Palo Alto Tender Tracks Thursday May 8, 2014 Day 62

Waxing Moon
Thornwood Open Space Preserve

What an incredible and full day.  We have not gone here in a while and since the year is coming to a close it is time to revisit all of our generous and wonderful places that we have spent time with.
As is always the case here, the children listen to the “song line”/land mark descriptions/story and run to find them. After a need to make sure we all stayed close enough by for safety,comfort and coming back when called, the rest of the day went exceptionally! well.   They loved hearing the descriptions and then runnninggg to find the next spot.  They were amazing with how they got it each time.  They needed to watch and hear how the trail went, the story that went with the description and looking for clues that would help them find each spot.  Zac was quite skilled at this and loved finding them straight away.  When we went to Rabbit Run, the place where, if you are very quiet you might see a Cotton tail, they all were silent… silent.  We found many of the rabbit escape routes off the trail and had fun finding so many of them.
We ate fresh bright green Doug Fir tips  and we even ate young spring Thistle, after the thorns got scrapped off.
When we finally made it to our destination they quietly went down the trail to our spot. There they found the beginning of a shelter and that was fun to behold.   I scampered up a tree and, as desired, they followed suite.  Each one of them figuring out how to climb up the Redwood Tree and then slide down by holding onto a branch above, down down until they reached the forest floor.
Zac discovered some GREAT mud and we heard him call to Finn. Then Cole called to Finn to come and walked over to get him. They all know that Finn is the “Mud King” and can really make the best and most round and smooth mud balls ever!  It was so delightful to hear them call him because they knew he would love the mud.  And, he did.
Eden, Ridham and Zara were still climbing the tree while Jill was with the other children in the mud.  The rest of us finally went over to the mud and we all made beautiful mud balls, birds nests and “snow men.”
The rest of the day was filled with different groupings. I believe Zac started the group with Cole and Juliette and Julian going up a big hill and then coming down to get their lunches to eat up top.
The rest were down below eating or climbing.  One by one they all made it to the top, which is no small feat.
Cole found a fluffing out Cat Tail. Juliette wanted to find one. It is a bit out of season but I said, let’s go and I will take you to where some might be.  I also wanted to take them on a great and fun adventure.
At first it was just Juliette and Cole then everyone, accept Zara and Eden, went  on this adventure.   We wound up, climbing down hills on small trails, finding Cattails that were too deep in water, feeling the sprinkling of the gentle rain drops on us, finding the other side of the pond and then having to climb down, over, under and through trees, logs, branches, bushes until they, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?, find Jill, Zara and Eden!
They were thrilled.
Meanwhile, Eden and Zara were having a GRAND time climbing up and up the Redwood Tree with Jill.
When it was time to go there were definetly words of” NO, why do we have to go?”  However, they got it all together and we made our way up the trail.  Now their task was to find the land marks, Backwards!!!
With help and story reminders they found them all and whoosh away they all went at their own paces.
We actually got back in plenty of time to really be with our gratitudes of the day, and they were abundant and carried on for the first part of the drive back.