A Squirrel Hunt.
Oh. no. What have I started?
First, we fed the ducks. We have been feeding the ducks after I run for ages now. Yesterday, I started something new without really thinking about what I was saying.
A squirrel hunt.
I was sitting on a bench, minding my own business as I watched the boys feed the ducks an entire loaf of bread. A squirrel came uncomfortable close to my feet. I threw him a piece of bread, mostly to get him to back off. Eli observed. Eli squealed. Eli had a new mission - FEED THE SQUIRRELS.
Of course, running towards the squirrels with bread in hand screaming, "Heeeeerrrreee Squirrrreeeeelllllls. I have food for you!" makes them scatter faster than your eyes can follow. "Eli, shhhhh!! You have to be really slow and really quiet. You'll scare them."
Silas interjected, "Shhhhh, E. Be soooo quiet. We don't want to scare the squirrels."
This was my mistake. I said, "I have a great idea. Let's go on a squirrel hunt! We can walk down the trail, throw bread and wait for them to come eat the food."
Silas proclaimed, "WOW! That IS a great idea!!! Let's go on a squirrel hunt."
Eli chimed in, "LET'S GO ON A SQUIRREL HUNT!!! HURRAY!!!!"
So, we started down the trail. We threw pieces of bread here and there and the adventure began. Of course Silas told us all the rules and made use of his vivid imagination all along the way. Please note, there is a dirt trail that runs along side the lake, just off the road I typically run on. I told Silas it was a secret trail. At some point, the dirt trail swerves up to the concrete path, connecting the two. When we reached the end, Silas just about flipped out. "I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I JUST CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! WE FOUND THE ROAD YOU RUN ON. THIS IS CRAZY. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. HOW DID WE DO IT? I JUST CANNOT BELIEVE IT, MOM." So, needless to say, it was unfathomable that while trekking down our secret trail, we discovered the running path. Unbelievable. Both boys were cheering enthusiastically.
So of course, we had to take the secret trail back. Our mission was to find our way back to the car without getting lost. Never fear. Silas would follow our tracks. "LOOK, Mom. Here's our tracks. We will follow them back so we will not get lost. Follow me." "Wow, Silas. You are like a detective. Please, help us find our way back." Now, don't tell him he was following dog tracks and not our actual tracks. There's no need to ruin it for him. And can you believe, there were bad guy tracks behind ours? This certainly meant that the bad guys were following us.
As we walked back down the secret trail, we checked to see if the squirrels had eaten all the bread we threw along the way. We didn't see any, so Silas concluded they simply must have. "They were so hungry, Mom." Not only did we feed the squirrels and the ducks, but also some baby birds and a bunny. Silas followed "our tracks" all the way back to the black car. Once in the car, he slammed the door, killing the bad guys that were following us. Mission accomplished.
As I put the keys in the ignition Silas and Eli asked, "Can we go on a squirrel hunt tomorrow???!!!" I told them, "Yes, we can go on another squirrel hunt tomorrow." Again, I should have thought about what I was saying. Hey, I had fun too and what the heck - it would be fun.
Let me just say, I love spending time with my boys and I loved the squirrel hunts. My only problem is that I'm not sure simply feeding the ducks will suffice any longer. Feeding the ducks takes about 20 minutes. Walking all the way down the secret trail and back takes us well over an hour. As we left today they told the squirrels, "Bye bye, squirrels. We will see you tomorrow!!!"
Maybe I'll let Daddy take them. Silas told him, "Daddy, you just won't believe it. You HAVE to come!"
Gotta love their enthusiasm over something so simple. Creativity and imagination can go a long way.
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| The food. |
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| The squirrel. |
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| Feeding the ducks. |
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| Hunting the squirrels. |
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| Look close! Do you see the squirrel with the bread? |
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| The "secret" trail. |
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| The tracks. |
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| Close up of "our tracks" |
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| "Look, Mom. More tracks!" |
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| Me and Silas on the trail. |
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| Photo by Silas. |
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| Pure bliss. |
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| The remains of our food. |
1 Comments
You are making wonderful memories for the boys and you. What a great way to spend an hour. I will look foward to a squirrel hunt too. Last time I was there, the boys and I fed the squirrels French fries bc a squirrel came right up to our table; he actually took the fries from my hand. Memories
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