Being at home for awhile, ants in my pants. I find myself doing home adventures. So I up and went bird watching today. Like all good adventures I found a whole lot more.

I love weather. I don't care if it rains or shines or snows. Out bird watching in a short downpour and sharing the park with a couple of ladies in their 80's who couldn't move quick enough to get to shelter. They stayed out weathering it out with smiles. I watched at their enthusiasm spotting birds in the rain. I found my binoculars following their excited gestures to the soggy birds they discovered.

When the rain stopped the two ladies slowly started walking back to their car. Coming across a puddle on the path, one turned to the other with a devilish look and then with her cane splashed the other one. Her friend fought back and within a few seconds a flurry of splashing and laughter ensued. It was quite a sight. White haired ladies in transparent blue rain jackets, flowery shirts underneath. Pastel polyester pants and white sun hats completely soaking each other in a puddle with their canes. Well, I said to myself, "thats not something you see everyday".

A little while later a little guy around three years old had a small bird land on his hand taking a couple of seeds out of it. To him that was the coolest thing that had happened to him in his three years. His eyes were as big as saucers. He looked at his parents in amazement with an expression of wonderment eager to repeat the experience.

Its funny how the things that are cool when you are three, never change. Like puddles and birds landing on our hands, skipping stones on water, campfires and watching thunder storms. Its the things you think are cool when you are "growing up" that never turn out to be that cool, meanwhile we spend a lifetime trying to figure it all out.

Nature and wild places are so important to us, how do we take them for granted? A connection to the natural world is something we can all connect with no matter what language we speak, how old we are or what our job is.

I love watching the amazement of people who come on my trips. They come keen to experience adventure, open to possibilities elated to discover how easy it they connect with their adventurous side. I think deep down people just want to feel three again. Experience the feeling of a new discovery. That is the essence of adventure. Pure innocent interaction with nature. Whether someone needs intense risk or simple contact with wilderness, we search to satisfy a common human drive. One that satisfies the need to connect our humanity with the world we live on.

Wilderness is a part of us. We will never be able to ignore it, even if we are not aware of it. Experiences in nature bring us closer to ourselves. It is reassuring nature never forgets us and when you spend a moment you can feel like a kid with a bird on his hand or an older kid funning in a puddle.