When my husband and I were looking for a home, it was important to me that our kids have access to nature on a daily basis. Going to the creek, building forts in the woods, camping under the stars: these were my fondest childhood memories with my family and friends, and it’s the kind of childhood I wanted for our two girls.

My husband, on the other hand, insisted that our commute remain reasonable and that we could still get decent Thai food delivered. After over a decade near downtown Frederick, he wasn’t ready to give up the comforts of city life. We had no idea how we would reconcile our different visions of where to raise our family.

Then we found Whispering Creek. We knew the first time we walked into our home that it was OUR HOME. We started the process to make an offer that night, still standing in what would become our kitchen.

Last summer, when COVID restrictions were at their tightest, playing in the woods and exploring the creek kept us from going stir crazy. Today, we took advantage of the beautiful weather to take our first hike and, as the title of this post suggests, it was one to remember.

While it’s still too early to go for a real splash (not that they didn’t try!), we definitely got our feet wet. We looked for salamanders and worms under the rocks (no luck!). We saw deer and frogs and found some really cool freshwater mussel shells (this is a great resource to identify any mussels you find: https://dnr.maryland.gov/streams/Documents/musselFactSheet.pdf). But the absolute BEST moment was seeing this beautiful Barred Owl:

I kept this photo to scale to show how incredibly close we were able to get to this amazing creature. I was proud of my own little chicks for containing their excitement so we could gently approach. It was a great opportunity to teach them about local wildlife and about, “taking only pictures and leaving only footprints.”

Hopefully this is the first of many adventures this summer exploring, discovering, laughing and playing. Just like I remember.

— Lori M.

So, hikers of Whispering Creek. What are your favorite memories in the woods around the neighborhood? Share your experiences and photos in the comments!

One of the things I love most about Whispering Creek is the level of pride our neighbors take in their homes. Walking around the community, there’s always so much to see!

My girls love to point out when someone puts up a new birdhouse or statuary. They were VERY excited to see kids hanging Easter eggs from their trees last week. I personally like seeing what seasonal flags people put out in their gardens. And in the winter, we all enjoy taking family walks to look at the Christmas decorations.

On a recent run, I was struck by the incredible diversity of wreaths hanging from doors around the neighborhood. I spotted plenty of traditional firs and flowers and a few lovely monogrammed ones. A few festive folks had clovers for Saint Patrick’s Day or eggs for Easter. Down at the townhomes, I even saw my first ever square wreath!

I managed to capture just a small sample of them on my camera phone, but it definitely left me inspired to see what’s out there or try my hand at making something totally unique.

Whispering Creek had a tantalizing taste of spring this week, and the neighborhood was out in full force to enjoy the weather. The spring cleaners among us could be seen clearing their gutters and pressure-washing their drives. Those with green thumbs began laying the groundwork for spring planting. For the neighborhood kids, it was time to get get out the sidewalk chalk and show off their art skills.

As we head into the weekend, why not take a walk and check out some of these beauties? And if your littles haven’t yet had the chance to make some art of their own, there’s no time like the present. We only have a few days before temperatures drop and spring showers start falling, so let’s make hay while the sun shines.