We enjoyed a delightful walk down to Gold Run Creek this morning with our Roots & Shoots group. Sadly, we are often the only family to join in on these outings but this week, a new family joined in (a little guy of about 5 years of age and his infant sister brought their mother along). It was fun to have company and to share in the delight of their new discoveries.
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| Interesting galls on the Oak leaves |
While we didn’t make any new observations or discoveries ourselves, we did observe an Oak with many more galls than we have seen on one plant. We’ve seen these galls before but as of yet have not been able to identify them.When we reached the creek at the bottom of the hill, the kids were not shy about getting their feet wet in a hunt for frogs and other amphibians. We found some small tadpoles but no adults in the vicinity. I’m sure they observing us from a safe distance. We took a few moments to collect a water sample and test the water quality.
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| Young Cattails along the creek bank |
We also observed some young cattails growing near the creek. The kids were quick to remark on them, pointing them out to our new friends. They shared some of the things we had learned about cattails in the past – Cattails Part 1 and Cattails Part 2. I am continually amazed at what they remember!