Finding The Small Details of Forest Life

I found a something for you mom! Deer poop!

Over the years, I have tried to engage Mia into as much of our natural surrounding as possible. One of the greatest ways to have her connect with all of this life, was to look for signs of life.

When Mia started hiking on her own two feet, she seemed to show little interest in paying attention to the small details of the outdoors. (She was actually paying attention to more than I had originally thought) She would explore as much as she could on foot, running down the path, never even entering into the taller grasses and ferns to the sides of the trails.

Throughout 2012, I have focused on getting Mia off of the trail and into the wild growth, which has helped her learn to pay more attention to her surroundings. It started early in the year with snowshoeing. It took her a bit to get comfortable in the overly large frames that were attached to her feet. But once she did, it was smooth sailing from there. When I tried to get her off of the trail, and into rabbit territory, she wanted no part of it, shoeing away from me further up on the trail.

Much of the same happened when the snow melted. I wanted her to explore the new growth that was offered to us in the woods, so we went on a fiddle heading adventure. She wanted to head up the trail in search of a bridge, a brook, or both, to watch before moving on. Oh, well, I knew it would take a bit to get her comfortable with off trail exploration. At least she is happy out here.

So over the course of the year, I continually but slowly hauled her off of the beaten path, and into the lush ferns, grasses, pines and birches of the woods. And slowly, she came into her own.

Forget the trail, it's much more interesting in here!

The greatest draw in getting Mia to want to explore the more intricate parts of the forest, was getting her to pay attention to the fine details. Every pile of deer droppings I came across, I brought Mia towards it to show her what it was, and told her why it was there. I did the same with animal tracks, and other animal droppings that we found. We pulled rocks away from the earth to search for bugs, watched fallen stumps for chipmunks, touched flowers and leaves, and fished to pull aquatic creatures into our realm.

I showed her everything. Even when I thought she wasn't paying attention, because over the years, I've learned that even though it might not seem like Mia is looking at what's going on around her, she is. Most kids with Autism do this also. They survey their surroundings without looking at everything head on, like most people do.

Earlier this fall, Mia did something that made me realize just how much she had been paying attention to mom's relentless banter in the woods. First, she started walking off of the trail, all on her own. Then, she grabbed my hand, and hauled me into the woods behind her. She walked through the woods like a woman on a mission. And what she did next surprised the heck out of me.

Right before my very eyes, Mia stopped, looking intently at the ground. She bent over, reaching her hand out to towards the cool earth floor. When she stood back up, she giggled, and walked to me with her hand formed into a fist, arm thrust in my direction. I instinctively put my hand out, ready to take the usual pine needle or a leaf that she had picked up. When she placed her hand in mine, and opened her fist, I found that she had picked up several pieces of deer droppings!

Mia is headed for the ridge! Could mom's deer hunting skills have be genetically instilled in this little trekker?!

This means that now while we're out in the woods, she's not just looking at random things, or waiting for mom to show her something. SHE is looking, REALLY looking, for things to show me!She stopped at deer tracks when they were plainly visible. When we camped in White Mountain National Forest, she found a coyote track in the sand by the river, and waited for me to investigate it with her! She is connecting to her environment, to her surroundings.

Mia is now navigating the woods almost completely on her own. She heads into the woods and leads the way, watching where she places her feet, making sure there's enough room for her head to clear, and pushes branches out of the way as she passes through the brush. She stops at brooks, and looks into the water watching for anything that will pass. She sits on the ground with me and listens to birds, scurrying rodents, and rustling leaves in the wind. And yes, she notices animal dropping and tracks!

It's the finer details in life that people miss out on most in the busy concrete world. Out here, among natures finest, it is almost impossible to ignore even the smallest of details. Mia has come a long way in paying attention to the world around her, and our involvement in the outdoors has obviously played a huge role in this success!

It's so much fun out here! Let's go this way! 

A Perfect Fall Day in the Woods

Headed out for a birding adventure!

Mia and I enjoy all of the seasons that Maine has to offer. They each have their benefits for us in the great outdoors. Though, out of the four seasons we experience, fall is probably our favorite. The cool air is refreshing. The smell of the woods takes on a crisp, earthy flavor. The colors and textures give us more to explore. And the residents in the woods scurry about in preparation of winter, giving us the opportunity to change our normal forest pace from moving to explore, to exploring from a seated position.

