Do you have Family Traditions that inspired your love of the countryside?

Question

I have just been reminded of some of my family traditions, that maybe helped to inspire my love of the countryside, here are some:

Early morning wild mushroom collecting, just me and my Dad.
Catching crayfish by hand, ankles deep in freezing water.
Always having stray injured animals brought to our home for my Dad to fix wings, broken legs etc.
Blackberry picking from the hedgerows
The family MARCH sorry hike. Hated these because I could never stand and look.
Story telling and poetry reciting. Also being read books and stories about nature.
Winkle picking/messing around in rock pools North Yorkshire coast.
Collecting wild holly and hoping to find mistletoe for Christmas
Taught to shoot from young age.
Extended family gatherings on my Uncle's farm.
As I got older Kes by Brian Hines, The Poacher's Handbook Niall and Greg

What Family Traditions helped inspire your love of the Countryside and wildlife?

Answer 1

My dad was a country lover, and he inspired us kids the same way. I was in awe of him that he could name the trees, birds, mushrooms etc, and yet I find that I can now do the same.

He always took us out at weekends deep into the woods. We would pick the occasional wild flower (I would never do this now! But they were in abundance at the time - would take a primrose or bluebell back to Mum.) Dad would gather wild fungi, we would take them home and look them up using the Observer's books to see if they were edible.

We would try to be quiet enough to see badgers (never did!) and baby birds in their nests. We would go out in October, gathering chestnuts and bringing home baskets of them, eating them raw and roasted for days and days!

We would go out blackberrying in August, and come home with purple faces and hands, plus bags of berries to make into pies, crumbles and jam!

We would go to the Kent coast, Seasalter is one place I recall, in the cold weather wearing duffle coats and wellies, with a bucket and spade, and dig for cockles. We would take them home and he would cook them in a huge pan of water. I could never bear to eat them, dad used to try to bribe me with a shiny silver sixpence if I would eat them - but I never would.

We kept binoculars permanently by the back window, where the bird feeders were kept, so we could watch and identify the birds with the Observer's book of birds. I still do this now in my own home!

We camped several times a year as a family in the New Forest, and I grew up to love the woods and forest, it's part of who I am. Woodland walks are still one of my favourite pastimes today. Thanks for this question, which prompted some very happy memories!

Answer 2

Very early childhood memories I remember naming flowers, and my family have long traditions of going to the country, and idolising the rural lifestyle.

I hated every last minute of our holidays in the country. They were boring boring boring. Another 10 mile hike. When do we reach a cafe I'm sick of this. Man I wasn't a fun kind to have around for those particular traditions.

I hiked and camped and walked in the park, played at the beach but in all honesty, I would have rather had my nose buried in a book during childhood. My parents Calvinistic attitude towards nature and suffering were a put off.

It is rather ironic how things can shift now. They still wish they had found a croft in Scotland and here I am on a farm with animals all around me.

My mother still tells the story of how, when I was five, an old woman asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up and I answered (according to my mother, but you can never quite trust your mother) that I wanted to be "God or a daffodil keeper"

Humm.

To directly answer you, my family put me off the countryside, yet I have come to love it anyway.

Answer 3

Every Sunday as little kids we had to go with the whole family to the old dunes and forest for a walk and Picnics .In Hollland

All our Holidays were either at the beach or visiting another country ,often also at the beach.We did most of Europe ,every year a different country.

Sister went and became a biology teacher
me years later Environmental design.

And as we got older the family always had a house in the country,in various countries,ie England amongst others

But the real Bush i did on my own ,living as a trapper for one year ,a cowboy another ,time at sea as well as well as much time in the mountains ,
in Various continents

all turned out the be relevant and an asset to doing Permaculture

Answer 4

100 percent wild food gatherer-had to catch all food-had to process everything in scientific way-such as getting all mammal's such as whale's into food prep and then use all the whale's and walrus byproduct's for equipment-such as kayak's and oomiak's, skin rawhide and sinew.... Everything I ate I caught by hand, trap, ithlook's, gunnitoquyook, bird throwing atlil's, that are rock thrower's, or net pounch's. My childhood food's were scquirrel-sandhill crane all salmon all cod all whale's and north and southern walrus all ginat seal (oogruk's or mukluk's as the Canadaian intellectual community call's the mussel eater's, and us iniapiat's....Had to gether vit c willow and berrry's... Had to sepnd each summer gathering all of the above and then bringing it back to a village where everyone 95 percent don't hunt-because they were to severely depleted for two century's by whaler's and us govt's. policy's...Myu fav orite food is roasted Nov.l sandhill crane which is 100 time's more delicious than Seal liver which is fifty time's more nourishing than whale's tale which the canadian's call mattack and we muktuki....I have not tasted any of these quality and world's best tasteing product for 30 year's, since the global warming stoppped the arctic from being the best delectable gourmet fat of the land supplier to me and my family who are now climate refugee's.

Answer 5

Camping on Family Holidays every year in National Parks was really good fun in Australia and still is.

Answer 6

Besides growing up in the sticks

Hunting and Fishing for me