating in a Healthy Hometowns group (kids participate in a weekly ski group in order to use the rental program). We had a great time last year and I love the fact at least one of our winter sports doesn't require year-round storage (although my husband and I have, and store, our own cross country gear).

Score: $90 for skis, boots and poles for the season for both kids.

SLEDS
These would be the items that fall out of the closet every time it's opened. The skis and boards hang on racks in the closet but we have yet to find a way to hang the various, odd-shaped sleds.

Score: "No! You can't get rid of any sleds mommy!" Mom is out-voted - sleds will continue to fall out of closet for another year.

For our active family, this year's winter gear costs are pretty low compared to what we have had to pay in past years. Tracking down used gear over the summer and making storage space for it was definitely well worth the effort.

Now we just have to save our pennies for the lift tickets....

What a day!

It's 66 degrees and the sun is out.

It's an ideal fall day in Maine. Even our chickens are smiling.

Snow? We're still looking for foliage

Friday morning Wildcat Mountain in New Hampshire - near Mount Washington - opened for this year's ski season.

Wow. October. I'm still trying to enjoy the foliage....

There was some debate in our house about maybe trying to find time to break out the snow boards for a quick trip to to the mountain this weekend. The novelty of boarding in October was appealing. But even with the extra hour for daylight savings, there wasn't time in the schedule to get away.

Instead, we went hiking at Bald Pate Mountain in South Bridgton. We found a nice view of the snow-capped Mount Washington from the summit of Bald Pate.

The foliage from the summit was pretty too...

Where in the world is Flat Blossom?

It continues to be all about Flat Stanley at our house this fall. We just received an email with some photos of Flat Blossom (our Flat Stanley's "sister") from her host family in Texas. Turns out she went to Tuesday night's World Series game in Houston. The host family was disappointed their home team didn't end up winning the game (or the series), but it sounded as if it was quite a game. Flat Blossom stayed until the very end, all 5 hours and 41 record-breaking minutes of it apparently.

This Flat Stanley project the kids are involved with reminds me a little of Carmen Sandiego ... sans the TV show.

Actually, the photos and letters my kids receive from their hosts about their flat's adventures are amazing - much better than anything on TV.

Geography lesson

We have two new geocaching Travel Bugs to track now, Hiking Doggie and Annika the Hiker.

Some friends in New Zealand recently started geocaching and agreed to "release" our Travel Bugs on the island nation.

They put Hiking Doggie into the Falstaf cache in Auckland.

How far is he from our home coordinates?

9,041.3 miles

Cool.

Look at that river!

On Wednesday the kids and I were driving through West Buxton near the dam on the Saco River. We were all awed by the force of the water there.

When we got home I wondered what the typical water discharge at this dam was for this time of year. The USG updates daily information on the flow, height, water and air temperatures.

Turns out the median daily stream flow based on 88 years on record is around 1,000 cubic feet per second (red triangles). The day we took these pictures it was almost 15,000 cfs (blue line).

And of course, L. never misses a photo op with her Flat Stanleys.

What's a duck to do?

Yesterday the kids wanted to make a stop at Deering Oaks Park to take a photo of the Flat Stanley they are currently hosting (this one is from Oregon). But to my 7-year-old's horror, the duck house in the pond was missing!


October 16, 2005 photo


August 2005 photo

Where are the ducks going to sleep? G. asked.

L. was really bummed out, "The poor ducks! They don't have a home!"

It looked to me as if the Public Works Department might have brought the duck house in for some routine maintenance since the pond was partially drained. But that didn't make the kids any happier.

I hope the ducks fly south soon. They are going to be cold without their house.

Poor ducks!

Something to ponder on a rainy day

Yesterday the kids woke up and complained about another cloudy day.

When is it gonna be sunny? G. asked me.

Unfortunately, not anytime soon.

So the kids started singing the age-old nursery rhyme to lament the lousy weather:

It's raining It's pouring The old man is snoring He got into bed And bumped his head And couldn't get up in the morning

How did he bump his head mommy? L., my 7-year-old asked.

You know, I never thought about that. I don't know.

Maybe he had a bunk bed and bumped his head on that just like we do.

Something to ponder on yet another dreary day in Maine....