Perfect bird hunting road!

Today, Mia and I decided to head into the woods for a bird hunt. The other great thing about fall in Maine, is the availability of options to partake in during the beginning of hunting season. Right now, we can hunt partridge, woodcock, ducks, geese, and turkeys. Because Mia is still learning to sit still and quiet in the woods, we headed out in search of partridge. Noise making, and walking would eventually flush a few up for us, so this was a perfect sunny day hunting activity. I also brought my mouth diaphragms along in case we did want to sit and call a few turkeys.

Mia listening to a partridge fly away from her presence!

Mia and I headed out on a newly found partridge road. As we got far enough away from the road, I loaded the shotgun with ammo. As soon as I made the motion to pull up to chamber the first round, Mia promptly plugged her ears, ready for a shot. Because she has sensory processing disorder, foreign objects, in this case ear muffs, are not always welcomed on Mia's person. But, because she's been in the woods with me since day one, and have slowly introduced her to the world of hunting, she always remembers that when the gun goes up, her ears get plugged.

We walked along this road for only a few minutes before we scared a partridge away. It was behind me, beside Mia, where she had started to walk off of the road and into the woods. She stopped, and put her right ear to the noise of the bird taking off. When I told her that it was a partridge, she smiled and got very excited, and then left the road to explore the woods. As we were meandering along, we scared another partridge, and Mia took immediate notice. Realization sank in that SHE was making the birds fly away. Mia then took on the job of a bird dog, and searched relentlessly for another one to see if it would fly away!

Mom, that turkey call is great! Do it again!!

After an hour of hide and seek with our feathered friends, Mia and I sat down to try to call in a turkey. This part of outdoor exploration has been a long road for Mia. Because she's so sensory based, constant motion is just another way for her to gain sensory input, so sitting still is super hard for her. UNLESS, mom has a turkey calling diaphragm in her mouth! We sat for an hour calling for these big birds. Mia loves the sound of turkey calls, and every time I stopped, she pointed at my mouth and smiled, "do it again mom!" I imagined her saying. Every time we heard a russle of leaves, or a snapping branch, Mia looked in it's direction. Though I can't be 100% sure that she knew exactly what we were calling in, I am sure she knew that we were looking for something to cross our path.

Oh, what was that noise?!

We headed further into the woods in search of more partridge after Mia had her fill of "turkey mom", and she was able to seek out a few more birds to scare. She shrieked with delight every time one flew away from her. This was a great lesson in cause and effect for her, and will eventually lead to future hunting and life skills all around!

We navigated back to the road, where we found a nifty little "bridge". Mia was very intrigued by this unique structure, and stood at it's edge watching bright red and orange leaves floating over and through it, and further away into this little brook.

As we waled further, a woodpecker drilled into a tree right next to the road. It seemed undisturbed by our presence. Mia clicked her tongue in response to it's "tap tap tap" noises. We watched chickadees flit around in search of food and warm sunlit branches. We saw chipmunks running in and out of rocks, and tree trunks. Mia was excited to see all of this life around us, and watched these little beings with wonder as they moved around us.

A cute little "bridge", and my cute little Mia.

There's no denying that Mia is happiest when we're spending time out in God's country. Spending time together is our greatest benefit. But seeing Mia become more confident in her abilities to maneuver through the woods, watching her sense of independence grow as she explores things on her own, and seeing her joy in connecting to our natural world, are her biggest benefits. Here, she learns things that carry over out of the woods, and I feel that each lesson brings her one step closer to overcoming the effects of Autism.

Laughter in the Woods

Mia and I headed out to one of our go to trails close to home after school the other day. It started out like every adventure, with Mia skipping and squealing happily into the trail. I stopped to take a picture, and she hurriedly came back from her climb up the hill to grab my hand and pulled me further. This is probably the only part of our outdoor experiences that Mia dislikes. Mom’s obsession with photographing!

We walked to the top of the hill where the land flattened out for a bit again. The forest floor is now covered with crisp fallen leaves, decorating the ground with colorful reds, oranges and greens. Mia kicked the fallen leaves into the air as we walked, shreeking with delight as the flew up and then floated back down around her.

