Creek

Bethany wrote a nice little narrative about our hot dog stand trip, it’s up under her tab. Joel surprised me by typing up his essay this morning. I mean I know he can write, but I’m usually sitting over there hovering. All week he has been taking notes from books and a movie about the protestant reformation. He typed up most of his findings (and thought he was done.) When I told him it was a first draft I got the “Aww!”, but it is a good first draft. After school we hiked out to our swimming hole, well the swimming creek. With the movie Nim’s Island fresh in our minds we took our tools with us so we could be a scientist like Nim’s father and explorers like Nim. We have a creek with little islands on it, animals to find, tools to experiment with, a curiosity, oh, and a mom who loves Swiss Family Robinson.

First, explorers need to eat.

Then you have to get out your tools and make sure you have the right ones.

Then you need a fearless leader to follow (well, up to a point.)

I took off in hopes of catching the elusive, giant fish. Just call me Ishmael, but I caught him.

Unfortunately for him he decided to be in the exact same spot as last time, so I didn’t have to look far. I poked him out of the deep water and he swam for the shallows with 3 girls running and screaming and me…..well I screamed like a little girl. It was a giant catfish! I caught him and more screams followed by me (‘cuz he was so heavy it about knocked me over) and the girls (‘cuz he was trying to flip out of the net.) He must have weighed 20 lbs, maybe more. I tried to put him back in the deep water, but he kept swimming in the shallow.

Bethany caught him again (though she couldn’t hold the net with him in it) and we took him back to his deep water home. You live to fight another day Moby catfish!

Hannah was using our new purchase to scoop water (paint jars from Banks school supply; I saw them and thought they’d be great at the creek.)

Joel grabbed the net and went off looking for more fish (we have only found the 2 catfish so far.)

Bethany swears she found gold flecks in the water and filled the jar with sand, gold and water.

I walked around taking pics of the plants. Last time we were here, which wasn’t that long ago, the cattails weren’t ready, now they are big and brown.

The thistles were sporting purple flowers and one of our islands was overgrown with brush.

We waded all the way down to this spot to try to find more fish, no luck.

Grace said the black allergy (algae) felt like socks when you covered your feet in it, she was right. Joel decided that flinging sand was a good pastime, man that sand stings when it flies at that velocity (yeah, I guess he was doing an experiment about velocity and ratio of screams.)

On the way back to our spot Hannah had the net and was dragging for…..something.

Here is dear Mr. Cottonwood that keeps us shady and cool and is now out of cotton!

The girls were playing when I heard them scream ‘people, people are coming!’ It was 3 boys and we thought how can we defend our creek. We have no lizards to throw, but we do have 20 lb catfish. We have no sea lion, but we have thorny thistles (Nim’s Island again.). Lucky for them they went further down the stream. Grace was smashing some cattails when we found this little guy, isn’t he cute.

Yes, we put him back under his rock, although it was tempting to bring him home. This is Hannah saying no way to Bethany after Hannah found a chocolate bar in my bag.

Finally, we packed it up and headed out, 3 hours not bad. We had fun and stayed cool. We passed the peaceful Platte River on the way out and then some nesting swallows under the bridge.

Back home we showered off in the water hose. The girls had fun, but then the minions turned on me. I got soaking wet, especially from Hannah.

‘Ya know what I’ve noticed, nobody else in Highlands Ranch plays in the font yard in the water hose….too bad for them.