One of my goals for 2015 was to hike in a different park every month.  Last month, we visited Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve, which counted as both the January hike for what I’ve dubbed our “twelve months hiking project” and the first of our four seasonal hikes for 2015.  For February, I set my sights on Knox Farm.  We’ve been to Knox Farm a number of times in the past and have actually hiked there in spring, summer and fall (unblogged, but if we’re friends on Instagram you saw some of the pictures).  (An inadvertent four seasons hiking project!)  We’d even seen it in all its winter glory when we took Peanut there to play on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, when there was already a blanket of snow on the ground.  I was eager to check out the snowy wonderland on the trails.

Boots on the ground!  Hubby didn’t repeat his mistake of leaving his snowshoes in the car, and he loved having them.  I was struggling a lot more in just my hiking boots.  We were walking over drifts, which were fairly well-packed in some areas, but I still broke through the pack quite a few times, and the snow was up to my knees when I did.  I only got stuck once, though.  It would have been a much easier hike had I been wearing snowshoes too – I should have rented a pair.  Next winter I’m planning to ask Santa for a pair of my own; I didn’t want to buy them this year because Nugget has pushed me up a size.  Anyway, hubby has really been enjoying his, which makes me happy.

Guess who had an even easier time on the hike?  The backpack is definitely the way to ride.  Wish she would’ve given me a turn.

As you can see, the drifts were pretty deep!  I led the way and tried to pick the best packed snow.

There were lots of snowshoe and boot prints and cross-country ski tracks.  I loved seeing the evidence that so many people are out enjoying this space even in the cold weather.  We saw a few couples snowshoeing and one couple on skis.  I really miss cross-country skiing; it’s one of my favorite outdoor activities and I haven’t done it in years.  Next year I’d really like to get back to skiing – both downhill and cross-country.

This trail is actually a nice loop, with short and long options.  I’d planned for us to take the short loop, just because of the cold.  But we found ourselves walking and walking without breaking off, because there were no packed snow trails leading away from the longer loop.  And in fact, we soon discovered that the long loop trail wouldn’t work either, because the packed snow simply ended and there was no way to follow the trail around without me sinking into hip-high drifts.  So we decided to make it an out-and-back instead.

We found our way to the frozen-over creek and then turned back.  Look at those drifts, almost covering the wood fence!  This was where I got stuck and needed hubby’s help to free myself from a drift.  Snowshoes would have really come in handy… hubby never broke through the pack once.  I’m definitely getting a pair for next winter.

All in all, it was a successful hike.  I worked up a good sweat, breathed my fill of fresh air, and got to spend time in nature with my two favorite people.  (Three favorites, if you count Nugget too, but he slept the whole time.  Hubby and Peanut were livelier hiking buddies.)

Gear:
Hubby: Tubbs Frontier snowshoes; I still don’t know what his winter boots are; Black Diamond men’s hiking poles; Deuter KidComfort III child carrier.
Me: Oboz Bridgewater BDry waterproof hiking boots (SO WARM LOVE THEM); Black Diamond women’s hiking poles.

Do you enjoy winter hiking?  WNY friends, what park should we check out for our March hike?

Woohoo – first hike of 2015 is in the books!  If you were reading here last year, you may remember that hubby, Peanut and I took on a project of hiking at Tifft Nature Preserve in south Buffalo at least once each season.  (If you missed them I recapped all of our Tifft seasonal hikes: winter, spring, summer and fall).  We had so much fun hiking Tifft in each season (and by the fall hike we even knew our way around, winning) that we decided to carry the seasonal hiking project forward for 2015 and find a new place to explore.  After scouting around a bit, I decided that we should conduct our seasonal explorations at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Depew.  We’d never been there and I’d heard such great things about the scenery and the wildlife that I was itching to check it out.

I also made a resolution this year that we would take a family hike in a different place each month.  The hikes didn’t have to be in places we’d never been (so I’m sure you will see Tifft again, as well as Knox Farm) but we couldn’t repeat.  That also meant that we could use Reinstein Woods toward that goal one time, and one time only.  I was hoping that we’d make it out for another hike this January, but circumstances (weekend work for both hubby and me most of the month, plus a week of illness when Peanut brought a bad stomach virus home from daycare) have prevented us getting out more than once.  Oh, well, c’est la vie – we’ll be counting this January walk in Reinstein Woods toward our 12 months hiking project too.

