Bug Hunting

Last Saturday, I took my kids with me to the track so they could look for bugs while I jogged. Previously in the week, I had seen so really, really long worms and I was hoping that they could see them. Unfortunately it was dryer on Saturday so the worms were not out. They did find this giant snail though. We took it home for a day and then let it go.

I love that my kids are so fascinated with things like this. Haley is not grossed out by anything and she doesn't mind holding bugs or other things. But, Britton is the one who has a real passion for it. He really has a good eye for finding things. While at the track he also spotted these really tiny, vertical, cylindrical ant hills. They were really neat. He was happy just observing the ants. We also found a few mushrooms and a ladybug. I could really see him being some sort of field scientist. He has the curiosity, patience, and eye for it. He also has a love and compassion for all living things. Yesterday I was playing out in the field with Britton, Haley, and the two neighbor boys. They discovered quite a few different ant colonies. At first everyone was just watching the ants. Haley tried to ruin part of the ant hill and Britton got really upset with her. He kept saying, "Do you know how long it takes them to build that? And you just messed it up? They are so small." Then he scooped up some dirt and tried to put it where the ants could get it easily. I don't know if it actually helped, but it was so cute that he was trying. Later on, Owen and Jackson started throwing rocks and bricks at the anthills, just for fun. I was surprised to see that Britton didn't join in (he really looks up to Owen and Jackson), but instead he told them not to hurt the ants because they are so small. Maybe I have a future entymologist on my hands.