Monday Marin Tender Tracks March 26, 2012

Waxing Crescent Moon
Lake Lagunitas

What a glorious day with six words that sum it up: Stillness, observation, and walking with wonderful joy.

They started out with their usual exuberance and still filled with joy over hiding the grease board.   They finally settled from that, got in their seats and then I shared with them the new songs of the month/season.  Aero likes to sing but Bodhi does not and doesn’t like him to but Aero did any way with a big smile.   The songs are words and hand movements and all about rabbits and different animals with movements.
We then went off to our adventures to Lake Lagunitas.    I started out with working with them on making a map.  We noticed where the sun was in relationship to the bus and drew that on the grease board. They looked out the window to see where the Sun was but they were filled with such youtuful goofiness that continuing on was pointless!!  So, I dropped that and just walked us all through where we were going and where things are in a playful manner. It really works best with this age anyway.    We checked out the waterfalls and the water level.  It is SO VERY, VERY FUN to check this out each week because it changes every single day that I/we come!
We made our way to the left and they became very intrigued with a big log and a culvert and we explored that for awhile. Then, up a big hill we climbed. They remembered being here and wanted to tip over the cone that they did last time but alas, the orange cones/hats, were no where to be seen so up the trail we went until we got to the damn where the Comorants sit and mingle with each other or swim on the water.  Bodhi wanted to sit and watch them again but Aero wanted to go and eat Sour grass down a ways from there like he has done with his family.  We went down this skinny trail and he started to shimmy around and over skinny rocks and up a steep hill.  Bodhi REALLY wanted to go that way but  kept getting stuck, stuck yet wanting to keep going yet believing that he couldn’t do it. He was in a real dilema and had lot’s of tears over this.  Aero with his calm and gentle presence was more then willing to help Bodhi and Bodhi took his assistance gratefully. However, he kept getting so worked up and upset that I calmly suggested we go back the way we had originally started. Purnat wanted that and we all helped Bodhi get over the hurdles he was experiencing.

By this time Purnat was hungry.  They walked past the place we went to a time before and Bodhi and Aero went that way yet I encouraged them to go another way for a new experience.   Down the trail we went until we went a way, that it seemed we also went last time. Bodhi scurried to find the same old wonderful little home, he called it, underneath brambles and bushes. Followed him we did until he was content with where we were. It was a bit tight for all of us so I moved  slightly further down and Purnat and I settled there. Aero came with us shortly after and Bodhi stayed in his cozy little place while we all ate.  While we were eating and watching all the birds and wildlife around us, we heard a very big sound. It was a Helicopter.  We couldn’t see it for the longest of time and then, it finally came into view.  We watched as it flew over the mountains across the way from us.  It had something very long dangling from it.  A person?  It could have been!  But then, it hovered over this hill across the way that looked to me like it had a Pagoda on it. Purnat thought that it was a Hospital and Aero thought that it was too small for a hospital.  The Helicopter got lower and lower until it placed the object? person? down and then flew off.  Well it was now clear that it was NOT a person as this thing stayed tall, long and immobile.  The Helicopter came back and forth with bundles after this about five times.  We were all so engrossed in this journey and filled with great wonder over what they were dropping, where they were going, where they came from, why were they doing this…… We tried to figure out where that Mt. was. Was it Mt. Tam? “No”, Purnat and Aero said, “It’s too small.”  And, all the while we were still watching all the soaring birds and listening to the Woodpeckers, Frogs and Crows talk and talk.

After all of this I thought it would be great to take them to a familiar place that I have always gone to from the other side.  Well, I did not realize how far it really was so we spent the rest of the day needing to keep on walking in order to get back on time.  It was wonderful, as I said, “to map” all of this.  We found three bridges and found  many wonderful places to play and explore for future adventures. And, we came across a California Newt that did not look very well so we stayed with it for awhile and then made sure that it was on the side of the trail.  There were so many things that caught their wonderful and curious attention yet alas, we needed to keep going.  Aero had no objection as he proclaimed, “This is fun!”  And off we went.  They were perfect with getting right into their seats and buckled up and then, off we went from an invigorating and delightful day, for all. Even Bodhi who got a bit scared at times.