Quarantine. No one likes to be in quarantine. If you are like me, that means no school, which sounds great, but it really isn’t. Because it also means, no sleepovers, no parties, and no playdates. I still have to do my schoolwork, but without the company of my friends or the guidance of my teachers. I miss them all, especially my math teacher. She’s awesome, kind, and smart.
Some days during social distancing, I breathe too much indoor air. And it’s melting my brain. I just need to relax outside. Mom says I have CABIN FEVER. To beat it, our family goes straight for the outdoors. This can mean anything from hammocking to hiking to gardening; just as long as it is outside and obeys the rules of social distancing. The good news is that this is easy to achieve when you are in nature.
Normally, when we go hiking, we set a goal to find a certain number of some kind of natural object. This could be flowers, fossils, mushrooms, or weird-shaped rocks. It just depends on the season. So we decided to expand this into a scavenger hunt. And the Yonder Outdoor Scavenger Hunt was born. I like to call it YOSH!
So far, I’ve spotted several items from the list and even got pictures of them. My favorite finds include cedar waxwings (bird), crinoids (fossil), and turkey tails (mushroom).
I’ve also come across deafening waterfalls and serene pools. And the most disturbing item on the list, arthropods. Arthropod is a fancy way of saying an invertebrate with an exoskeleton, segmented body, and paired jointed appendages, or BUGS! Millipedes are one example, which is what we saw just the other day.
And you don’t want to forget about the flowers. Due to all the rain and warm Spring weather, the trails are surrounded by flourishing flora. An abundance of flowers such as squawroot (cancer root) to trillium to rue anemone are popping up on the forest floor. This is the best part because they are just magnificent.
Want to join me? Alright, all you need to do is print out the YOSH list at the bottom of this post and get outside. Don’t forget to share your finds with #YOSH on Facebook or Instagram. I’ll be doing the same. Onward!
