What's Happened with EarthScouts?

We haven't done EarthScouts in a long time. The kids were just being too grumpy and resistant, I guess and even though we all had fun once we got out there, I just got tired of coaxing everyone (I feel like all I do all the time is coax people to do things). I was going to give it a shot in the arm at the beginning of summer, handing out Spring badges, but the weather wasn't what you'd call summery, and though I started the badges, I still haven't finished them. I had kind of secretly hoped that they'd love EarthScouts so much, they'd want to wear their vests and carry their foraging bags every time we walked out the door...guess that's what I get for expectations.

Oh, well. It was important to have a purpose and focus to get us outside in the winter and spring, but now that they spend most of every day outside anyway (even if much of that time is spent engaged in sword-fighting), it's less vital. And they're still immersed in nature. Z asks me to go on bird walks all the time and yesterday when he saw a honey bee on our yellow slide he said, "That's a part of nature."

After I picked them up from nature camp Friday, we hung around trying to catch frogs for awhile. Our only success was this newly emerged peeper.

Z was our most enthusiastic frog-catcher, and went in over his boots about the moment I snapped this picture. As we started walking back up the trail he said, "I had a hard time to catch frogs." Then, listening to his feet croak with water and suction in his boots he said, "There's frogs in my boots!" That kid is some funny.

All the loveliness of the lily pond reminded me of this amazing woman's sweet "pond life" embroidery, and that embroidery is on my "list" this summer...maybe I can turn some blue flags, damsel flies and frogs into a work of art...I'll keep you posted.

These big-brother/little-brother moments look much sweeter on camera--I believe I recall much scuffling over who got to touch the inside (worm-like bits) of the water lily. Sigh.