JourneyLeaf: Life a Page at a Time

Spring Afternoon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer Rain

  

Afternoon rain.  Not a rumble of thunder to be heard.  Tossing aside our shoes to walk on the warm, wet pavement.  Soon the steamy asphalt cooled down and the puddles no longer felt like bathwater.  That greeny damp smell.  Peaceful.

 

 

 

 

 

   

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Owl Pellets and Kiddo Pranks

  

A few weeks ago Eli and I agreed that the book he loved so much from the school library had to be returned so other kids could read it. Ginjer Clarke's book Gross Out: Animals That Do Disgusting Things had been hanging around our house for ages. But I did tell Eli that we could make the funny recipe that appears in the back of the book. Owls, you see, eat mice and other small critters whole. Whatever the owl cannot digest -- fur, claws, teeth, skulls, bones, etc. -- are later regurgitated in a ball or pellet. The "Owl Barf Balls" recipe transformed such ingredients as peanut butter*, sugar, cocoa, and oats into something that looked like owl pellets complete with pretzel "bones."  

I asked Eli's teachers if we could make the Owl Barf Balls for the class and was given the green light. It never occurred to me that they would turn it into a funny prank, but....  One of the teachers read the passage from the book about owl pellets and then announced that they had some. Would anyone like to try one and experience firsthand what an owl tastes? Eli raised his hand and was called to the front where he theatrically hesitated before taking a big bite.

"What did the kids say?" I asked.
"Nothing!  They just stared at me and some of them gasped."

 

When Eli got home from school, we had a good laugh about it.  I thought the laughs were over until the teacher handed me a packet a few days later. The teachers used the owl pellets to teach the class about thank you letters. Here are a few favorites (with surnames removed for privacy)...

 

 

 

 

As if that weren't enough, some kids made wonderful drawings of Eli and me in the kitchen, the Owl Barf Balls at school, and owls in the act of expelling pellets...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We love Eli's school and teachers so much!

 

 

*Peanut butter is a controversial ingredient because so many kids today have peanut allergies.  Eli's teachers gave us the go-ahead to use it as there aren't any allergic kids in Eli's class. (After the Owl Barf Ball activity, they made sure the kids washed their hands before going to shared spaces such as the playground.) The recipe in the book would probably work well with Sun Butter made from sunflower seeds or you may be able to omit this ingredient. If you add broken pretzel sticks to THIS RECIPE, it would also look like owl pellets. 

   

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Atlanta Hiking: Doll's Head Trail

Just inside the Atlanta Perimeter is a relatively new public nature preserve called Constitution Lakes.  I heard about it only recently and was curious, so during the last week of summer holidays Eli and I visited there with friends.  We found the 125-acre place is lovely but sometimes scrubby.  Nature is bouncing back from years of industrial abuse.  Yet its very history makes it by turns unusual, inspiring, and sometimes even a wee bit creepy -- but always interesting.

The front of the park is fairly ordinary but also easy walking with a paved trail and boardwalk.

 

 

 

The preserve contains ancient mines where the Indians removed soapstone for carving various implements.  Some of these artifacts have been found hundreds of miles away, indicating this area was quite the trade hub.  Civil War relics were unearthed here.  And beginning over a century ago, it was long a home to a brick company.  The big hole that was left behind from mining clay slowly filled up with water to become a lake.  

 

Beyond the boardwalk, there is a nature trail that dips down into land bordered by the South River and a spur of the north-south rail line through Atlanta.  Over the years junk was sometimes pitched off of railroad cars and floods deposit flotsam and jetsam from the city.  As the park developed, folks began using junk from the land to create found object sculptures.  The nature trail came to be known as Doll's Head Trail and it is a fascinating spot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Visitors are encouraged to write on pieces of brick and other found objects.  
A few people have left their names and graffiti type images.  Most, however, are inspired to leave quotations or thoughts ranging from the amusing to the mysterious to the profound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location:  Constitution Lakes, South River Industrial Boulevard SE, Atlanta GA 30316.  There doesn't seem to be a specific address, but it is within sight of the crossroads with Moreland Avenue and is next door to Rush Truck Center at 2560 Moreland Avenue (which would be a good location to navigate to with a GPS).

