Palo Alto Tender Tracks Day 17, Nov. 8, 2011

Rancho San Antonio
Waxing Moon

Gracey was home sick today and Anjalie with Mom and Dad at a yoga camp.

The day was just BEAUTIFUL!! The sun was warm with gentle breezes. The morning started out very cold but the day lent it self to warmth unless in the shade.  Kashi found a ‘just dead’ squirrel.  He and I were walking towards one of the Palm trees looking for a palm branch for a broom when he said, “look at the sleeping squirrel. It must be taking a nap.”  So very classic is this type of thinking for  a four year and how beautiful a way of thinking and speaking.
I however knew that he was most likely describing a dead squirrel. We went over and looked at it. Sure enough it had left this world but clearly not too long ago.  We looked at it for awhile and then decided that when the other children came we would bring them over and sing it a song.  So, that is what happened. After all of the children arrived we went over there and looked at all it’s parts with great curiosity, we then sang the Welcoming song to it, and then buried it.  Lucy figured that once Mother Earth fully took it back into Her arms that we would then step on it and all would be well.  She is right, it will become part of the Earth again and so the cycle of life will carry on as it always has.

After playing and climbing on the Laying down tree we went to circle.  I introduced a new song, the first one on the recording from last Thursday, and then told the tale of Fredrick, by Leo Leonni.  It is in the library and such a wonderful November story.
After a lovely and gentle circle the children played some more. Jasper called for help for he was attempting to climb down one of the tree trunks face first. He looked a bit like a caterpillar yet he said he was not a caterpillar and hence needed some help getting down! Kashi then was trying to get up another part of the tree and thought he needed help but with a little bit of guidance he made it up and over and was very proud of himself.   Aleki and Lucy were playing with some dogs that were running around the park with Audrey and Giulio was having fun playing with Jasper.  Bodi was running around in the mix of it all.

We then made our way to the bus and off to Rancho San Antonio for a new adventure ; finding another creek part with more land marks to find.   As soon as we got out of the bus there were great plants to discover and learn about.  There were the young Poison Hemlock plants, the mints and the mustard plants.  But mostly and wonderfully there were the BEST Rosehips to be picked that I have ever found while foraging with Tender Trackers!!!!!  We all picked them and tried some and then sang thanksgivings to them.  Then, off to our adventure.  The children found all of the land marks like last time with great joy as well as ease.  There was the bridge with the singing underneath, Great Grandpa Elder Tree, then Grandma Bay Tree with her fence around her and then crossing over the concrete river and straight on to the Gnome tree house.  But after that was the most challenging one and they found it, the Wood Pecker Hotels/laying down logs with  holes in them with acorns.  After that there was the Metal Monster party place and then the singing creek below.  They found them all and we made it to the creek where we stayed for the rest of the day.

I had planned on cleaning the soap roots to make brushes out of but the cleaning part wasn’t as easy so, we cut up some of the soap root and cleaned our hands with it in the creek. So many suds!!!! It was very fun and all liked it a great deal.  Then, off to playing.

Audrey with her great mice eyes that sees so many of the small and unnoticed things in life found a great little egg, and small feathers.  This brought the children into looking more closely to their surroundings as well.  Kashi, and Giulio and sometimes Jasper were great Dragons shooting fire and chasing us all………………

There was a very large and most wonderful mushroom that was found.  When some of it was pulled apart we thought that it looked and felt a bit like hard boiled eggs, the white part.   There were worms found and even one got on the bus somehow and during circle Alexi in particular, but all of them, were mesmerized by the squirrels and the crows eating all around us.
Right before we got to the bus I over heard Bodi and Jasper talking as we passed the Mustard plants.  Bodi said something about how he didn’t like the mustard and Jasper said he did. Then there was talk about really liking it if it were on Hotdogs but then maybe not.

The day was yet another magickal day and, as we walked back, we were blessed with seeing three beautiful maiden wild turkeys.