I like the Charlotte Mason school of thought that children should spend at least an hour outdoors every day, no matter the weather (excepting weather that is dangerous).

I learned early during numerous outdoor jobs, that ugly-weather-days are full of unexpected beauty. Beauty that would be missed if I’d not been forced to venture out due to the obligation of a job.

When I review my family’s outdoor adventure pictures, it looks to me like we dash about at a mad pace all the time. While we don’t run constantly, there is a substantial amount of intermittent dashing.

Outings are always fun when we include our animal friends. Here my daughter’s pet call duck hustles along to keep up with his darlin’ in the following picture. It kills me a little to note his ducky feet are air-borne.

No outing is complete without a “spa treatment” for our animal friends. The rest of us prefer to wait for warmer weather.