A rushing river surprise

The kids' 4-H group had planned to look for a geocache on Sunday afternoon near the Saco River in Limington. I know there was a lot of weekend rain but I had no idea how flooded the river area would be. It was pretty low when I drove by it on Thursday. The leaves were just starting to change so I actually stopped and took a photo that day.

This is the river on Sunday afternoon. I couldn't even get to the rocks I stood on a couple of days before (where the kayaker is standing) so had to settle for a shot about 50 yards away on the main shore.

I guess this is what 7 inches of rain looks like. And we're still counting.... I guess the only ones happy about that are those crazy kayakers.

Our flat lived through Katrina

We sent Flat Blossom (one of our flat stanleys - we have a couple of different flats that travel) to a family in New Orleans about a week before Katrina hit. We had emailed the family a few times after the hurricane to see how they were but never heard back from them. There wasn't any other way to contact the family since we didn't know much about them. We hoped they were OK and assumed Flat Blossom wouldn't be making it back home to Maine. Obviously there were much more important things for that family to deal with.

But today, to my complete surprise, we received an email from Flat Blossom's host family:

Flat Blossom is all on the way home. She is tired of hotel life and is looking forward to being reunited with her family. She was very patient and well behaved. Please let me know when she arrives home. Karen now in Memphis, TN

Wow.

I'll post Flat Blossom's story about her trip to New Orleans and Memphis when she arrives home.

Learning about trees

I am no naturalist and can't identify any kinds of plants or trees on the hiking trail except for poison ivy. So in an attempt to broaden our horizons, this fall my family decided to join the Maine Tree Club organized by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Maine Forest Service and the Pine Tree Arboretum.

But for those not interested in the 2-year program, there's an upcoming tree class being taught by the City of Portland Parks and Recreation Department, the Maine Forest Service and UMaine Extension Master Gardeners.

The class, geared for children ages 4 through 11 and their families, is "The Wonder of Trees." The two-session course will be held 10 a.m. to noon on Oct. 15 and Oct. 22 in Portland. Participants will learn how to identify trees, learn about tree parts and functions, and discover the value and importance of trees.

My husband is trying to re-work his schedule to take the class with the kids because even with the tree fact worksheets, identifying trees is a lot more challenging than it first appears to be.

Our first tree "lesson" at home (which we're doing on our own until our Tree Club notebooks arrive) focused on trees with needles, also called coniferous or evergreen trees. There are four major trees in Maine with needles and are fairly easy (even for me) to tell apart - White Pine, Red Spruce, Eastern Hemlock and Balsam Fir.

The kids went out and collected samples in our back yard and it turned out we had all four evergreens on hand.

The kids are starting to feel like experts with the "confer trees" or "those trees with the needles." They might be able to tell a Balsam Fir from an Eastern Hemlock now but we're still working on learning to pronounce the tree vocabulary.

Loved your cache trade Anne and Joe

We were checking out a geocache yesterday and found a great trade from Anne and Joe of Durham. Definitely the most clever we've seen in our 8 months of geocaching so far.

The card says "Wandering - losing our marbles along the way."

Thanks "TwoMaineiacs" for giving us a new idea for trades. All geocachers should be so clever....

Kid Tracks Column: Cornfield maze requires relying on wits

Navigating a maze cut into a field of large corn stalks is not as easy as it sounds. Other than a "passport" with trivia questions (that, if answered correctly offered clues as to which way to turn at numbered markers inside the corn maze), we didn't have any other equipment with us. There were no maps or compasses, like we use with orienteering, or a GPS unit, which we use to geocache and hike. So it seemed a little strange for my tech-savvy kids to set out for a kind of hike without our standard equipment.

"Did you bring the GPS mommy?"

"No honey, you don't use one in a corn maze. We just have to find the way on our own."

"That's OK mommy. It will be easy anyway."

Forty minutes later inside the corn maze at Pumpkin Valley Farm, we all realized how wrong she was.

INSIDE THE CORN MAZE
After paying our entrance fee to the maze and collecting our Halloween trivia passport, we entered the tall (about 8 feet) cornstalks. They were so thick that in places we couldn't see anything but corn on either side of us. We found the first few markers, small stakes with numbers on them, inside the maze without a problem. Because we were navigating the maze fairly easily in the beginning, we didn't rely on the passport.

