Children, Creation, Summer
Couldn't resist this picture. Can't help but wonder what these children are attempting to catch either. If they were at our house, they would be stalking a frog or maybe a granddaddy of a fish. So far this summer I have had a frog and then later a toad in my kitchen sink. No, I am not the one who put them there, and the fact that one of them got out of their container when I was looking at it does not mean I put the animal in the sink, no matter what anyone says. LOL!
Exploring the great outdoors is an unspeakable blessing. No time is it quite as easy or enjoyable to do so as in the Summer. How much fun it is to see all of the baby birds scurrying around close to their nests and to watch the goslings that swim on the lake and nibble our lawn down by the water grow from day to day. Being very stealthy when walking up to the water's edge in early Summer allows us to peek at sunfish fiercely guarding their nest of eggs. Later on in the season, if we look very quickly, we can catch glimpses of the hatched minnows zipping about here and there. Even small pools/puddles of water provide opportunities to observe new life as small tadpoles snuggle down in the soft mud with frequent trips to the top. It's a Life Science lab come to life before our eyes every day.
Even moving cattle opens up possibilities for studying small things up close. Horsegirl was encouraging a wayward bull to move along this morning when she noticed a baby bird scurrying around close by. Unnoticed by the bull, the small bird was feverishly working at getting closer to its mama when it was toppled into the water as the bull passed where it was. Horsegirl rescued the sweet thing, it wasn't a swimming water bird, and returned it to the area it had originally been. We all hope that all is well for the wee baby. It was so tiny; a couple of pompom puffs with a beak and two feet that were all very large in comparison to the size of its body.
Somehow this picture of the children by the water, in the Summer, made me think of Horsegirl's rescue efforts and nature and children and Summer and well, you already know the rest of the story for I already told it to you. Summer, creation, children, opportunities, observation, are all perfect combinations no matter where one lives.