Palo Alto Tender Tracks Wed. Feb. 12, 2014 Day 21

Waxing Crescent Moon
Dennis Martins Creek

We had an Alumni Mom and her youngest daughter come to play with us today.  They were both well received!
And, many of the children started the day with great gifts one to the other, of Valentines day love.  They delighted in it all and then, we went on the bus and off we went.  When we got to our destination all of a sudden, it got DARK!!  Jasper and Eric said “Turn on the lights!!”  I invited them to settle in just for a moment and see if their eyes could become like the Owl People.  Then I played a couple of dark  and light games with Jasper and Eric for them to really feel the difference and beauty of both.
We all finally got out of the bus and Bosch took them? Followed them? down the hill near us that Natalie,  Aurora, Jasper, and Dahlia flew down.  They also played with the small culvert that was there like it was a telephone; Bosch speaking through it on one side and others hearing his voice and seeing his face on the other side.
Nareya was quite cold and others seemed not only a bit cold but needing to move so we took the snack basket and made our way to our usual spot.   As we walked we heard the sound of……WATER!!!!, Yes, it is true, there was RUSHING water going down the creek bed and when we got to the place where we cross it, they needed to jump OVER the water!!!  Dahlia was her typical delightful self as she jumped over and got her shoes wet. She with such ease  said something like, ” oh well, they’ll dry” and kept going.   We went up and up, and on the trail until we found our spot. We dropped our things and they scattered to explore the most beautiful world of water.  Jasper was very excited to find his way back down to where we had gone last time we were there. There was a lot of water down in the pond so he was excited to find a way to get down there.  Later, he Bosch, Emme and Aurora went scouting around that area. Jasper came back to me and said, “see, my way didn’t work but we found another way!”  I asked if they would come back with stories of their adventure.   Aurora said they had stories but she would tell me later and, well, I never did hear the stories but I DID see pure delight on her face.
We had story, songs  and snack. The snack  was delicious gluten free choclate brownie cake which they wanted “MORE, MORE, MORE……”  But alas, I gave them one serving and then wanted to leave their tummies free for the great food that you send with them.
The songs were still inviting the rain to come and the story, the story was about When the Sun wouldn’t show it’s face and how all the animals and plants found shapes of hearts in the rocks and the plants to give to Sun to coaxe him out of his hiding along with Roosters singing to him.  We then all sang the song that the Animals and plants sang to him, You Are My Sunshine, My Only sunshine….…
•Emme has really shifted and she is truly HERE at Tender Tracks. She was filled with exploration and excitement and most excited about finding the California Newts and Banana slugs that we found.
•Eric was having fun climbing, jumping and playing with the rocks. All the children really got into throwing the rocks into the water and then Bosch took a very , very large rock, and threw it down, down into the waters below. We heard it KERPLUNK and sqeeeled with delight.
• Aurora was having fun exploring with Bosch and playing with the rocks with the other children.  While driving home I learned a little bit of the Canadian Goose language( her stuffie was a Cannadian goose). When it squaks it means that it wants to eat.
•Dhalia was just having fun being in her bare feet and going into the water.  When she got wet she just changed her clothes and moved on.
•Nareya was wrestling with being cold and how to get warm. However, she did take off her shoes and socks and went into the water and got more and more brave with how she navigated on the rocks.
•Natalie was just in heaven and when she fell in the water she did not even blink an eye! She just kept going on having fun!
•Anissa was more engaged and delighted then ever  trying out new adventures with the wet ground, big rocks and water all about.
• Eric and Jasper I mentioned above.
We all had a very , very grand time playing with the water, the rocks, climbing over logs, throwing rocks in the water and listening to all the different sounds that come from the different sized rocks and looking for the many, many heart shaped rocks.  Our new Mommy friend found lot’s and everyone else found some or noticed some.
When her daughter got unexpectedly soaked with water Dahlia, Emme, Annissa and Nareya gave her all of their extra clothes.  Eric said his clothes were just too big for her.
When we got back to the bus we bundled them up in blankets and off we went. They were filled with such excitement and joy from the wild wonders of WETNESS!!!!