The multiple choice questions in the passport offered a "clue" as to which way to turn (right or left) at a particular numbered marker if you could answer the question correctly. Some of the questions on the passport were not hard. For example, "How many legs does a spider have?" wasn't bad but, "The biggest pumpkin ever grown weighed..." stumped us. Luckily, the clues weren't necessary at that point because we had found the next marker without it.

But when my 7-year-old spotted a bridge and really wanted to get to it, we all started to realize the maze was a bigger challenge than we had thought.

"It's right there mommy. Let's go!"

Ah, but it wasn't that easy. The bridge steps were only a row over but it took several turns and a path that moved away from it before we finally found our way there. It was made clear before we entered the maze that we could not cut through rows because it would damage the stalks — and the maze — but I could now understand why such an emphasis was put on that rule. The temptation was there.

Once at the bridge, the kids excitedly ran up the stairs and speculated on the number corn stalks it must have taken to make the maze.

"A hundred million," my 9-year-old guessed.

I lingered to take some photos and video of the corn field but got moving again after hearing, "Come on mommy. Let's go!" a few times.

The view from the bridge was not the point, apparently. It was finding it that mattered.
Another thing we hadn't expected was the terrain inside the maze.

"It's really dusty here," my 9-year-old said, surprised. I was glad I had insisted on sneakers for our trek through the maze instead of the sandals my warm-weather holdouts were still wearing around town.

At marker 5, which took us about 20 minutes to get to, there was an option to leave the maze or continue. The kids thought finding the first five markers had been pretty easy so they opted to do the full maze and find all ten.

So we continued on and found another bridge in the second half of the maze. The kids enjoyed taking note of how far away the first bridge we found was. But again, I was not allowed to linger on the bridge; we apparently were on a mission to find our way out "fast."

By marker 8 however, both girls were getting tired and thirsty, so I insisted on stopping for a quick water and snack break. With all the dust in the maze and the warm temperatures the day we visited, I was glad to have planned ahead with water bottles and granola bars.

And the kids realized that they hadn't paced themselves for the length of time it was taking to get through the maze — 45 minutes to get to marker 8.

After our snack we set out again but kept getting turned around between markers 8 and 9. I was sure we had answered question 8 in the passport correctly. That clue said to turn left but we kept ending up back at the same marker. So even with the clues, the maze proved difficult as we neared the end.

We passed a few people along the way that were having the same problem, and the same discussion that, "Yes, E.T. ate Reese's Pieces in that movie." We didn't run into many people until the last couple of markers, for what I think was the hardest part of the maze to get through.

Finally my 7-year-old led us down a row that none of us had noticed after four passes, and we managed to find marker 9.

But that marker's trivia question was difficult and I didn't know the answer. And in case anyone chooses the Halloween trivia passport (there are several to choose includin sports, movies and TV trivia), the largest pumpkin pie ever made was 350 pounds. I Googled it when I got home and then realized that the answers to all the questions were on the paper (upside down and tiny but they were there). A "Duh" moment if there ever was one.

We turned around in circles around marker 9 a few times but finally managed to find marker 10. The kids did a little victory dance and even the Flat Stanley visitors we had taken along marked the spot.

We thought we were done but there were still some rows to get through before we were completely out. During our final few minutes we heard someone from a group in another row say that he should pull out his GPS to navigate the maze. The kids heard that comment and gave me a pained look.

"No girls," I said, "we really didn't need a GPS to find our way out of this maze."

From start to finish, including our snack break inside the maze, we managed to get through it in about an hour. And even without our beloved GPS, it was a fun, new challenge for our family.

If you're interested in trying out a corn maze, you need to plan your outing in the next couple of weeks. Most of the corn mazes in Maine (there are large mazes in Dayton, Corinna and Caribou) are only open until the end of October. And if you're interested in an even bigger challenge, during the last weekend in October visitors can make their way through the Dayton maze at night with a flashlight.

Kids' Review
7-year-old: "I liked it when we had the flat stanleys and we jumped up when we got to number 10. We did the victory dance and then it was confusing to find our way back because after we found number 10 we still had to get out. I liked the corn box but one thing I didn't like was when my sister put corn in my mouth when she was helping to bury me (in the corn box). When she put the corn (kernels) on my neck, a whole hunk of it spilled into my mouth."
9-year-old: "What I liked about the corn maze was going on the bridge because it was a really pretty view. We could see two tractors and the ticket stand and the play area. I liked running through the maze because it was a lot of fun."

