Tender Tracks Wed. Day 30

April 26, 2017
Waning Crescent Moon
Lake Lagunitas

Though the weather report had us all thinking it really wasn’t going to rain to day it drizzled enough to make rain gear beneficial/needed.  It really didn’t rain but rather sprinkled on us most of the day.  We carried on quite easily however.

When we got to the Lake they immediately went to the place where the big water puddle was last week but alas, it was actually just a very small puddle now. They played very contentedly and found much joy in the mud.

We made it to circle and had a beautiful time celebrating Vita’s 4th birthday that will officially be in two days. She served the children the wonderful strawberry muffins that she helped make and she made sure that I said what they were correctly. “Strawberry muffins.”

Oliver and Puma really are the official Ca. Newt finders. Oliver however could be called the Bug Boy as he finds so many!!!  He found Banana Slugs and a new born Cicada. Right when he found the Cicada Vita’s Daddy rode by on his bike and stopped by. How special and wonderful!!!

I was with Oliver and Puma for a while with their new Newt friend. We were experimenting with what a Newt might eat. They both got their lunches but nothing in there appealed to the Newt. Then Puma carried, very creatively, my big back pack over. PHEW that WAS amazing how he did that!  From in side I got a little camp shovel. They used this to see if they could dig up worms to see if the Newt would like that. But, they were really having a hard time finding worms and the Newt crawled away while I was talking with someone.  Ruthie was VERY happy sitting inside her “home” the Redwood Tree leaning up against the tree and singing and singing. When I came over she said it was the Tree singing not her.  The rest of the children sat on a bench looking at the Cabin structure that they like to play under.  I now forget what they said they were doing but, it had something to do with families.

We got our belongings together and I asked Vita what direction she would like us to go. She pointed and up the stairs we went.   We saw one Turtle on our walk. When we made it to Woodpecker Haven Puma immediately brought that to our attention and we all stopped to listen, listen listen. But again, where were the Woodpeckers.  All the children accept Susie wanted to play “Bear.” The game where Linda is a bear and she chases them.  She was quite behind us with Oliver and Ruthie and Susie gets scared. Puma is very caring so he changed it to the Butterfly catcher game but she didn’t like that either.  So, she held my hand and we all walked down the trail still having fun and collecting treasures for Vita to put in the Birthday basket.   We stopped at the Fairy Pool inside the tree that actually houses hundreds of Mosquito larvae.
When there are no judgments about them it is easy to be in the children’s world of delight over seeing these little fascinating squirming beings in the water.

We went to a place that we haven’t gone to in a very long time. When they got there they IMMEDIATLEY remembered. Avaline said, “Let’s make a fairy house” as she remembered the elaborate ones that were made last time.  Puma and Oliver climbed right up the big fallen down tree. Oliver got stuck yet in his inimitable way he wanted to climb up even though it was really hard. I aided him in taking his time, slowing down, looking first to see how he could do it and then we worked together.  Jasper scampered up later.  Vita and Susie got into finding teeny pieces of glass in the dirt and making special piles with it and Ruthie was in 7th heaven riding on a fallen log.

We then ate our lunch together in the mist gently caressing us, played a bit afterward, all sat down together on the bench there to look out at the beauty of the place, listened to lot’s of birds, and then made our way back to the bus.

In there we had a bit of changing clothes and then sharing with Vita what the children had gathered for her for her birthday.