My sweet little Nana is not very nature-inclined. We went on a nature hike yesterday with her class and let's just say she was done with it well before the rain started, which was well before the hike was over. It was a miserable day for a hike...cold, rainy, dank...and this set the tone for the day. First, there was a debate over the outfit..she wanted to wear a summer dress (of course) and I had the fun job of convincing her that jeans, a sweatshirt and rain coat were more appropriate for the occasion. That was Battle 1 and it ended after many 5 year old tears in a compromise of jeans and a fancy sweater. Battle 2. Shoes. Of course, it is always the shoes! Why can't we wear the sparkly flip flops to go hiking in the rain? Lasted for a good 10 minutes....she finally succumbed and put on the hot pink hello kitty rain boots...and then complained about them for the rest of the morning....but she wore them. Battle 3. We arrive at the nature center and are told that there are no umbrellas allowed. One of the other mothers tried to convince her kid that we were going to be like the frogs and have fun in the rain...worked for her kid, not so much for mine.."I don't want to be a frog. I want my princess umbrella." And so we hiked and the guide rubbed leaves together to release natural oils and scents and pointed out woodpecker holes (are we done yet?)and weeds that stick to clothing and various animal tracks and told a story about how the pond was formed and why it has no fish (let's go mommy!). We did get to see a duck and a frog...apparently they do have fun in the rain....and then it started pouring and we started walking back and aforementioned kid started making frog noises..fun! So...we walked back up the trail and gathered in a room filled with stuffed snakes and birds and rodents (squirrels and the like) and some living things too. We were treated to a little info. session re: animals that we may have seen on the hike had it been a nicer day. The kids were allowed to pet (EWWW!) a salamander, a snake (it was from Africa, not sure we would have run into that one on the trail!), a butterfly, turtles and here is the topper a damned groundhog named Dandelion. Is that just weird to anyone else? Am I a crazy parent to have worried about my kid petting an animal that is for all intents and purposes a wild rat? Bugs?? Claws?? Well, despite my hesitation (disgust) the petting portion went off without a hitch. Anna was happy to pet Dandelion b/c she loves animals and thought she was sooo cute. I just about keeled over in my chair...my little girl petting a rodent, an overgrown squirrel...this she liked (thank god for purell!)...and it actually turned the "hike" into something that she enjoyed! In relaying the story of her day to her dad, she spoke fondly about the "porkingpine" that she pet. In telling the story to my mom, she relayed how cute the "brownedhog" was. So, thank you Dandelion the porkingpine/brownedhog/ground hog for making this a memorable and enjoyable hike for my sweet little girl.
Things I Like...Dandelion the porkingpine.
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