Originally published in the Maine Sunday Telegram, October 2005

A fall cornmaze is a lot of fun

After trying our hand at orienteering and geocaching this past year, and thoroughly enjoyed each activity, our curiosity was peaked with a brochure we saw for a giant corn maze. We couldn't resist the urge to try it out.

It took us an hour to navigate our way through the "Fire Engine" corn maze at Pumpkin Valley Farm. It wasn't as easy as it seemed thought. And, there are no maps, GPS units (although the girls did suggest using one near the end of our trek) or compass to assist. But, we did play a trivia game card that offered clues on which way to turn at the numbered markers inside the maze. We didn't know a few of the trivia answers so we guessed. But, I had a big "duh" moment later that night when I realized that the answers were actually on the trivia game paper. Not a shining star moment for me.

If you're planning on trying a corn maze, most operate on weekends through the end of October. Pumpkin Valley evens offers an additional nighttime challenge the last weekend of October. There are also giant mazes in Corinna and Caribou. The Corinna maze is actually an interesting tribute to the Red Sox.

The two bridges in the maze offered a great view of the field.

We had a little fun in the maze with the Flat Stanleys.

The kids were tired by the time we reached the last marker but they still had enough energy left to do a little victory dance with the Flat Stanleys.

After making our way through the corn maze the kids made a beeline for the "corn box." Getting buried was one of the afternoon's highlights but we could have done without all the fine, white corn dust in the car.
 

Opening day at the fair

My family spent yesterday afternoon and early evening at the Cumberland County fair.

Highlights include the carousel action shot, our nutritional dinner, the rabbit and poultry barns as well as our volunteer time in the 4-H Snack Bar.

Check out the photos of our visit.

Cumberland Fair opens Sunday

The Cumblerland Fair opens Sunday and my kids' 4-H Club has spent the last few weeks putting the finishing touches on their projects for the 4-H Exhibit Hall.

The Fair has a ton of great activities happening everyday so it takes a few minutes to sift through the complete schedule. If you're looking for a few "highlights," here's what my family has taken note of this year:

Monday and Wednesday are "Children's Day" and an all-day ride pass is $10 (from noon-10 p.m.). A great deal if you can get to the fair on one of these days.

There is no entrance fee for kids 10 and under. Adult tickets are $6/Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday; $8/Sunday, Friday and Saturday.

The Cumberland County 4-H clubs host a food booth at the fair staffed by 4-Hers and their families (it's at the 4-H Exhibit Hall). The booth is a fundraiser for the county clubs and is typically cheaper than other fair eateries. My family has been busy practicing our burger-flipping technique on the grill at home this past week to get in shape for our opening day shift.

The Grand Parade at the Race Track is on Sat., Oct. 1. The parade starts at 10 a.m. and usually features at least a couple of floats made by 4-Hers. If my kids' club float is any indication, the parade should be highly entertaining. If you go, look for the float with the rubber lobster singing Elvis tunes....

New Outdoors with Children column

A new hiking column about our visit to Acadia National Park is now live in Outdoors with Children.

As I blogged about last month, Acadia was beautiful even though we hardly even scratched the surface of sites to see during our weekend visit.

And for a chuckle, check out the "Where are the Mainers?" video clip that my 7-year-old narrated.

Speak Francais? Not exactly...

Last night the girls and I were chatting during dinner and a turn in the conversation lead to a discussion on strangers.

I've spoken with the girls before about not talking to people they don't know unless they are with an adult they DO know. My usually more reserved child, G. said she had a new plan to deal with a stranger asking her to help him find his lost puppy....

First I'd kick him in his privates like daddy told me to do.

Well honey, you don't kick everybody. Just someone who tries to touch you.

Yeah mommy, I know that.

Good.

Then I'd say (to the stranger), 'Monsieur. Pas de Bourree Francais. (Then in a really inaccurate French accent") I do not speak English Monsieur.' "

What!?

Mommy, it's French. I would pretend I didn't understand him because I speak French.

OK. But honey you don't know how to speak French. And don't you think the English words might give that away?

