Monday Hiking at The Great Meadow

We met another homeschool family for a nature hike today at The Great Meadows. It was a great spring day and my son and I really enjoyed it!
Here is a bug we saw, there were actually many of them. They were flying low to the ground. They looked like a cross between a bee and a fly.

Here is one of the ground burrows they were protecting.
A cool mound that reminds me of a Fry Guy from Micky D's He just needs eyes and skinney legs with striped socks!
A close up of the moss.
Beautiful Spring Skies!
A Mallard pair. (Yes, there is a female in there.)
I shall conquer!
Now I know where the idea for TREANTS came from!

There's a Story in that Old Tree

This ancient tree succumb to gravity this winter. It has a bit of character to it. I turned around and went back to get these photographs of it. I imagine a day long ago when there was a rope hanging from one of its' larger limbs. Perhaps there was a wooden disc with a hole in the center for the rope to go through, then knotted at the end. The boys and girls raced to the tree after school and on Saturday mornings after chores. They would take turns on the wooden disc, pushing each other higher and higher. Some of the children climbed through the maze of branches as they awaited their turn on the wooden disc. And the Tree seemed to sigh with contentment at the exuberance of the children as they played in its' branches.