An Advance Nature Walk

The Doctor and his Daughters

In anticipation of our upcoming gathering at Bledsoe's Lick, I took the girls out for a 'test' of the nature walk that I have organized. I handed to them the sheets that I shall be passing out to the adult participants in three week's time, and they split off into two groups. Molly and Rose were eager to run off down the trail fifty yards in front of the rest of us. They pick'd leaves and flowers by the fist-full and carried them about with pride, so pleased with themselves each time they thought they had successfully identified one of the plants in question.

More than once did I have to utter the phrase, "No dear, that's not an Oak leaf, that came from a bush." or "Please don't pick things from so close to the ground." for fear of poison ivy. I also caught them picking the flowers from honey-suckle bushes and sipping the sweet nectar out several times.

We eventually wandered down the trail and to the old spring where we took turns taking long cool sips from the source. It was cold and pure and the girls drank it up in very indelicate scoops of their hands.

I was later persuaded to allow them to remove their shoes and stockings so that they might frolick in the cool stream there. They took great pleasure in splashing about and chasing small creatures that make the creek their home. We even managed to catch a very slippery salamander. He was bright red with black spots and the girls were delighted. I held him up by his tail and they took turns touching his little shiny body. After a few minutes, I told the girls that the poor salamander had been very obliging but that he must be terribly confused, so we sent him on his merry way.

We returned upstream and I instructed the girls to put their shoes back on only to discover that Rose had worn no stockings that day! I scolded her and told her she would ruin her good shoes by the practice.

We have a goodly number of our friends that have planned to join us for the Nature Walk on the third weekend in May. Miss Waterman has agreed to join us as well as my old Navy friend Capt. Freymann. I have also just received word from Mrs. Jackson that she and her husband will be joining us. She had originally declined my invitation due to some business that they had planned. But I heard back from her on Friday 29 April that their business had been concluded early and that they would indeed join us.

In all, I believe we shall have about thirteen people in attendance. I am very excited to have my friends all in one place again, and I am especially looking forward to having Miss Waterman out, as I find her company quite stimulating.