Websites about Constitution Lakes and Doll's Head Trail:

• http://historyatlanta.com/dolls-head-trail-constitution-lakes/
• http://hikingatlanta.com/downloads/AtlantaHikes_SampleHike.pdf
• http://wabe.org/post/history-trees-tour-doll-s-head-trail

One Mama's Two Cents:
     For safety's sake, we went to Constitution Lakes with friends; it is remote enough that I would't go alone.  My mama friend and I agreed that if it felt too isolated or unsafe that we'd leave, but we found it to be well maintained and with a good "vibe."  (Our cell phones got good signals there too.)
     Much of the area has wide and easy paved walking paths or boardwalk.  If you have wee ones, a stroller would work just fine and wobbly walkers would have no troubles.  (I read that the main trail is just over two miles.  There are no bathrooms or water fountains, but there are trash cans.)  When it comes to Doll's Head Trail, however, the path is often narrow and muddy.  Good shoes are a must.  Also, by late summer the weeds are high in places and we saw lots of poison ivy.  Because of the wetlands, there are many snake warnings about the area.  Still, our trek was uneventful and we had a lovely time enjoying the shade and unusual history of the place.  We'll definitely come here again.  Eli likes anything related to building/construction and was inspired by the crazy new things made out of ordinary objects, so it will be fun to see how the artwork changes over time.  Constitution Lakes is not far from Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, and thus the nature preserve can be a great stopping spot for kiddos to expend energy before picking up company from the airport or taking an afternoon flight.  Don't forget to bring a permanent marker!

   

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Outer Banks.  Hot, windy night on the beach.  There are some smudgy stars visible through the haze -- but no match for a little boy with a bright flashlight.  

Eli and I joined my brother and his daughter in their annual summer tradition of scouting out ghost crabs under the pier.  The funny, pale critters scuttle across the sand but will often freeze when a light shines directly on them.  Beady eyes -- waving around on stalks, no less -- look mighty surprised.  Then four pairs of legs rocket sideways so the crab can disappear into the dark.  No matter how many times it happened, it was followed by Eli's gasp and gleeful giggle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hiking at Callaway Gardens

 

  

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

 

  

 

   

 

Callaway Gardens Butterfly House

A lovely spring afternoon.  Perfect for an adventure to Callaway Gardens near Pine Mountain.  The area is one of the southernmost parts of the Appalachian mountain chain and about an hour south of Atlanta.

Our first destination in the 2.500-acre garden was the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center, a learning center and also a conservatory filled with butterflies. 

 

 

The Center raises its own butterflies.  As guests enter, they can stop to watch butterflies working their way out of their chrysalises. 

   

 

The newest butterflies have wrinkled, wavy wings.  They cling to their old home for a while, straightening themselves and drying off in preparation for flight. 

 

The Blue Morpho butterfly from Central and South America is my favorite.  Their wings can span between three and eight inches!  The bottoms of their wings are brown, perfect to blend in with tree bark.  (Here they are slurping up juice from orange slices.)

 

 

The top side of the Blue Morpho is a gorgeous shade of blue!  These huge beauties fly fast and wild, weaving around all the guests in the conservatory.  
I swear sometimes they dodged by my ears just to make me laugh.  

 

But there are lots of other butterflies too. 

 

 

Camouflaged on a garden hose? 

 

The conservatory is just lovely.  Steps and ramps wind through the jungle of tropical plants.  Windows all around bring in light.  There are fountains with fish and turtles too.  (Eli is feeding a turtle a piece of approved turtle chow.)

 

 

We loved the butterfly house and stayed quite a while.  It is a lovely place to perch on a bench, watching the butterflies and listening to the splash of water.

 

One Mama's Two Cents:  We had a fantastic day at Callaway Gardens and the butterflies were a big part of that.  They have instructional movies to teach about these insects and then guests are free to wander among the butterflies as long as they would like.  The Center is free, a part of the price of entering the Gardens.  A stroller would be possible, but we didn't see any in there so I am not sure if they are allowed.  We did see a guest enjoying the conservatory in a wheelchair.  Because of all the glass but also to support the tropical habitat, the conservatory is quite warm.  Dressing in layers for your visit is smart so you don't get overheated.