Enough with the preamble!  Let’s get boots on the trail!

Peanut was somewhat less than thrilled to find herself back in the backpack.  We’d actually tried to go for a walk the weekend before, at Como Lake Park in Lancaster, without the backpack, and all she wanted to do was play.  So she’s back in the carrier until she’s a little more malleable.  We do make sure to let her out at the end of each hike and give her plenty of time to stretch her legs and explore, though.

I spent a little time checking out the information sign and getting a preview for what we can expect to see come spring, summer and fall.  I can’t wait to check out the birds!

And we were off on our hike.  Hubby brought along his snowshoes but decided to leave them in the car.  In retrospect, he wished he’d worn them, because the snow on the trails was deep enough that it was tough going with just our boots.  We definitely got a workout!  There were a number of other families out enjoying the beautiful afternoon and most of them had on either snowshoes or cross-country skis.  We were one of the few groups that hit the trails in just our boots and we were feeling it almost immediately.

We headed down one of the broad paths to start.  Having never been to Reinstein Woods before, we had no plan in mind – just followed the paths wherever they took us.

After one or two turns we found ourselves approaching a large pond.  The sun was starting to go down (we had decided on a post-nap hike for warmth purposes) and we enjoyed a beautiful sunset view.

There was a fork in the trail allowing us to choose to either walk around the pond or head deeper into the nature preserve.  As we stood debating what to do, both kids made their preferences known.  Peanut announced “All done riding in my chariot!” (yes, she really said that) and Nugget put in his vote with some mild cramping (or maybe Braxton Hicks contractions? I got them a few times during my last pregnancy and these were much less intense, so I’m not sure) so we decided to loop around the pond and back toward the car.

We had one more stop to make before we left the preserve, though:

I’d noted this little “nature play area” on our way into the preserve and thought it would be a great place for Peanut to play this spring and summer.  But it also worked out well as a spot for her to stretch her legs after this relatively brief ramble.  We headed into the play area and released her from her “chariot.”  She immediately fell on her face in the snow and rolled around like a dog.  Whatever works for ya, kid.

She also did some sweeping, of course.

And started to dismantle the “shelter” in an attempt to find the perfect stick for waving around.

I think it’s safe to say that our little snow bunny is a BIG fan of winter!

Gear:

Hubby – I have no idea what his winter boots are, he’s had them since before we started dating; Black Diamond men’s hiking poles; Deuter KidComfort III child carrier backpack.
Me – Oboz Bridgewater BDry hiking boots (thanks, Santa!); Black Diamond women’s hiking poles.

Thanks for a great walk, Reinstein Woods!  See you again soon!

It’s winter!  Okay, it’s been winter.  (Six feet of lake effect snow, anyone?)  But after Thanksgiving is when I get on board with winter.

Here’s a little-known (or maybe not-so-little-known) fact about me: I hate Black Friday.  I find the whole concept faintly sickening.  I mean, wasn’t it just yesterday that we were giving thanks for the intangibles, like the love of our family and friends, and now suddenly we’re supposed to switch gears to rampant consumerism?  Plus, crowds tend to really stress me out.  Yeah, I know the deals are great and it sure does help to have those discounts apply to holiday shopping, but… I just can’t do it.  So for years I’ve celebrated “Buy Nothing Day” on the Friday after Thanksgiving – although this year I did send hubby out for groceries.  So, okay, we did buy some food, but at least I avoided the craziness of Target and the mall.

It’s a dream of mine, in addition to celebrating “Buy Nothing Day,” to spend Black Friday on a family hike, soaking in the peace of the woods while others are fighting their way through holiday crowds.  But another Friday-after-Thanksgiving tradition of ours is to host our small tree-trimming party and decorate our Christmas tree.  So between the cleaning and cooking and digging out of decorations, my day was fully accounted for and a family hike was not on the schedule.  But I resolved to make up for it on Saturday, by taking Peanut to Knox Farm to play in the snow… and toting along the camera, in the hopes of getting a good Christmas card picture.  Which I did, and here are the outtakes.  (Warning: massive photo dump ahead.)

