An afternoon walk with the poop

We took the boys out to Wakefield for a stroll in the pretty weather, as it promises to become icky later this week. The sunshine was abundant, the eagle was winging about the river, the sheep were out, and it promised to be a glorious walk.

At ages 6 and 4, boys have a strange fascination with bodily functions. I don't remember girls being that interested in poop. However, my guys- and many boys I have met- are mesmerized. On a working farm, there is no shortage of poop about. Sheep poop. Horse poop. Cow poop. We even saw a little pig poop. And apparently, "poop" is a fun word to say when you are 6 and 4. Poop, poop, poop. The sheep were upstaged by their own poop.

So we rambled along, and came upon the beautiful magnolia tree, the pods scattered over the craggy roots, where the boys like to climb and play. JoeyAndyDad and I stopped upon Joey's command and watched them scramble happily over the tree.

And then JoeyAndyDad said, "Look! Tree poop!"

Yes, it was an instant hit. Tree pods and nuts are now tree poop. That's one way to make a nature walk a success.

We stopped into the colonial kitchen to look around. Joey has been having trouble grasping the concept of past and history, and that people did things differently and lived differently. So we popped our heads in and I asked them what they saw that was different from our kitchen at home. Andy noticed butter churns. I pointed out that there was no stove or oven, just a fireplace. JoeyAndyDad noted that there was no refrigerator. Joey noticed there was no mac and cheese.

Then we went back to exploring, and Joey slipped and fell. He's been doing that a lot more, as we have been missing OT sessions (Get better, Ms. Janene! We miss you!). He was very upset, because it was a muddy spot, and he got a lot of cold mud on his pants.

"Oh no!" he wailed all the way to the blacksmith's shop. "A cow pooped me! A cow pooped my pants!"

We managed to distract him by having him sit down for a little and catch his breath, then promising a peek at the pigs. Joy of joys, we wandered out (avoiding the poop) to see the pigs. Fortunately, there was one out in the pig yard to see (sometimes there isn't, especially in winter.) Then we wandered back to the trees (avoiding the poop, but pointing out every lovely pile) and took a rest on a bench. Andy found a walnut (more tree poop), and discovered some mole tunnels. When I told him what they were, he was delighted. He likes moles.

And so we wandered back to the car. We saw ducks diving on the river. We saw vultures playing in the air currents overhead. And we rolled the tree poop down the hill and giggled. A good time had by all.