today after a short ride through traffic to say good bye to a friend moving north I grabbed the dogs to go for a hike.
dean was amped. it seemed clear to me that he could use to burn some of the excess energy in the woods, but I could see that he was not in any mood to go hiking. his head says yes, but his legs say no, which cause his mouth to say, "daddy....put me on your shoulders! daddy....put me on your shoulders! daddy....put me on your shoulders!" until I put him on his shoulders, there can be momentary deals, but ten yards later it is all, "daddy....put me on your shoulders!" until I finally raise him up on my shoulders. after the 12 hours of lodi farms or after just your average day at work I am not in the mood to carry all this excess weight on my back. sure I love that whole "courtship of eddie's father" bonding session stuff, but my knees and back are not always feeling the benefits. so I knew how to out smart him. grab Elijah and see if he wanted to hike. dean bought it hook, line, and sinker. we were not on the sidewalk for two houses before the first, "daddy....put me on your shoulders!" the reminder of elijah got him running. we got to elijah's house, the vortex was strong, dean was pulled right past james to elijah's toys. james searched for elijah's shoes. I waited with the dogs outside. the boys were gathered. the rules were set. we were off to the woods. the basic rule. Listen to Joel or immediately go back. the rules started as we stepped into the woods. no sword play, only one stick, no running with sticks, etc. the boys were off and running, without sticks by my command. every 20 yards it was a gathering of cicadas or banging a tree with a stick, until I distracted them with the idea of running, racing, turbo boost, or putting it in over drive. they ran the whole loop. racing up slippery hill or going to the fort were all great motivators, but calling them each a t-rex and getting them growl as they ran....this got us home....well back to the sidewalk. I had seen all the cicada shells on the leaves and branches and wanted to take some pictures of lisa, dean, and grant. we are going to put together a set of images of the boyz with cicadas; NOT TO BE OPENED FOR 17 YEARS! So that they know that they have experienced this phenomena before, well if the world is still hear or if the current president and his frat boy buddies have not paved over all the green space in the next 17 years...after all Rock Creek is great real estate for a Hoyts Cinema, a Target, and a parking lot.
Never made it back to the house. The sidewalk was a more obvious place for the boys to collect the live adult cicadas. they were scared at first. but soon they were picking up the adults and placing them in a insect container with a magnifying glass lid. they were pumped.
no photos to tell the tale
but I have the memory
more cicadas tomorrow
maybe by the weeks end Dean will be able to explain the life cycle of the Cicada on his own
after all
it is all happening in front of us
dean was amped. it seemed clear to me that he could use to burn some of the excess energy in the woods, but I could see that he was not in any mood to go hiking. his head says yes, but his legs say no, which cause his mouth to say, "daddy....put me on your shoulders! daddy....put me on your shoulders! daddy....put me on your shoulders!" until I put him on his shoulders, there can be momentary deals, but ten yards later it is all, "daddy....put me on your shoulders!" until I finally raise him up on my shoulders. after the 12 hours of lodi farms or after just your average day at work I am not in the mood to carry all this excess weight on my back. sure I love that whole "courtship of eddie's father" bonding session stuff, but my knees and back are not always feeling the benefits. so I knew how to out smart him. grab Elijah and see if he wanted to hike. dean bought it hook, line, and sinker. we were not on the sidewalk for two houses before the first, "daddy....put me on your shoulders!" the reminder of elijah got him running. we got to elijah's house, the vortex was strong, dean was pulled right past james to elijah's toys. james searched for elijah's shoes. I waited with the dogs outside. the boys were gathered. the rules were set. we were off to the woods. the basic rule. Listen to Joel or immediately go back. the rules started as we stepped into the woods. no sword play, only one stick, no running with sticks, etc. the boys were off and running, without sticks by my command. every 20 yards it was a gathering of cicadas or banging a tree with a stick, until I distracted them with the idea of running, racing, turbo boost, or putting it in over drive. they ran the whole loop. racing up slippery hill or going to the fort were all great motivators, but calling them each a t-rex and getting them growl as they ran....this got us home....well back to the sidewalk. I had seen all the cicada shells on the leaves and branches and wanted to take some pictures of lisa, dean, and grant. we are going to put together a set of images of the boyz with cicadas; NOT TO BE OPENED FOR 17 YEARS! So that they know that they have experienced this phenomena before, well if the world is still hear or if the current president and his frat boy buddies have not paved over all the green space in the next 17 years...after all Rock Creek is great real estate for a Hoyts Cinema, a Target, and a parking lot.
Never made it back to the house. The sidewalk was a more obvious place for the boys to collect the live adult cicadas. they were scared at first. but soon they were picking up the adults and placing them in a insect container with a magnifying glass lid. they were pumped.
no photos to tell the tale
but I have the memory
more cicadas tomorrow
maybe by the weeks end Dean will be able to explain the life cycle of the Cicada on his own
after all
it is all happening in front of us