Exploring
I’m way behind on my updates, sorry. Last weekend Aric took the kids out on an adventure over the hill. You see, our backyard goes for about 20 feet or so, then there is a big hill, and beyond that is a big ginormous forest!
Since the fire-ant incidents over this past summer – and the one snake encounter – I never let the children climb all the way up Mt. Wallner. Now that it’s cooled off quite a bit, Daddy decided it was time for some exploring.
The kids got all geared up. Binoculars, our small pocket camera, and some jury-rigged “clipboards” I put together [some cardboard and paper, couple staples, and a pencil tied to a string] for the kids to make notes and drawings of their observations. These little scientists take their adventures seriously!
Ok, not too seriously.
Daddy and the Scientists found some interesting things in the forest. Some big fire ant mounds, which of course Daddy had to poke at to confirm that there were still active little buggers there [all in the name of science!]. They also discovered a few large holes with claw marks in them. Nobody could figure it out at the time.
Later at home, after a little internet research, we discovered that there may just be armadillos out there in the Great Backyard Forest, digging up and eating those nasty old fire ants.
If the hypothesis is correct, then Brett now adores armadillos.
I’ll try and get a few pics of the kids’ Observation Journals another day. I’m pretty sure, despite the fire ants, those Explorers will go back for another expedition soon.
