A Trip to the Pond

When I moved to this town 17 years ago, I hated it! 

It is a small college town halfway between 2 major cities.

"There's nothing here!  There's nothing to do!"

   I was from "the city" when I first arrived in this town, and I didn't know all the gems this new area  had to offer.  Frankly when I first moved here, I didn't care much for even learning what this town had to offer. 

But this small sleepy suburb hidden in the woods, with "nothing to do," worked its magic on me, and now it is home.  It took me becoming a mother to really understand what all this place I now call home had to provide.

Where else can we go on a nature walk, visit a pond, go out for frozen yogurt, stop at Walmart for a few quick items, all in an a couple of hours in the afternoon?  

Not in the city, that's for sure! 

That's what our Tuesday afternoon looked like this week.

The perfect ending to our March Pond Unit with Mother Goose Time.

The University in town has a duck pond on campus.  We've been several times this month, usually with friends, but on this day, we explored and looked for the things we learned about over the month with our pond unit.

Sweet Pea knows which animals are geese and which are ducks!  I couldn't believe my ears when I heard her call the goose a goose and not a duck!

New baby ducklings! 

Fish gobbling our bread!  Sweet Pea made her fish face when she saw the bread being dragged beneath the surface of the water. 

Of course we saw ducks!  Mostly sleeping on what is commonly known as "duck island," but a few acted interested in the bread we brought to share with them.  One even flew across the pond which inspired Sweet Pea to fly like a duck.

I caught this picture of a dragonfly (I think) taking a break and Sweet Pea was scared of it. 

 "Bee!" She's scared of flying insects just like her momma.  

We also saw a smashed turtle, but I didn't take a picture of that.  Sweet Pea did crouch down, inspect the turtle, and said it's name; but, we didn't linger long.  I had called Daddy on our way to the pond, and he took a quick break to meet us and watch Sweet Pea have fun!  

This is one of those perks of living in a small town... Daddy can come by for a little visit or come home for lunch.  The size of this town truly is a blessing.

 

Sweet Pea even found some feathers on the ground.  She spent a lot of time throwing them, watching them float on the wind, and gracefully land in the water.  I wish I had better pictures of her doing this.

Can you see the feather underneath the stadium sign?  It is right above the water line.

 Sweet Pea would have stayed all night, but I knew we had to go to the store.  A quick trip to the frozen yogurt stand sounded so good.

Bye ducks! Time for some frozen yogurt and a quick trip to Walmart.

Being a mom has really opened my eyes to so many things I have taken for granted.  

Things I may have thought were curses, truly are blessings.

Much of my perspective has changed through the eyes of motherhood.

The Lord teaches me so many new things through Sweet Pea.

I hope I never stop learning.