As I scrolled through my photographs from our recent trip to the cabin, I noticed a recurring theme. Hands-on nature.
Our family approaches the natural world as something to touch, feel,
and explore with as
many senses as we can. By not keeping nature at arm's length, we all
learn so much. Pete and I try to avoid the grossed out
"don't-touch-that-it's-dirty" response with regard to things like
feathers, owl pellets, small critters, and the occasional road-kill
bird.

Sage discovered a baby snapping turtle. Too young to do any damage, it was one of the highlights of the trip. He wanted to bring it home, but the reminder that 1. it was a wild and free animal and deserved a wild and free life; and 2. it would grow big and strong enough to kill our dog was enough to help Sage to let it go.

As a child I remember constantly hearing "He thinks you're going to eat
him." from my father every time I picked up a small animal. And sure,
they do. But we don't eat them. We learn. We stimulate our brains. We discover questions we never knew we had. We come
alive. And then – ever so gently – we set them free.

Plants, too, are a part of our hands-on
living. The necklace above Lupine crafted completely on her own, and
asked me what kind of tree it was from. She wanted to show me the baby
tree she had picked the leaf from, and then proudly wore her lovely leaf
choker all day.

Wild edibles and medicinals, too, are a big part of our nature
exploration. During our week at the cabin we went mushroom hunting (the bole below is not an edible, FYI),
picked wild labrador tea (above), made sumac lemonade, gathered yarrow, and of course enjoyed lots of berries. Hands on is how we live.

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And the winners! Of course you want to hear who the winners are.

The LuSa Organics gift collection goes to Bean who said,

            "I love your soaps (and your blog)! Please enter me into the drawing."