In the eye of the beholder

Tonight we went on an adventure.  We had planned to go explore a new mysterious path we saw last night on the way to the library, but we didn't make it that far.  We had just arrived at the intersection of two busy roads and we paused to admire a little section of laurel creek tucked into a gully beside the roads.  We lamented how it would have been a pretty spot, if only it weren't for the tainting influence of the busy streets. But Max instantly requested to go down and play in the creek.  I was going to say no, but Gus convinced me to show a little wonder in the world and we trekked down into the Gully "for a second".  No sooner had we arrived at the creek then my kids were both waste deep in water and mud.  Gus hurried in too and soon he had everyone chasing after a minnow.  I watched amused, but wrinkled my nose at the mud.

We happened to have some buckets along and Max begged Gus to try to catch the minnow in a bucket.  Quite to both our surprise, Gus succeeded in this endevour and soon the kids were "petting" the poor fish and looking at it through a magnifying glass.  This I could get excited about and I went into a long description of fish gills.  I looked up to discover that Darwyn had wandered off, with Gus trailing behind, towards the huge ugly street Gus and I hated.  To Darwyn, this street was the reason for the best attraction of all: two huge tunnels making a path for the water underneath the road.  Of course, she wanted to go in.

Laurel Creek runs under Bearinger Rd (pictured) and Westmount Rd (not pictured).  These tunnels are barely tall enough for an adult to walk comfortably (if you don't mind spider webs in your hair).  -Gus

Darwyn wanted to "bounce" in the water.  As you can see, she's wearing a dress that's soaked to the chest.  -Gus

Gus was a good sport, no sooner had they disappeared then Max followed after.  I went up and over, but when I met everyone on the other side of the road, they were so excited about the tunnel they convinced me to follow them back through it.  Inside was an amazing world all its own.  It didn't smell (for some reason I thought it would).  The edges were lined with spider webs all sporting huge and exciting spiders for the kids to examine.  Loads of little fish swam around our ankles and tickled our feet.  But halfway down the tunnel was the best part.  A bird's nest.  At our arrival the mother flew off and we lifted the kids up to look at tiny baby birds.  I was holding two buckets a magnifying glass and two extra pair of shoes, so the picture I took is not that great...but you get the idea.

Trek in the water under Bearinger Rd.

Bird's nest with babies in the tunnel under Bearinger Rd.  Don't ask me what species---it doesn't matter. -Gus

We also came across a small storm drain leading off the tunnel that was maybe 3 feet in diameter.  The kids, of course, wanted to follow it, but even Gus could not be convinced to go there.  I told them to wait until uncle Mike visits in July....  [Shoulda got a picture.  It looked really cool with the sunlight pouring in from a manhole 50 feet away in the drain. -Gus]

Alas, bedtime was coming and we dragged the kids out from under the busy road.  Back on the side walk Gus took off his shoes to remove a pebble and discovered a leech on his toe.  Disgusted he pulled it off and was about to squish it when I stayed his foot.  "Let the kids see it."

The leech provided the best entertainment of the whole night.  It writhed on the sidewalk and especially Max stared at it in fascination.  We explained that it had been on dad and that it liked to burrow into your skin and drink blood.  Max begged us to keep it as a "pet", so we filled our bucket with water and brought it home.  I don't know how to look after a leech....I imagine it won't last long in our care.

When we got home we cleaned the kids off in the shower before bed and discovered that Max too had been bitten by a leech.  The one on Max had gotten a much better hold.  We got some salt and shook it on the leech.  It withered and pulled off Max's skin where he discovered a minuscule red mark.  "Max!"  I said, doing my best to sound excited.  "You were the only one that actually got bitten by the leech.  That is so cool!  What did it feel like."

Max looked at me solemnly.  "It was excruciating."

I laughed.  "So excruciating you didn't feel it?"

"Mom," he said, excitement starting to show on his face, "it was a vampire leech....I need a band aid."

And so it came to pass that the highlight of Max's night was being bitten by a vampire leech.  I must say, I preferred the baby birds....