Mama Diaries

Monday, June 3, 2013

Wonders of Nature

I took my eight-year-old son to the park to "air him out."  He was a little cantankerous, and I figured a little fresh air would do him good.

We made our way to the Little Miami River, one of our favorite places to hang out.  A nice little family of ducks  swam by - a mama duck and about six babies.  We watched them for a while and then continued our hike along the river.  Eventually, my son decided he wanted to get up close and personal with the river.  He took off his shoes and socks and handed them to me.  Then he waded in.  After a few minutes  he reached down and pulled up a rock.  "Mama, fossils!"

I walked over to see what he had found.  "Yes, Bubba.  Those are fossils."

"Are they trilobites?"

"No, Bubba.  They look like crinoids."

"Oh.  Can you hold this, Mama?"

I took it from him and he continued his search.

A few minutes later, he found a smooth, water-worn stone.  "Here, Mama.  Hold this."

I dutifully took the stone and added it to the collection.

Then he found another rock.  "Mama, is this a moon rock?"

I looked at the thing.  "No, Bubba.  It's limestone."

"Oh.  Hold this, too."

"Seriously, Bubba?"

"Yeah, Mama.  It's special."

Then he reached down and pulled up a giant rock.  It was covered in mud.

"Mama, check this out!"

"Bubba, it's a rock with a lot of mud on it!"

"No, Mama.  It's a wonder of nature!"

He spent the next twenty minutes carefully examining that rock, and everything in the mud.  He found tiny shells, fossils, water bugs, and marine plant life.

Okay.  So maybe the kid was right.  It was a wonder of nature.  But I  definitely wasn't going to add that thing to my collection of fossils, rocks, and socks!      

34 comments:

  1. Haha! That's quite a collection!

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  2. Girl, you know your geology! I think we all need to have our moments of Wonders of Nature every now and then.

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    1. Bubba and I have visited quite a few science centers, so I learned a thing or two!

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  3. Haha! I love the line, to "air him out."
    I wonder if it's a boy thing, because Spawn is exactly the same with rocks. :)

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  4. you should open a museum for socks and rocks :)

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    1. That's a good idea! I bet lots of little boys would like to come and visit it!

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  5. Yes, it's very cute that you and Bubba went on an "airing out" trip along the river. I don't blame you for drawing the line somewhere. I think the big muddy rock really needed to stay where it was.

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    1. I definitely did not want that thing in my car!

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  6. LOL, I wouldn't want to add that to my collection, either. At least Bubba is able to appreciate nature! Many kids don't seem to anymore...

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    1. I hope he never loses his curiosity with nature.

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  7. Thanks for my daily smile Sherry.

    Yvonne.

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  8. I started reading this post earlier before the pups went nuts over, I don't even know.

    Your son cracks me up. I love that he kept asking you to hold this. That's so true and great fun.

    Cheers and boogie boogie.

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    1. Moms should've definitely been born with more than two hands! Mama octopi got it right!

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  9. who knew socks and rocks could have such a connection. The wonders of nature.

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  10. What an adorable post, but a crinoid? I thought you were a musician. How do you know about rocks and fossils and everything else in the world? Oh, I remember. You're the mama.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. That's right. I'm the super genius mama! (Actually, I've always had an interest in science, so I remember this stuff from long ago!)

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    2. Very cool. Your children will benefit from the knowledge you share.

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  11. Crinoids and limestone????
    I wouldn't know a crinoid from a hemorrhoid (okay, well that's not exactly true, but you get my drift).
    Good golly, you know your stuff.
    I would have said "rock covered in mud" for all of them and let it go at that.

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    1. Crinoids, hemorrhoids...sure they're close. What's the difference? They both hurt your tush if you sit on them!

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  12. Sounds like a great scientific nature walk.

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    1. I like doing those sort of things with Bubba!

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  13. Nature sure has many wonders, not that I want to touch them all.

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    1. Sometimes I wonder about Bubba because he most definitely wants to touch them all!

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    1. I take it you're not one to pick up muddy rocks. :)

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  15. Bubba is learning about nature now. Good for you to take him out!

    Nas

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    1. We have been visiting parks and nature places for quite a while now. He really seems to enjoy it.

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  16. There's only so much nature a mom can carry--LOL! I love how curious Bubba is. :)

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    1. Last year, when I cleaned out my purse, you should've seen the fossil collection I had stashed in there! (No wonder my purse was so heavy!)

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