Just add imagination

"Do you want to go for a walk with the kids? We can go to the Reserve and do an nice easy trail...bring snacks?" I sent the question in an email to my neighbor.

We often went to my little creek for adventures, but the weather was supposed to be chilly. I wanted an excuse to get out of the house and visit with another female. And I wanted to go to my new favorite place. The Kickapoo Valley Reserve.

Off we went.

We took Harris Road Trail to the ponds. We detoured around the ponds which was good. 
That meant that I was knocking off one more trail that I had to complete for that Dam Trail Challenge. 
It is actually just called The Trail Challenge, I just like including the 'Dam' in it. 
This was one of those small intersecting trails that I'd missed the other times while hiking the south part of KVR.

The kids ran ahead while 'we' adults walked along behind just enjoying each other's company and conversation. 

The trail led around more than one frozen pond and of course the kids wanted to explore the ice. 

However with the recent warm days and melt downs I was super cautious and said emphatically NO! Lauren and I discussed our fears of falling through the ice and being trapped under it. 

Of course, I did something silly on the walk as we negotiated the path around the one pond. 
I blathered on to the kids about how in another month or so they could see Canada Geese, Mallards, a variety of ducks, and other birds. Did they want to keep an eye out for eagles?

I realized as I chattered on that Lauren was probably the only one hearing me. The kids were concentrated on the ice chunks in their path, the rocks, the stumps, and the pure adventure of the hike...and not the coming spring or birds.

I laughed to myself then. I thought, just enjoy the chatter of the children and the fresh but chilly air.

We came around a bend and there was a corn crib type structure. 
It was a blind set up with boards that you could open to watch those birds who would be coming to nest.
The kids ate snacks and enjoyed opening the little windows.

Sure, I tried to explain that this was a bird blind. That really did't impress my audience. Then I may have said that it was a way to spy on birds. Now that peaked their interest!

The only Eagle we saw at KVR was the finger puppet I added to my collection. 

I generally have a toy in my pocket of some kind even when I am hiking without children. 

Off we went again along the Old 131 Trail. The trail is flat and fairly straight. I think it was pretty boring to the kids. Up ahead near Star Valley there is a magnificent old pine that had been damaged by a storm. This pine became the place for the kids.

First we went to the benches and markers on Star Valley Trail. I wanted to show the kids the memorial. They were interested in the small pond created by the melt down. 
They were not being rude, they were exploring. A small pond with a mostly frozen surface is far more exciting than the little memorial. They could break ice up and throw it onto the surface of the flooded area and watch the ice splinter.

We had snacks and before the kids got wet, we moved away from the alluring little pond of ice and water.
The kids saw a trail that led across the field.

"Can we go this way?"
Of course! 
Off they ran, pausing at every area that had ice. 

Surely Mother Nature had put those little frozen places there just for them.

How can you compete with Mother Nature?

We went off trail as the kids wanted to see the river. They liked the huge chunks of ice that seemed stuck in it. I called them ice shoves, but they are actually ice floes. 

That did get some "cools!" from the kids.

I told them to lead on!
And they did.

I felt that the little trail would lead us back to the old damaged pine tree.
And it did.

However now the kids were busy. 
The adults merely stood back and let them play.

Play is the work of children.
It is very serious stuff.
~~ Bob Keeshan [Cpt. Kangaroo]

The tree and part of the branch that had broken off became something different that could only be seen through a child's imaginative eyes.
They played.

Lauren and I stood back and watched. 

I am always amazed at how quickly children can find something to play with. They don't need toys. Sticks, pieces of bark, or even a rock can become toys. A field of grass and a stump can become a fort or house.

Just let it go and let the children play, they will bring their own imagination.