Woodland Limbo on a Nature-ish Day

How often do you start your day with limbo in the forest and end it with a freshly cooked bowl of arroz con condules?

Can we do this every weekend?

We woke up feeling inspired by another beautiful day and decided to take a ride to Moonbeams Nature Preserve.  Woodland walks always make me happy.  We packed the essentials – water, bug spray, sunscreen, snacks and, of course, a net for catching critters.  We came across two trees holding a limb perfectly in place for a round of limbo.  We caught a frog and we jumped on this spongy forest floor covering – I think I’ll nickname it moon foam.  It was a lot of fun. 

Of course, I’m leaving a few things out.

There was the argument my husband and I had while deciding where we should go.  And, of course, once we got there my youngest daughter was bothered by the grass that tickled her legs.  She spent some time walking much like the classic wooden soldiers – one leg raised straight out in front of her, trying desperately to cover as much ground as possible with each one of her strides.  Once we began following the path into the woods, she looked nervously from side to side, certain a bear was lurking nearby.  She mistook a wood stump for a fox – or was it a coyote?  My oldest thought her little sister was silly, though she had a moment of her own.  She caught a frog and stood still for just a little too long.  The mosquitoes sniffed her out and she was quickly surrounded.

Ahhh, the joys of nature.

After scanning the forest for that pack of wolves, my youngest daughter managed to take some beautiful pictures.  This picture of a tiny footbridge that we crossed is my favorite.  Maybe she has a future in nature photography…..or maybe not.

As for my oldest, well she would happily live among the trees.  As we left the trail to head back home, she ran to catch up with her dad.  “This is why I’m glad he’s my dad,” she said.  “He’s so nature-ish.”

Yes, I suppose it was a happy, nature-ish kind of day.