Giving your child immunity against loneliness may be as simple as fostering within them a kinship with the natural world. A love of nature begun in childhood can last a lifetime.
It is astonishing how little one feels alone when one loves.
~John Bulwer
Playing with doll furniture and worms on the back steps circa 1961
Some of my earliest memories are of playing with worms and doll furniture in my grandparents’ backyard. I could never understand why the worms didn’t survive the baths I’d give them. In the springtime, my younger sibings and I spent hours creating dams and controlled waterways with the water from melting snow that would stream in the lane next to our yard. After a long Canadian winter, seeing the sun sparkling on those streams of water gave me such a wonderful feeling. My mother and grandmother both scolded us for getting wet and muddy but it seemed like such a small price to pay for such happiness.
In the summer and fall, we went for picnics in the woods. We’d enjoy tomato sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper under a big spruce tree while my mom moulded faces in the spruce gum that ran on the tree trunks. The ‘devil faces’ would harden and we’d see them again the next time we picnicked there. So began the magical enchantment that’s always been a part of my love for trees.
So much snow
Eventually my grandparents purchased the land where we picnicked most frequently. Old firefighting hoses were made into swings that my grandfather suspended from the large branches of white pines. My younger brothers would climb the trees but I was content to swing for hours, daydreaming and singing to myself.
Climbing a white pine
In the summer we were out in the fields picking berries and flowers or catching grasshoppers and butterflies. I learned how to drive a tractor in those fields when I was about ten years old, as did my sisters and brothers. I also had my own little axe with which I was able to trim dead limbs off trees, an activity I still enjoy doing to this day.
Growing up outdoors
In the winter we’d play in the snow, go sledding or skating at one of many outdoor rinks. There was always something to do outdoors, either together or on our own. My siblings and I all brought our love for nature with us into adulthood. Giving children the opportunity to be outdoors, as did my parents and grandparents, truly is a gift that lasts a lifetime.
Thanks to Gerry at Torch Lake Views for suggesting a post about memories of growing up outdoors
Flandrum Hill 
Oh, Amy, this is such a lovely, heartwarming post. I loved looking at those photographs and learning about your childhood in the woods. Beautiful. Thank you for sharing your memories with us.
Reggie, I’m glad it warmed your heart 🙂
Indeed once our connection to nature blossoms we sense our place in it and hence we ‘know’ we are not alone.
Lovely post. Thank you.
47whitebuffalo, that is so true. Finding that sense of place within nature is so crucial.
What a wonderful outdoorsy childhood you had, Amy-Lynn – these pictures are priceless! I love that you are passing on your connection to nature, and how to nurture and keep that connection alive, on to the next generation. I especially like the picture of you climbing the white pine…
Barbara, the next generation really needs to get out there and spend less time in front of screens. As a child, I only had one channel to watch in front of a black and white television. I wonder if I would have gone outside as much if I grew up in these times instead.
Actually, the child climbing the white pine is one of my brothers. I was never brave enough to climb that high. I love that photo of him too.
I can’t believe you played with worm-children. I wouldn’t TOUCH them until I was…well, sometimes I touch them now. **grin** This is a beautiful post, you know. You always inspire me here. I keep feeling nudged to write a series about the woods. Maybe your energy will inspire me to finally do it.
Believe it Kathy 🙂 Those worm-playing memories are so clear to me in every icky detail. Nice to know you found some inspiration here 🙂
What lovely memories, and photos, you really have connected with the nature around you, it was nice to read about. It strikes me, that many Americans are surprised about children here in Denmark are set to sleep / take a nap (in the daytime) outside all year round. Are there a difference between Canadian and American tradition in this matter? Perhaps the busy city life have led to changes?
Giiid, I don’t think putting children outdoors for naps is as much as a common practice in North America as it once was. I still have my mother’s ‘Experiences in Homemaking’ textbook from her school days. It was published in 1944 by Ginn and Company of the USA. In the chapter on caring for younger children, it’s recommended that they be placed outdoors for naps whenever possible. It’s also recommended that children play outdoors in the sun as much as possible. I think urban life and all its busyness has certainly led to changes in the way children are reared. We’ve sadly forgotten about the benefits of fresh air for the sake of convenience and ease of mind.
You have surpassed yourself, Amy, and that takes some doing. So many of your memories resonate for me, although I never climbed a white pine. They’re my favorite trees, and I long to know what it would be like to be in that particular picture. All the photos are wonderful–far better than most family snapshots. Dad the newspaperman, right? And then there’s the gift of the outdoors, offered with open hearts, generation after generation. Keep at it. You’re making a book.
Well thank you Gerry. As I recall the white pine is the state tree of Michigan. There are a great many in Northern Ontario too, but spruce and balsam fir are more common here in Nova Scotia. I only have one white pine in my yard, and that’s only because the Scouts were selling them one year.
Yes our family photos are of a higher quality than most due to my dad’s skills. He did take a lot of photos of us. Some of the best taken outdoors were of my blond brother Randy who was very photogenic. He’s the one in the tree. Still an avid woodsman who acquired a wonderful horse whispering side as an adult.
Wonderful memories Amy-Lynn. Thanks for sharing. The pictures are terrific.
Thank you Sybil. That means a lot coming from the mother of a fashion model 🙂