No! I'd speak like a French person so he would think I was French.

Honey, if you're going to pretend to speak another language, why not Spanish? You at least know words in that language. The only French you know is from ballet class. (Pas de bourree is a ballet step.)

Yeah mommy, but it's not as weird.

So you're going to scare off the stranger by speaking in French to him?

Yes!

Once I picked myself up off the floor from laughing, I suggested she stick with our original plan when dealing with strangers - find mom or dad or another adult she knows and leave the "French talking" to her weekly drama class at the theater.

Massachusetts is a goat

L., my 7-year-old, always has an interesting perspective on things. A couple of months ago she thought the state of Texas looked like a pair of underwear. And for a while she was on a roll about what some of the other states looked like (Florida was an arm, California was a broken arm, Maine was a big head and so on).

The novelty wore off after a week or so and she hadn't mentioned the state shapes again until last night.

Just out of the blue she said, "I think Massachusetts is a goat mommy."

What are you talking about honey?

You know, Massachusetts is shaped like a goat.

I don't see that. How?

Patiently she replied - as if I wasn't too bright, "The horn is Cape Cod and the head is the bottom part of Massachusetts. Look at it and you'll see."

So over to the wall map I went to investigate.

And you know I think the little firecracker is right.

Apple picking season is here

Apple picking season just opened and we've already made 2 stops to the farm near our house. We can pick our own, which the kids always enjoy, but I also like to buy "utility" apples at the farm. It was only a couple of years ago that I found out about utilities. These are slightly bruised or scarred fruit that make them less-than-perfect and are sold at a reduced rate. Always happy to find a bargain, I usually pick up a bag of these apples because they are great to bake with.

On our first trip to the orchard, G. said she wanted to pick apples every day. Why? "Because it is soooo much easier than picking blueberries!"

We can fill up our 1/2 bushel bag of apples in about 15 minutes while it takes several trips and a couple of hours to pick the 22 pounds of blueberries we currently have in our freezer from this year's harvest.

But cooking with apples is a lot more time-consuming than blueberries so every fruit has its drawbacks. Last night I made a deep dish apple pie (I specify deep dish so you know I peeled a lot of apples to make it) and it was gone by breakfast this morning. The rapid disappearance of that pie means this is the year the kids learn how to peel apples!

There are lots of apple orchards in Maine and since the season usually lasts until the end of October, everyone has plenty of time to pick-your-own this fall.

 The trees were heavily weighed down at the orchard with all the ripe apples.

I had turned my back for a minute and there was L. trying to climb a tree to get that elusive "perfect one" near the top. With the number of times she's broken her arm, I did not encourage her to climb any more trees.

Beautiful day for an island celebration

Yesterday the MaineToday staff celebrated our 10-year anniversary on the web with a trip to House Island in Casco Bay. My kids were envious and wanted to come but since the day included a staff meeting and some business-related discussions, it wasn't the time for family members to tag along. I did however agree to bring their Flat Stanley with me. Flat Stanley travels to places the kids can't see for themselves sometimes so it seemed the perfect time for me to "host" the flat guy.

It was a gorgeous day and during our boat ride to the island, we were treated several to fly-overs by the Navy's Blue Angels. According to our captain aboard the "Chippewa," the Blue Angles were having some promotional photos taken at Portland Headlight that day. But if you missed the short Casco Bay "show," don't worry. The flying team is performing at the Brunswick Naval Air Station this weekend.

House Island is a small island with an interesting history and our staff was treated to a walking tour of the island and Fort Scammon along with a traditional lobster bake lunch.

Once home, I shared the story of my day with the kids and although upset they couldn't go, they did enjoy the Flat Stanley photos I took.

Blue Angles flying over Casco Bay.

Flat Stanley enjoys the view of Portland (and the distant MT offices) from the island.

Editorial staffer, Carl Natale goofing around inside one of the dungeons in Fort Scammon.

The full MaineToday.com staff with Fort Gorges and Portland in the background. The kids loved the bunny ears on Flat Stanley donned by editorial staffer, Colleen Stone and marketing director, Monica Wright.

Flat Stanley assisted the captain of the "Chippewa" on the ride back to the mainland. 

The captain thought the kids should have a photo of me and Flat Stanley aboard the boat as well.