Dear Wild Finca Community,
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Yesterday, both boys were off with suspected Scarlet Fever, but as Roan literally said when asked to rest, ‘What is rest?!?’ and I (Katie) was fire fighting some serious wrestling in the house, I decided it was time for some much needed fresh air. And so, after a bit of a delay (we are in the midst of buliding and a building site is quite the catnip to the kiddos) we made it to the woods.

The woods for us are a tonic, every time we enter there is a shift in all of our energy. It has a calming effect, and everyday worries are forgotten as more pressing matters, like today, following ‘the signs’ as Roan called them, our guides for the walk. The signs we had to follow were the pretty pink flowers (Dog’s Tooth Violet - named so because their bulb is shaped like a dog's tooth). Fortunately the signs led us to a favourite spot of the boys, the boar rubbing spot. A large Pine where the bark on it's lower quarter is smooth and covered in mud from being used as a scratching post by the Wild Boar. The boar also leave gauged spots where sap drips, one theory for why they do this is that the perfumed scent acts as a natural insect deterrent.

From there we headed down to cross a stream, snacking on Primroses as we went. Roan found a handful of Black Witches Butter which we took home for supper, and we continued on in this manner, stopping and starting along our usual route. The drumming of a woodpecker rang through the forest and we sat a while to see if we could spot him, but no luck this time. (We planned to watch Will Rose’s latest episode of ‘What Bird is That’ all about woodpeckers when we got home.)

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When we got to our normal turning point to head home, a rather strenuous uphill route, I suggested to the boys we keep going (along a new route) until we reached the road where we could message Luke to meet us with the car. The boys opted for the latter option, the offer of adventure and fingers crossed a more downhill option. Roan found a handful of feathers and we debated whose they might belong to - a Robin perhaps, although I thought the red looked more like that of a male Bullfinch. Anyone have any guesses?

We got to the edge of a field with two cows in it, and decided to follow the edge where the forest met the field down to the left. The forest got steeper and we had to scramble, at this point Albus’ legs had stopped working (broken apparently) which was actually understandable, for a newly turned three-year old he had covered quite a few steps so far! Finally, over the rise, we spotted at the foot of the descent, the stream and, on the other side, the road. Hooray! Roan sped off and slipped on leaf litter taking it at a faster pace than even he had intended. And by the time Albus and I had made it to the stream a large splash greeted us as Roan and Bumba fell over. Thankfully Luke pulled up as it happened, plus the day was mild and we’d worked up quite the sweat, so Roan seemed quite pleased about the dip. Bumba the dog less so.

We headed home with a basket full for treasure and although the boys are still a bit too young to journal, I felt the need to sit down and write down our adventure, which has turned into this newsletter! It made me wonder how you were all getting on with the Nature Explorer's Starter Kit? We'd love to hear how you've been using it!
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We've also been pondering the idea of hosting a deep dive into the Nature Explorer Starter Kit. Picture a Saturday afternoon Zoom session, family-friendly, where we can share ideas, experiences, and delve into the kit's potential implementation. Kids would be more than welcome – they can come armed with questions or simply run amok in the background! We're curious to know if this concept piques your interest. If so, what would you hope to gain from such an event?

From our wild corner to yours,

Katie, Luke, Roan & Albus