Twelve Acre Wood

We went on a spur of the moment hike with playgroup this morning.  The weather called for storms all day and we wanted to be close to home, should the skies open up.  Luckily Ms. Carol happened upon the Saul Wildlife Sanctuary on her bike the day before, so in record time of 45 minutes, I changed the Salad, showered, packed lunch, bug spray, water shoes and an extra change of clothes for everyone.

It was a perfect day for a hike, warm enough to go in the water (though cold water wouldn't have swayed this group of kids) and not hot enough to be uncomfortable.  We have to do as much hiking in the next few weeks as possible, before the bugs come. 

The 9 preschoolers caught sight of the creek about 4 minutes into the walk and by 6 minutes in, 7 of them were drenched.  I stood watching them find pebbles, hide treasure in the sand, wade tentatively to the big rocks, race leaves in the current, "fish" with big sticks and I realized just how many times in the past 3 years, I've seen this exact scene - many small children sopping wet on the bank of a stream - and felt lucky that we have amazing, adventurous friends.

We stopped for a snack break just before we left and about 15 kindergartners came along with their school.  It was cool to see how well our worlds collided.  They were friends within minutes, S holding hands with one of the girls, waving heartfelt goodbyes when we had to leave.   

4 hours later we emerged, muddied and happy.