Mia can't wait to get off of the trail and into the woods!

When we came to a steep decline in the trail, Mia stopped kicking the leaves and reached for my hand for support to get down the hill. As we were climbing down the hill, a cool gust of wind hit us in the face, and Mia giggled as it swept across her skin. She has always loved the wind in her hair! Me, being the goofy mom that I am, acknowledged her excitement with a loud “Oh, how we love the wind!” statement, in a sing song sort of way, while I attempted to do a little jig.

As I shuffled my feet, they came flying out from beneath me, and in an instant I let go of Mia’s hand (so as not to pull her down with me) and was swept down the hill, on my backside. And in the instant that I had fallen, and let go of Mia’s hand, I heard the start of laughter.

That hill on the other side of Mia isn't depicted well, but it's steeper than it looks!

Yes, in that moment of unsteadiness, Mia had found humor. As I slid further away from her, her laughter increased in volume and strength. By the time my quick ride to the bottom, on my bottom, was over, I was laughing with her. She laughed harder with my laughter. Mia climbed down the rest of the hill to get to me, laughing harder with every step. Since I was still sitting on my bottom laughing, I was at Mia's level. When she reached me, she put her forehead to mine, a sign of affection (and possibly in this case her way of saying "it's all right"), but continued to laugh with me like this for several more minutes. I couldn't control the tears that had started to fall from my eyes. Tears of laughter, and tears of pride.

It’s common for people to laugh when such thing like this happen to others that they are close to. But to someone with Autism, this type of situation most times goes unnoticed, For Mia to laugh at the site of mom sliding away from her, is just another wonderful sign of progress in connecting to the world, and the people around her!

Still laughing at mom!

Extraordinary Outdoors!

My dream of forming an outdoor group for extraordinary children is becoming a reality! I have planned a first outing, inviting all families of extraordinary kids (Autism, down syndrome, etc.), to join Mia and I in an initial meet and greet walk at Mount Apatite in Auburn Maine, on October 20, 2012. This will be an easy walk, and will provide an opportunity for us as families to meet each other, and to get our kids outdoors together, in an accepting and understanding environment!

I will share some of my thoughts and ideas on how to get kids excited and interested in being outdoors, and some stories of what I have experienced with Mia out on the trails that have helped her gain a sense of awareness, confidence, and more!

Please share this event with anyone in the Maine area! We would enjoy meeting anyone who is able to join us for this event!! A rain date will be posted in case of inclement weather, and future events in other areas of Maine are in the works!

Sabattus Mountain: Mia Climbs to New Heights

It was the last day before Mia was to start her new school, and I was still in celebration mode of her new adventure. I wanted to take advantage of the continued good weather, so I searched for a new hiking spot. I had looked in one of my many books for new hiking spots appropriate for kids, and had settled on Sabattus Mountain in Lovell.

When Mia and I arrived at the parking area, we traded our sandals for our hiking sneakers and I grabbed our pack full of goodies. I had packed us a lunch along with many snacks because it was nearing 10:00 in the morning, and I expected us to be hungry by the time we reached the top. I had read that the hike would take about 45 minutes to reach the top, and that it was about 3/4 of a mile to the summit.

Mia led the way from the start, a continuing trend that likely won’t ever stop. The path seemed like it was going to be a good one. Relatively wide, with lots of tree roots crossing it’s surface. I another nice way to get Mia to pay attention to not only her surroundings, but also to where she is in relation to the world.

By the time we reached the sign announcing that the trail to the summit was a loop trail, the ground had taken a slight incline. The trail to the right still looked wide, just a bit steeper than before. The trail to the left was narrow, but still didn’t look like it would be a hard climb for Mia. And, she found an interest in this narrow trail, so up it we went!



It wasn’t long before I realized that this trail was quite a bit more challenging than any other that Mia had been on. With the narrowness of the path, I had to stay directly behind her at all times. And when we got to a few tricky spots, I put myself into the brush off of the trail to offer her my hand.

