Nature Walks - Living on the River

We finally had some decent weather and we took the opportunity to get outside in the fresh air. 

Saturday morning was beautiful with semi-sunny skies and temperatures approaching the high 50's.  We were doing some work outside and decided to take the kids for a walk down to the river.  Our property borders on a mid size river but the yard and house are about 300 feet away from the river with a slope down of about 45 degrees (something we appreciated on Monday).  Quite a walk so the kids haven't been down there too often.  We may get the chance to go more often since Georgie can now make the hike down, and more importantly the hike back up, without assistance.

The kids had a great time throwing sticks into the river, playing on fallen logs, jumping in the few remaining patches of snow and enjoying the fresh air.  Once the weather gets warmer we will be able to go wading or canoeing on the river to check out snails, tadpoles, fish, turtles and ducks. 
     
This is the view of the River from our back deck on Saturday….

and this is the view on Monday.

We had just a little bit of rain on Sunday and the entire area the kids were playing in ended up under water. 

Monday was a bright, sunny but really cold day.  I decided to be brave and took the kids and Zappa for a walk.   We kept an eye out for signs of Spring but other than hearing some birds, the kids and I agreed there weren’t any.

First we went down the street to check out how high the river was.  The trees to the right just past the boat rack (the one on the left has a sign attached to it) are usually right at the edge of the river.  We took the opportunity to discuss what effect periodic flooding has on the river and the land surrounding it.

As we walked around the neighborhood there were a lot of mini rivers of water running down the streets.  I knew better than to think the kids (especially Vicki) would stay out of the water so I had them wear their boots on our walk.

We had the opportunity to check out some worms floating in the puddles and one that managed to escape.

By the time we made in back home, the kids were both wet to the knees. 

I’m hoping we’ll start getting more nice days soon and we can start finding some signs of Spring.