More Creeking

Another beautiful day. Another morning spent on a river: the Olentangy, this time, at Highbanks Metro Park.



I know, it's embarrassing how long it took us to finally get here. Many people have mentioned this park to us. Many of them very trust-worthy. Molly, for instance, brings her children here, so I know it would be worth the drive from our home in the far Southeast corner of Columbus (to the far Northwest corner)... I know... it's not that far. But I do everything I can to avoid the concrete-ness of the highways.



And yes. It was worth it. It was worth it especially with some friends in tow.



The children spent hours catching and releasing crawdads, fish, and clams. They didn't seem to mind the small amount of water left in the river due from this season's drought. If anything, it was the perfect amount of water for their creeking adventure.



Highbanks Metropark:
9466 Columbus Pike (US Rt 23 N)
Lewis Center, OH 43035
(northern Franklin & southern Delaware counties)
Open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. April through September / 
6:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. October through March

Clear Creek Metro Park

It was a beautiful day.



A hint of fall is in the air now. One can only guess how long it will last since we have had one of the hottest summers on record.



Never mind the unknown. Our family meeting this Saturday morning concluded with a decision to go somewhere new, somewhere pretty, somewhere preferrably with water. In this case, a clear creek kind of water... however little is left in it after the season's drought.



A little walking in the woods and playing with creatures was just what we needed. We also found plenty of mud (on our shoes), and a lot of crawdads (under rocks).



"We can stay here forever," proclaimed one of the youngest among us. Though we all knew that she didn't really mean it (including the said child herself), it was a sure sign that we were all having fun.



Yes, Central Ohio does have enough to keep us exploring. Today, we found a place equally as pretty as the day itself at Clear Creek Metro Park in Perry County, Ohio.

Caesar Creek State Park

Parents beware. This park may become a favorite one for your young children, forever!

We were on our way home from Cincinnati, driving the most direct way to get home: Hwy 71 North. But we had a stop in mind: Caesar Creek State Park. The kids' first grade teacher told them about this place months ago, and how it is a place where one could collect fossils, real million-year-old fossils, to take home.



Dubious, but hopeful, we found our way to the park as the rain stopped, the sky parted and the sun came out. It was perfect fossil-hunting weather.



To hunt for these fossils legally, one must go first to the visitor's center of the park to obtain a free permit. I am pretty impressed that they still let visitors collect as many (smaller) fossils to one's heart's content! But if you go yourself, you will see why.  This place is COVERED with fossils!! From trilopods, to brachiopods, to corals and shells of all kinds... we were basically standing in the bottom of the 125 million year old ocean bottom and collecting the fossilized shells!

Intrigued? You can do it, too! It's about 1.5 hour drive southwest of Columbus on I-71. Follow signs to Caesar Creek State Park Visitor's center, and you won't be disappointed.

Thoreau lake at Blendon Woods

Our family has a soft spot for Henry D. Thoreau, the New England author whose books have inspired the love of nature in many of us.

Walden Pond in Massachusetts, as I am sure most of you are familiar with (at least as a title of a book), is a special place to our family. Both my husband and I went to schools not too far from this infamous pond. Because of that, we have many fond memories of swimming across the pond with dear friends, visiting it during all the four seasons, taking our children there to make their own memories.

Best of all, both of our children learned how to swim at Walden, in the sandy, shallow end of the pond. How cool is that?



And so when we saw that there is a pond named after our beloved author who spent a whole lot of time by one of our favorite places, we had to check it out (and I am naively assuming that the pond was named after the author...I could be wrong!). It sits in the middle of Walden Waterfowl Refuge at Blendon Woods Metro Park.

Yesterday's spring like weather was perfect for a little outing. The sun was out, the temperature hovered around 60 degrees, birds were chirping wildly.



Thoreau's lake is only 0.3 miles from the nature center at Blendon Woods - an easy walk on a paved path that leads visitors to two separate viewing areas. These hide-outs allow us to watch the wildlife in and around the pond. There were several kinds of birds there yesterday: ducks, geese, even a white swan.

I can only imagine how lovely Thoreau's lake will be in the spring time with vegetation bursting out of dormancy. It's not far away now... I think we can all feel it in the air.

BLENDON WOODS
4265 E. Dublin-Granville Road
Westerville, OH 43081

Scioto Audobon Metro Park

We have been a big fan of Audobon for a long time. Though Audobon may be synonymous with birds, the organization is a lot more than that now. If you have children (or not), this is a great book about the man himself.

Lucky for Columbus, we have a beautiful new building that houses the nature center at the Scioto Audobon Metro Park just a few miles south of downtown, next to the Scioto river. This green building boasts many 'green' features, and it won a well deserved gold medal award!

Since today is election day and around here, I guess that also means no school day, the kids and I went to pay the park a visit for the first time.

We were one of the only visitors this morning, aside from a couple of school field trip groups. Inside the beautiful building, you can find several rooms with hands-on activities, books and references, observation stations and some live animals (snapping turtles, toads, frogs and fish). You can even hear bird sounds coming in from the outside (I need to learn how they do this. It's pretty cool!). Outside, there are several trails that lead to the marshland, or along the river.