As we continued up, the trail got steeper, and I kept wondering when it would level off again. The book hadn’t mentioned that this trail would be this steep. Just that it would be a good climb for active kids, which describes Mia to a “T”. And that the summit would offer great views of the surrounding land. Mia is pretty good at telling me when she’s had enough, and she showed no signs of slowing down. So I figured when she was ready to turn back, if she wanted to, we would.

We happened upon an older couple climbing down the mountain when we were 3/4 of the way up. They looked very surprised to see little Mia at this point on the trail, when they said “aren’t you a cute little mountain climber?!” to her with excitement in their voices. This excitement, and attention, gave Mia an extra burst of energy, and she climbed to the summit nearly effortlessly.



When we arrived to the top, I was surprised by the view we had from up here. It was gorgeous, and the day was nearly crystal clear, offering great views in the distance. We explored the summit and found that there were a couple of benches perched at the top. This offered us a great spot to sit, rest, and eat our lunch while taking in the stunning surroundings.

While we were at the top, a party of four crossed our path, also seemingly surprised to see little Mia at the summit. And they too, greeted Mia and told her how adorable of a mountain climber she is. I couldn’t understand why it was so shocking to anyone that a little girl would be out here, up here.



When we finished with our lunch, Mia and I started heading down the other side of the loop trail. This side was much less steep than the way we came up. And for this, I was grateful, because Mia was exhausted and needed some help on the way down. Because I had a pack on, I couldn’t piggy back her, so I carried her for a great length down the trail on my hip. This was a challenge to say the least, as Mia is now well over half my height, and weighs nearly 45 lbs. But she rewarded my efforts with smiles, snuggles, and eye contact when I stopped here and there for a breather! 

I am guessing we were about half way down when Mia felt that she could finish the rest of the trail on her own again. The spring in her step was back, and she ran down the trail effortlessly. I thought back to the last time I really had to carry her for any length while we were out adventuring in the woods, and I think that last time was when she was about three. But again, this trail was a lot more than she had experienced to date, and for a six year old, she did really well.

We made it back to the parking area, and traded our footwear again. While Mia drank her water, I pulled out my book to see if I had missed something in the trail description. I read exactly what I had read before, still no mention of a steep climb. I looked at her and reiterated my findings, to which she just smiled, giggled, and handed me her empty water cup. She had a good time, and that was all that mattered!

I wouldn’t find out until later, that this is the tallest point in Lovell, with the summit at 1,253 feet. The trail itself has an elevation gain of 600 feet! No wonder the other hikers were surprised to see Miss Mia at the top of the mountain! It was quite the adventure for Mia the Mountain Climber!!

A Mom and Daughter Camping Adventure: The Departure

Exploring the rocky bank of Wild River

I woke up suddenly, from what I thought was a dream. A dream that something was rustling through our camp site while we slept. It was dark, and I reached over in the stillness of our tent to feel that Mia was snuggled safely into her sleeping bag. I reached above my head to grab my cell phone out of the tent pocket to check the time. The light of the screen was bright when I clicked it on, and as soon as the tent was illuminated by it’s bright blue glow, I heard something outside of the tent bustle into the bushes.

Was it a deer, or maybe just a nosey raccoon? I wasn’t sure. The only thing that I was sure of was that my “dream” was actually my protective momma bear sense working, as always, in high gear. It’s doubtful that the animal would have bothered our tent anyways, so the fact that it had happened upon us (whatever it was) bothered me very little.

I looked at my phone again to actually look at the clock this time, to find that it was merely two o’clock in the morning. I put the phone back in the tent pocket, and rolled over snuggling in close to my little girl. She moved slightly as I wrapped my arm around her, and soon I was back in a deep, comfortable sleep.

When daylight broke, Mia was in a great and smiling mood. She was again in no hurry to get out of the tent. Instead, she wanted me to play funny faces with her. She laughed so hard and so loudly, that I think our nearby camping neighbors could hear her. Mia was, as she had been all weekend, happy to be here.

Soon we were out of the tent, and I was getting breakfast prepared. Pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon were on the menu. As I got the the materials ready to prepare our feast, Mia made friends with a little boy from a couple of campsites down. He had ridden his bicycle down from his site, to see if he could play with Mia. She and him were the only kids in the Hastings Campground this weekend. It struck me as odd that there were no other kids here. After all, camping was introduced to me as a kid, and always as a family affair.