Other JourneyLeaf Butterfly Posts:

• Visiting the monarch butterflies in their winter retreat
• Monarchs wintering in the woods (Point Pinole)
• The Vallejo, California butterfly house

 

Climbing Stone Mountain

We love Stone Mountain Park and six year-old Eli has frequently been to the top of the granite monolithic dome (monadnock) via the cable car.  On a clear day, you can see for sixty miles!  Yet we've been itching to take the hiking trail up the back and climb it ourselves.  The path is well-marked and only a mile each way, yet it rises 786 feet (240 meters) to an elevation of 1,868 feet (569 meters) above sea level.  We figured cool weather would be best and it is Spring Break this week, so even though some haze and clouds would mostly hide the view of the Atlanta skyline, we decided to go for it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

If you go, don't forget to stop at the interpretive center at the bottom for a climber's certificate!

 

  

One Mama's Two Cents:
          On the way back down the mountain, Eli asked if we could come back tomorrow.  We had a blast!  Before climbing, Eli and I talked about challenges and accomplishments, about how you can feel proud of doing difficult things.  He seemed to understand the spirit of the undertaking; although the way was tough, he never complained and never wavered.  It was fun to see his pride in the venture.  We will definitely make the trip again soon.  
          I've gotten questions from my mama friends about the trek, so I wanted to share some details.  Getting into the park is $15 per car and there are places to purchase food, water, etc. in the park.  Check the park's calendar for details.  Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, the park's shops and restaurants are usually open, but the rest of the year it depends on the day of the week.  There is a parking lot at the bottom of the walk-up trail complete with bathrooms and an interpretive center.  (Fantastic hands-on geology museum!)  The walking trail is always open and hikers decide for themselves if the conditions are right for climbing.
          We got up and down without any problems, but it truly is rough terrain -- steep slopes but also very uneven rocky trails rife with loose gravel, mossy slick patches, and soggy areas of thick mud and standing water.  The day we went up, it was supposed to just be cloudy, but we got a little rain.  It was scary how much slicker the rocks became (especially on the way down), so our next trip will definitely be when there hasn't been rain in a few days and the chance of rain is at 0%.  When it comes to wet rocks, the descent is the scariest part.  In case of unexpected rain, it would probably be best to finish the climb up and then take the cable car back down.  ($6 plus tax one way.)  It is 1.1 miles of sidewalk from the cablecar landing pad back to the hiking trail parking lot.  
          A sport stroller would be absolutely impossible.  We saw some folks making the trip with wee ones in hiking backpacks and baby carriers, but I think you'd want to be practiced and confident before doing this trail.  As for children doing the trip themselves, we saw other kiddos climbing and also having great fun.  The kids we saw seemed Eli's age (6) or older.  I wouldn't want to make the trip with a child who won't follow directions, though.  It would not be a safe place for a kid to wander off or insist on running and there were places where I felt Eli needed to be right beside me or hold my hand.  Especially on the descent, if a kid isn't careful, there are spots where falling down would mean rolling and tumbling across bare rock.  Sturdy, closed-toe shoes are a must.  And I imagine there has been many a skinned knee on this trail, so I wouldn't travel it without a small first aid kit.  For big emergencies, there are call boxes periodically along the trail and my cell phone got good service throughout (Verizon).
          Taking the trip slow and being prepared made all the difference for us on the climb.  Park signs say the trip is a half hour each way, but we spent about two and a half hours enjoying the path and taking breaks whenever we wanted.  We carried water and snacks but agreed that a picnic would be more fun next time.  (About halfway up there is a covered shelter with picnic tables.   There is no water or bathrooms available on the trail, but there is a snack bar as well as a gift shop and bathrooms at the top.)  Eli took a small pair of binoculars on a break-away cord and he enjoyed them immensely.  If you're taking time out to play, some action figures, Lego people, or tiny dolls would be great as there are a million mossy stone crevices to become whole new worlds and landscapes.

  

Interpretive center model of Stone Mountain:  The hiking trail goes up the spine of the mountain along the bare line you see below.  The tiny blue oval below the dome on the left side is the reflecting pool below the carved sculpture.  The cable cars go up the dome just above this pool.