The Park has several programs for children, including a summer camp! I can't wait for the kids to join next summer. For now, we will go back to enjoy this nature sanctuary in our own backyard.

Discovery Park

Broad Street is a busy thoroughfare for downtown Columbus. I have gone by this little park many times before, but yesterday, I made a point to stop, and really spend a moment getting to know this sweet little spot.

Discovery Park, as it is called, was built to honor the public educators of Ohio (well deserved, needless to say!). I love the figures of both children and grown-ups: they each have expressions so familiar to me (being a parent of a boy and a girl myself).

I can almost feel the emotions of the girl in that first photo. Am I reminded of myself as a youth? That is possible...but that would be a whole different story!

If you have time, go by this little spot, and maybe these children will speak to you as well.

Franklin Park Community Garden

It was one of those mornings when I had many things planned, but not all of them got accomplished. And the most (wonderfully) unexpected ventures became part of the day.

Fall has treated us well here, I am sure you will agree (if you live here in Columbus, that is!). Take today: the sky can't be more blue, the foliage is in full blown display. It is quite lovely to live here, right now.

From point A to point B (part of my plan this morning), I had to go by Franklin Park Community Garden. Though I did not plan on stopping, I found myself pulling into their parking spot, and getting the camera out of the car.

I love this time of the year in the garden. I love it that there are still treasures to be found on the leaves and branches of the vegetables, and flowers and other produce that are still growing from the earth. These are the last of the fresh tomatoes, ripe eggplants, and sweet basil before we all go into hibernation and won't emerge again until next spring!

I also love all the colors playing against one another. The deep reds, the bright yellows, the crazy orange hue of the maple leaves that have fallen next to the dark green of the kale and broccoli. It must be a painter's paradise.

As I bent down to take a picture of some Swallowtail butterfly caterpillars on dill leaves, a gentleman named Bill joined me in marveling at these creatures' beauty. As we talked, I found out that Bill is the coordinator for the Franklin Park Conservatory's community garden. He is the man behind the amazing community garden projects in and around Columbus. He is also the man with inspiring visions. I was terribly happy that I stopped by and had met Bill.

We talked some more about our shared interest in community and school gardens. I learned a lot about what has been happening in Columbus alone. For instance, did you know that there is a free eight-week Urban Garden Academy course sponsored by the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company right at the Franklin Park Conservatory? Did you know that if you have an idea about starting a new community garden somewhere in town and did not know where to start, you can call up Bill and just...ask?

I am very happy to see and hear that the "getting closer to our food source" movement (my own term), whether you want to call it Slow Food, Edible Schoolyard, Sustainable Community Agriculture, Locavore, or something else, is alive and well and growing in this community.

You can find out more about Franklin Park Conservatory, their programs and resources here! Best of all, I recommend that you go and spend a quiet morning (or afternoon) at the community garden. Bring your camera, or a book, and see where it will take you!

Blacklick Metro Park

Have you been to Blacklick Metro Park?

I had not been until the other day when I was going to submit my photos for this contest. I wanted to hand deliver them at the park partly because I wanted an excuse to visit this park that is not too far from where we live.

I did not spend much time there, but like the other metro parks that I have been to, Blacklick seemed very well organized, with several hiking paths, picnic areas, and I hear that there is even a pond somewhere.

The fall leaves are beautiful right now, too, with some purple asters and goldenrods blooming away. Against that deep Autumn blue sky, it's picture perfect!

Still Blooming

I am pretty enchanted by the lotuses at Goodale Park. If you are ever near there, take a walk around the pond. The lotuses will capture you, even if for a moment.

Athens Area

Our first taste of Pawpaws!

And Pawpaw beer

We had a lovely 24 hours away from Columbus.

First there was the Pawpaw Festival where everything you needed to know (or eat, or drink) that had to do with the native fruit was right there (more on this later!).




Then there was Ohio University, and the town of Athens. Apparently (as I have now learned) a fierce rival of the OSU Buckeyes.




Then, there was Strouds Run State Park (where we camped) with its tranquil lake, sweet smelling hiking trails, and a lot of buckeye trees and huge toadstools!

We got a little of everything and we were only 1.5 hours away from home. If you have not gone south on Rt 33, I would highly recommend it. Even if it's just for a drive to see the change from flatness to hills!

It's worth a trip.

Three Creeks Metro Park

Our mission of visiting more metro parks around Columbus continues!

We didn't go to Three Creeks Metro Park today for any special event. We brought a picnic lunch, followed the directions, and just hit the road.

Since we live in Bexley, catching highway 33 south is a breeze. A few minutes later, we found ourselves at the Huron Pond. Soon, we discovered that this park is more extensive and spread out than we had thought. There was a 'nature playground' area where we had wanted to check out, but it seemed a bit out of our way (from Huron Pond), so we will have to check that out next time.

The park was very well used, with numerous bicyclists, families, and fishermen! There are plenty of trails, too, for short or long walks around the creeks and ponds.

We will go back there, for sure, with more time to explore, and maybe a fishing rod or two. How nice to have an easy access to some natural area so close by.

THREE CREEKS METRO PARK
3860 Bixby Road
Groveport, OH 43125