Squeaker and I continued our outdoor adventures this weekend. Our bike ride was some what disappointing this weekend because the rail trail we picked had the decimal to the left of the 5, not the right. Despite this challenge, Squeaker was a champ when I tried to take her through the nearby cobble stones. Well, she was a champ for the first five feet, but she found it too difficult to drink from her water bottle and made me turn around.
Yesterday we went on our first hike together. We went to a nature area near our house (not being sure of how long we would be out, it didn't seem worth driving too far). I should probably note that Saturday we had spent a little time in a city park. We went the long way around a small lake to get to a playground. Squeaker had insisted on running much of the trip. When she runs with me she can't help but giggling, so we couldn't help but have a good time.
As we were driving to the nature area Squeaker kept insisting that we would run. For my part, I kept suggesting that she needed to be careful running on trails. The trip got off to a rocky start (pun intended). Shortly after we slipped beneath the canopy, she wanted to go back to the car. I suggested we push ahead, but again a few yards later, she wanted to stop again. This time we took a knee and discussed the issue.
Squeaker was worried that the woods might hold creatures that wanted to eat her. The one she seemed most concerned about was a fox (whenever we drive home at night, we look for the neighborhood fox). I listed the woodland creatures that we were likely to see, deer, squirrels, birds, and yes foxes and suggested that all were likely run as soon as the heard us. Moreover, I was fairly sure that foxes were nocturnal and so would be asleep anyway. That seemed to quell her fears so we headed on down the trail. We stopped and looked at new ferns beginning to unroll, wild flowers, and ant hills. Mostly we walked, but sometimes we ran, and we had fun seeing the sights. In the midst of one of our giggly jogs squeaker stopped in her tracks and found a piece of fruit full of ants.
While we were still looking at the fruit, we heard a rustling in the woods nearby. I caught a glimpse of a small form darting though the leaves and got Squeaker turned around to see it. It paused for a few seconds to consider us, then headed on its path, perpendicular to our own. It was a large, red fox, with a bushy tail following it through the woods. Fortunately, Squeaker was excited, not scared, though she did question my credentials as a naturalist, "Daddy, you said foxes were nocturnal." I don't think she bought my excuse that it was looking for a midnight snack.
Once we cleared the woods, we ran the quarter mile back to the car. She was tired and stopped whenever I got too far ahead of her, but persevered and ran the most of way. I let her get to the car first and on the way home, she suggested a schedule of who would win the race back to the car (first we would alternate, then she decided it made more sense to let each of us win ten times in a row).
I put her down for her nap after we got home. She hasn't slept at her nap lately, but I think this time she was out before I had cleared the stairs...
