Kids and Nature I believe that children need nature and that nature needs kids to be in it in order for our world to survive.

I think that one of the greatest things about living in Calgary is that it’s a big city AND I can have a campfire in my backyard. There is nothing nicer than the end of a hard day at work, sitting around the fire.

But why have I only limited it to the summer months?

Last weekend, I started on what I’m going to call my “make peace with winter” backyard. I lit a campfire, my son played in the snow for about an hour and a half, and it started building a snow heat reflector around the fire (really, it will be more of a wind break). The idea is that I will be able to sit outside in all weather, read a book and have a nice fire and be warm. It worked quite nicely yesterday, and it was -20 or lower for the whole time I was out there.

We’ll be having a lot more winter this year, so we’re going to have a lot more winter campfires too!