Wednesday we hit the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge. In spite of the heat, the children all had a very nice time.
We bought cheap birding glasses for five bucks, and a handful of arrowheads for a quarter a piece. Not authentic, but certainly a whole lot of fun!We picked up a tree identification pamphlet, and the boys figured out quite a few new-to-us trees. We also experienced the joy of having this little guy show off his kill by landing on several of the kids.
We got there a bit late in the day to see much bird activity, I think. There was a Small Blue Heron out on the water, and a few up in the canopy that we could hear, but couldn't find.
We hit the observation building -- which is beyond fascinating, and a place we will be frequenting this fall and winter! WOW!
We stopped for a picnic by the water.
Then we hiked the trail through the cypress grove and around through the fields. It was a good outing. The boys all wanted to spend some time sketching Hawkeye, the red-tailed hawk who lives at the Refuge, so we headed back that way.
Isn't she a beauty?EmBaby and I hung out in the shade of the trees for a bit, wandered back inside, wandered around... all the while, four little boys sat in front of this bird, drawing, drawing, drawing. They sat for a good half hour, and would have continued on for a long time still, but EmBaby was done being hot, sweaty, and *up*. It was time to go.
Promises all around that we'll go back to do more sketching before they leave. (Mental note to take more food next time. I got hungry.)
A good day. A very good day.
Kiss those babies!
~Dy
9 comments:
Oh, that sounds like such a great day!
What a wonderful way to spend the day with the kids! We love to get out and walk in Skyline Dr, but it's just been to dang hot to do anything outside right now. Except football, it's never too hot for football. lol
That sounds like a very satisfying outing! Did the boys find it challenging to sketch the bird when it moved? I'm impressed with how long children will sit and observe and draw when given the opportunity.
What a beautiful bird!
I can't believe how big Emily is! She has *hair* Dy, when did *that* happen! She looks like a little toddler girl - wow!
You have a girllllllllllllll neener neener.
Love ya!
J - ok, listen. She's not got proper hair. It's just sort of... downy. But she is really growing. She kept climbing out of the wagon to walk/run w/ the boys. Then she'd get pooped and climb back in for a ride and some water. Funny girl. Definitely a girl, though. Yes. :-)
Melissa, YES. It is amazing. I think this experience showed me that I need to be ready to offer them more time to do those things.
Bridget, you know I adore you, but "never too hot for football"??? I think there's something very wrong with that statement. ;-) Ugh. It's HOT. It's too hot for many things we enjoy, and I'm not entirely sure football is even on that list yet. Talk to me again in November, when my coffee won't stay hot just by setting it in the sun!
Becca, it was lovely. Absolutely lovely. It's a neat bunch of kids, and I'm so thankful to have them in our lives.
Dy
Yes the baby is cute, and yes it is cool that the boys loved the sketching, but what in the heck is that huge bug! I have never seen something like that in my life! Even my bug experts didn't know hwat it was.
Oh- and I posted the recipes on my blog.
LB
Okay, this is completely unrelated, but a sidebar in Entertainment Weekly made me think of you.
I think you were the one who directed me to that "More Cowbell!" SNL skit with Wil Ferrell. Marc and I have been laughing about it ever since.
In this week's EW, there's a "Top 5 Most Incredibly Awesome Examples of Cowbell in Song" list!!
You can probably see samples of all of these on YouTube. :)
1. Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"
"Cowbell so strong I can even overlook all the random stuttering taking place."
2. Blue Oyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) the Reaper"
"Nor do they fear the cowbell, judging by the approximately 8,327 times they use it here."
3. Def Leppard's "Rock of Ages"
"What a kick-a$$ intro. Now if I could only figure out what "Gunter glieben glauchen globen" means.
4. Guns N' Roses' "Mr. Brownstone"
"Forget heroin! What GN'R really OD'd on was cowbell, with 8 songs from their debut rockin' the bell."
5. EMF's "Unbelievable"
"The cowbell is actually less impressive than the fact that they scored a hit by sampling Andrew Dice Clay."
So are you one of those people who don't get tired, sick, and crabby?? That day would wear me out and I'm not pregnant!!
Although, come to think of it... I usually get worn out reading any of your posts..... ;-)
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