(Peanut’s mittens are size 2T-4T and they were HUGE.  I kept having to pause the picture-taking to put one particular mitten back on.)

Peanut’s preferred snow activity is sweeping… which is very similar to her preferred dirt, grass and leaf activity.  The girl knows what she likes.

We hung out by the barns for awhile, then ventured into a nearby field for some running, chasing, and jumping.

And more sweeping.

And general cuteness.

And, okay, one photo of the pretty bird feeders that are everywhere at Knox Farm.

But I couldn’t spend too much time focusing on bird feeders… I mean, I had the world’s cutest photography subject right there.  How could I point my lens anywhere else?

Fun was had by all.  Giggles and squeals and grins until we collapsed.

Okay, winter.  You can stay… for awhile.

Another season, another hike at Tifft Nature Preserve!  I can’t believe that we’ve come full circle and hiked here in every season.  (If you missed previous Tifft hikes, check them out: winter, spring, summer.)  What I’ve decided after hiking here all year is that Tifft was beautiful in every season, but I like it best in the fall.

We started with our customary boots-on-the-trail shot.  I’m loving my new hiking boots.  I had a pair of Merrells for awhile and never really felt comfortable in them.  After awhile I’d had enough with slipping around in my hiking boots and went to get fitted for a new pair.  What I learned, thanks to the very knowledgeable shoe saleswoman at EMS, was that Merrells have a wide heel box, which didn’t work for my narrow feet at all.  Now I’m all hooked up with a pair of Oboz Lunas and they’re perfect.

Anyway, leaving aside the shoe chatter and getting back to the important stuff – we had a great hike.  The sky was a little gray, but the air was perfectly crisp.

We headed right for our favorite part of Tifft – the boardwalks!

Where we saw a few dozen Canadian geese, still hanging out before they start journeying south for the winter.

And we had company for this hike!  Zan and Paul are quickly becoming our favorite hiking buddies.  Together we’ve visited Chestnut Ridge (in the dead of winter, no less!), Letchworth, and on Sunday (before the football game, of course) they were up for a stroll around Tifft (which they’d visited last fall).  We’re plotting an excursion to the Eternal Flame, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, so stay tuned for that.

By the time we left the boardwalks, Peanut was starting to get a little twitchy, so we let her out of the Deuter to stretch her legs.

She was pretty happy to have her freedom.

Of course, our hiking pace slowed waaaaaaay down when Peanut’s pink Sauconys hit the trail.  We spent a lot more time herding her in the direction we wanted her to go, chasing her away from bushes, and dodging the sticks she loves to grab and wave around.

Peanut really wanted to explore down this little trail, but we knew it was a dead end without much scenery, so we very heartlessly ignored her requests.

She always forgives and forgets.

Peanut loves Zan!  They’re buddies.

We saw some more wildlife – this deer wasn’t alone!  I know most people hate deer, but I love them – so graceful.  Talk to me in a couple of years when I have an established garden and I might have a different opinion, though.

And we attempted to take a family selfie – another tradition of ours – at the end of the hike, but Peanut was having none of it.  She was angry at being put back in the backpack, and her way of protesting was to pull her hood down like Emperor Palpatine.  Well played, Peanut, well played.

And so ends four seasons of hiking at Tifft Nature Preserve!  It’s been a lot of fun to visit each season, watch the place change over the course of the year, and make the trails our own.  We didn’t even get lost this time!  (Fourth time’s the charm.)  I’m sure we’ll be back to Tifft plenty of times in the future – now that we know our way around, we can’t possibly stay away for long.  But we’ve also had so much fun hiking the same trails in every season that we’ve decided to continue the project next year at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Depew.  We haven’t hiked there yet, so we’re looking forward to seeing it in every season in 2015!

What’s your favorite season for hiking?

