Today itself I was treated to one of the best visits to the park, but not because of the wilderness. Or, perhaps, because of the wilderness. I will leave it to you to decide whether or not my encounter was “wild enough” or not! To summarize, I saw an opposum, a squirrel, several lizards, quite a few spiders, and a number of hungry birds. It was a great day for seeing wildlife, even though it was about 100 degrees outside. What could be more wild than this? I got to hang out with four kids and their “in tune with nature” mother and we all talked a great deal about wildlife and nature.

I wonder at times if the people I have shared the trails with will ever touch base with me, either incidentally or with a direct purpose. For me, the direct purpose of us sharing the trails, virtually or otherwise, has been to raise awareness about nature in as natural a way possible. For many of us, this is not easily possible because it often takes a child-like approach to thinking about nature to recognize it in the same way that it often times recognizes us. Nature, in a way, is like a “wild child” which we can interact with at times, if only we pause and acknowledge this possibility.

Talking with children today was by far one of the most amazing and refreshing experiences I have had on the trails in some time. Where I have walked with grown people who groan at the concept of wildlife being a bit more aware and compassionate than we might give it credit for, children can hear the possibility of even the simplest of life having the ability to interact with us, the stewards of that to which we have been entrusted. Thank you so much for sharing your trail time with me today! I received a wealth of information from your home school approach to this topic!