Another Saturday morning, and another meet up with Erin... we decided to try another "new" place for the boys to throw rocks in the water. This a great way for us all to spend time together. There is enough of an age gap between Frankie and Alden that when we meet at a playground, they naturally end up doing different things. When we hike together, Frankie definitely has greater range and can handle more difficult terrain than Alden, but we can compensate for that by choosing short hikes with lengthy stops to play. Nature play is a great equalizer; it is something a wide range of ages can enjoy together. Small, medium, or large -- I've yet to meet a kid who doesn't like throwing rocks in the water. Plus, hiking is obviously much more pleasant for Erin and I!
Today we went to a spot at Three Rivers Wildlife Management Area that our Dad suggested, where there is a pond alongside a dirt road where he sometimes walks Daisy. We figured it was worth checking out. We met at the same parking lot that we use for the turtle hike, only instead of heading west, we crossed Sixty Road and headed east, hiking along a two track. It is quite a short walk to the small unnamed pond, just three or four tenths of a mile.
It was hot and exceptionally muggy, so Erin and I were happy to shrug off our packs. The boys, of course, were happy to throw rocks in the water. The boys and I were wearing long pants in case of bugs, as we all react quite terribly to simple mosquito bites, but Erin braved shorts and the bugs were not an issue. There were some mild complaints from both kids that the rocks weren't big enough. Did you know bigger rocks make bigger splashes? However, despite the tragic lack of boulders, they managed to amuse themselves for quite a long time. We were at Three Rivers for nearly three hours, and the actual walking time totaled less than half an hour. Small rocks, sand, mud... good things all!
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| clematis (Clematis virginiana) |
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| watershield (Brasenia schreberi) |
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| swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) |
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| two very grubby boys, back at the trailhead |
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