On our close to home hike today I spotted a deer ahead. We see lots of deer in our area, but this the first time having an encounter like this. When we reached the spot it was eating we found these wild strawberries. . #begoodstewards #rockyriverconservancy #whitetaileddeer #dayhike #explorenaturewithkids #1000hoursoutside (at Rocky River Nature Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1I-jepsvM/?igshid=1jti2jo76lgmr

Normally, our hikes are a planned all day event on weekends when my husband and I are both off work and we can drive the two hours to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Today, while my husband was working, we decided to go on a close to home adventure. . We drove a whole ten minutes down the road, still within our city limits, to the Rocky River Conservancy to hike the trials, explore the swamp, splash in puddles. . I packed up some lunchables and we ate on the boardwalk while we watched dragonflies, tadpoles, and the swallows who were hunting them. . We could have waited for the perfect time and place but we would have missed the perfect day. . We often feel like we have to travel far from home to find a good adventure, but just down the road we discovered more local flora, fungus, and animals than we would have found on a long trek through a National Park. . #begoodstewards #rockyriverconservancy #dayhike #swamphike #fungus #1000hoursoutside #takeimperfectaction #gooutside #runwildmychild #explorenature (at Rocky River Nature Park) https://www.instagram.com/p/CA1Igo9JVwx/?igshid=1o9zkqlhcno18