Another season, another ramble through Tifft Nature Preserve!  (If you missed my previous posts, we’ve explored this urban wildlife sanctuary in the winter and spring, on our way toward walking there in every season.)  This was a very late summer hike – after Labor Day, in fact; it’s been a busy summer – but I’m still counting it as our summer outing because we haven’t yet hit the fall equinox, and don’t rush me, people!  (Please don’t mind the fact that I fueled for this hike with pumpkin yogurt and pumpkin spice tea, or that I stopped and bought apple cider on the way home.)

Three hikers ready to get our summer strolling on!

The first thing I noticed on our summer hike was this absolute glory of white flowers.  They were everywhere.  As far as the eye could see!  I love clusters of tiny blooms, and I love seeing an abundance of one type of flower, so I was in heaven.  (Seriously.  I think this is probably what Heaven looks like.)

I got up close and personal with one of the bunches.

We headed down to the end of Rabbit Run as the first part of our hike, and there we found a couple of beautiful weeping willow trees.  Peanut is familiar with willows from Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet, in which Nancy is cast as a willow tree, and she enjoyed gazing up at the swaying branches and touching the leaves hanging down.

On our way back from Rabbit Run, we spent some time checking out the new tree plantings.  Many of the baby trees seem to be growing well – nice to see.

Next we headed to the boardwalk – my favorite part of the nature preserve!  I love wetlands – so beautiful, and they remind me of DC – and I always look forward to coming here and gazing out over the water, looking for animals with Peanut.  And this was a particularly fruitful expedition, because we saw…

A green heron!  See him in the branches there?  Right where the two branches intersect, there he perches.  We would never have spotted him, but for a kindly birdwatching gentleman who pointed him out.  Green herons are typically shy, so this was a pretty unusual sight – in fact, I’ve never seen a green heron.  I’ve seen plenty of great blue herons (my favorite bird, or at least tied with the cardinal, which is the state bird of Virginia, after all!) but according to our new birdwatching friend, great blues “just don’t care” about people looking at them (perhaps they’re related to the honey badger?), but the green heron is much more timid.  So seeing one was a major highlight.

We also saw geese, ducks, and this family of…

Turtles!  They were all hanging out on a log together.  Adorbs.

After a good long visit in the wetlands, we meandered back toward the car and had one last treat – a look at the beautiful red and yellow berries on this bush.  They were almost sparkling in the sun.

See you soon, Tifft Nature Preserve!  We’ll be back when you’re all decked out in your autumn finery.  Until then…

FINALLY!  After talking, and planning, and postponing, and planning, and postponing… oh, all summer… Zan and I (and our husbands, and Peanut) finally made it for our much-anticipated hike at Letchworth State Park!  Letchworth is popularly known as “the Grand Canyon of the East” because of its spectacular gorges.  Having spent four years in Ithaca (go Big Red!) I love a good gorge.  So of course I was keen to see these.  Zan and I have been trying to make this hike happen since early July, but every time we managed to find a weekend that both our families were available, we would get hit with a threatening forecast.  Thunderstorms!  Lightening!  Showers!  Alien invasion!  Dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!  So we’d call off the hike because none of us wanted any part of that… and then it’d end up beautiful.  Finally we had a Saturday when we were both free and the forecast was only a mildly disconcerting “30% chance of precipitation.”  So we decided to go for it.

We picked a trail that led to the lower falls and we started getting views right away as we picked our way along the side of the gorge.

Peanut entertained our group by singing “This Land is Your Land.”  I can’t make this stuff up.  It was adorable.

Hubby loves his hiking poles.  They have come in handy on a number of hikes, including this one when the ground got a little more uneven than what you see here.  His center of gravity is off when he has Peanut in the backpack, so anything to help his balance is welcome.  He uses Black Diamond hiking poles, and so do I on more strenuous hikes.

Before too long, we came to a staircase leading down into the gorge.  We pressed on for a few hundred yards, then doubled back and headed down.

Caught in the act!  Bloggers document everything, you know.

The further we got into the gorge, the more spectacular the views became.

Zan captured a family picture for us.  Thanks, lady!

Such a fun walk, with the nicest newlyweds in Buffalo!  Zan and Paul, let’s hike again soon.  How about a fall excursion to Zoar Valley?

What’s your favorite state park?  I’m partial to the Adirondack Park myself, but Letchworth was pretty spectacular too!