wild earth day

Posted on April 23rd, 2012 by mountain girl  |  6 Comments »

We spent the day yesterday at one of our town’s many festivals, Wild Earth Day.

Nederland is nestled in the mountains at the edge of a lake, and for a mountain community, it has a lot to offer. We have a great library, lots of little shops, a natural foods co-op, and a park with a playground near the lake. We can also fish in the lake (really a reservoir), and there are trails for walking all around town. Of course, what really sold me on moving to our area was the fact that the local grocery store carries kombucha tea and seaweed. Mm-hm.

Back to Wild Earth Day. It was rocking with  kid-friendly activities, which is always good for us. Caleb was taking his 9-hour hunter safety course (we didn’t tell that to anyone at Wild Earth Day) so he missed out on the festivities. (He did great on his test, and passed with flying colors.)

Zia got a balloon and had her face painted–her two favorite things in the world. We stood in line for face painting for a looooong time (I finally had to sit down because my feet were aching so much) but it was worth it in the end. She was thrilled.

Here’s the blue-and-white-and-black horse she requested, plus one very large google eye.

We did a scavenger hunt, and on the way we found a mural to paint. It will be wrapped around a recycle bin at the post office when it’s finished.

Zia outlined the bear and I did a deer.

Outside, kids were picking though piles of compost to find worms.

There was a girl with a Red-Tail Columbian Boa wrapped lovingly around her.

Kisses, anyone?

The birds of prey were really cool. There was this owl, a Peregrine Falcon, and a Bald Eagle.

Then there was this guy. I have to say, he looked right at home in Nederland. The town has a very yeti-like feel to it.

There was also a weather-balloon launch.  Zia had to hang onto two balloons at once.

She almost wouldn’t let go of the weather balloon. The scientist guy had to pull it away from her.

Ready for launch…3…2…1…

blast off!

Happy Wild Earth Day!

6 Responses to “wild earth day”

  1. Hannah says on :

    You are so very lucky to have a natural food co-op! I really laughed out loud at this quote: “Caleb was taking his 9-hour hunter safety course (we didn’t tell that to anyone at Wild Earth Day) so he missed out on the festivities.” We all have taken our hunter safety classes and the guys (I used to too) hunt.

  2. mountain girl says on :

    Hannah,
    That’s so cool you have hunted! I think it would be fun, right up until pulling the trigger. I have nothing against hunting for food, but I’m just not sure I could kill something so wild and beautiful. I guess I wouldn’t know until I was out there with a gun, though.
    By the way, love the Earth Day ideas on your blog today!

  3. Hannah says on :

    Yea you do have to get past that part… but to have clean, local, home processed meat (unless you don’t eat meat at all) is much better (to me) than the grocery store options. I last went hunting (ok walking along with The Hubs) when I was pregnant for Bunny.

  4. Leah says on :

    I just caught up on your posts. So much fun happening and great photo of Caleb at the end. Looking forward to seeing a photo of your baby belly…maybe. When are you expecting the little one?

  5. Leah says on :

    I meant to say that I love reading waht’s going on. You write well and take great photographs. Thanks for sharing.

  6. mountain girl says on :

    Thanks, Leah!

    The baby is due August 1st, and the belly is getting quite precocious…I’ll have to post a picture soon.

    I’d guess you are having adventures of your own? Can’t wait to hear more about your life in Israel!