New Rhythms

A Guest Post by Susana Ruder, KVR Instructor and Parent

Things have changed for all of us, inwardly and outwardly. Our familiar rhythms and routines, our interactions with friends and loved ones, our commitments and time-pressing events. Around us too, mother nature is changing constantly: spring ephemerals are blooming, frogs have begun singing in ponds and watersheds, bird songs are clear and vibrant, ticks are awake after their winter sleep, nettles are poking their heads, and maple syrup season is coming to an end.

As a mother of three young children, I wonder daily, what do I want for my kids in these strange times? I want hope for them. Hope so they can continue to believe in the good around us. Hope so they can anchor themselves in what is beautiful, and so they can turn in dark times and find it, shining and guiding their steps. I find nature to be a friend I can always trust, and I turn to her arms continually for help. She has gently helped me find answers to my questions and has embraced my children as well with her soft ways. Nature is where my kids and I go to be ourselves. We play, we sing, we discover new things, and we come back home rejuvenated and alive.

Some fun things we did this week include a hike in our backyard to “The Rock,” a beautiful sandstone rock formation where the kids love to dig in the colorful sand. My youngest collects birch for his armor, my oldest likes to climb to the outcrop and carve rock, while my little girl makes little sand cakes below. The kids built a little home with sticks and moss this time as well. On our way back, they found a beautiful hollow log that had little cavities and brought it home to make more “fairy houses.” They are really hoping the fairies will leave a little present for them, even just fairy dust.

Another highlight has been our 6 new bantam chickens. They live in our living room for now, cozied up under a warm light. The kids want to handle them all the time. They even put them on our season table by the window to decorate it.

We’ve also spent some time planting bulbs, checking on the spinach that has began to grow in our garden, observing sprouted acorns by the river and planting them to see if a little oak tree will grow, and canning the last of our maple syrup.

As the days go by, I too feel myself changing slowly and silently. Adapting, grieving, tending. Forever grateful to the constant gifts of the natural world.

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It's National Wildlife Week. Children and families can access the beloved Ranger Rick magazine online free during this time. This resource, created and maintained by the National Wildlife Foundation, has been a trusted companion for learning about wild things for decades. They've created and curated parent reading guides to help expand the learning and connection around so many great topics. Many of us remember waiting for Ranger Rick magazines to arrive in our mailboxes as kids. Times have changed, and the format is certainly different, but the content is still fantastic.