On Tuesday, I came home from work and announced to the kids that we were going for a walk.
They were excited until
I told them that they could not bring scooters and we were not headed to the playground.
I also refused to tell them where we were headed, and so regretfully leaving their wheels behind, they followed me out the door...
When we arrived at the meadow, they were, shall we say, hesitant to be excited or interested.
In spite of that, I armed them each with a cell phone camera and told them to explore: take pictures of anything you like, watch out for thorns and thistles, and see what you can see.
I also encouraged them to take photos from unexpected angles.
Within minutes, they were enthralled and I could barely keep up with them.
Annie went from flower to flower, photographing as many different kinds as she could, along with their various bugs.
Jimmy remarked on how easy it would be to get lost in the grass, some of which stood as high as his head (almost to my shoulder).
We talked about types of plants and bugs and what it would be like crossing the plains in grasses that went on for miles and how to find field mice and snakes and the kinds of birds that circled the meadow above us.
On the way home, we gathered flowers to put in a vase and the kids made me promise to take them back soon. It was so great just wandering about in a spot where we could see no cars, no houses, and no other people.
Jimmy writes:
My most favorite part was wishing I could jump in the pond. 
The pond was huge, but Mom said no because it was all dirty and muddy. It felt great and we kept picking flowers for a bouquet. I saw flowers like dandilions and Annie saw flowers that look like Einstien. 
And I saw a giant pinecone!
Annie writes:
If I may say so myself, the trip to the meadow was awesome! Wildflowers and wild, unkempt grasses as far as the eye can see! As long as you can't see far. There are bugs everywhere! 
A beetle on this flower, a butterfly on that bush, a dragonfly near the pond! 
It was so full of nature, it was overwhelming!
The flowers we saw included brown-eyed Susans, Queen Anne's Lace, and daisies. 
Plus, some little spiky balls on stems with grassy things sticking up out of them, and I named them Einstein flowers.
I also saw a butterfly that was orange and brown. Mom hadn't seen it before, so I don't know what it was.
Plus there was a dragonfly with see-through wings hanging out in the grass. These are key points in our trip to the meadow.
"Purple grass, Mom?!?"
One of the many butterflies
Kinda hard to see it, but there's a brown and orange butterfly just above center on this picture.
Baby trees in the grass. This one was 3 inches tall.
This is the picture Annie was taking when I took her picture.
"Look! They're mating!"
Run-off track headed for the pond
I told them that they could not bring scooters and we were not headed to the playground. 
Within minutes, they were enthralled and I could barely keep up with them. 
The pond was huge, but Mom said no because it was all dirty and muddy. It felt great and we kept picking flowers for a bouquet. I saw flowers like dandilions and Annie saw flowers that look like Einstien. 
And I saw a giant pinecone!
A beetle on this flower, a butterfly on that bush, a dragonfly near the pond! 
It was so full of nature, it was overwhelming!
The flowers we saw included brown-eyed Susans, Queen Anne's Lace, and daisies. 
Plus, some little spiky balls on stems with grassy things sticking up out of them, and I named them Einstein flowers.
Plus there was a dragonfly with see-through wings hanging out in the grass. These are key points in our trip to the meadow.
This type of cloud is an undulus asperatus cloud. It's characterized by rolling waves moving through the lower surface of the cloud, causing an undulating motion.
Half or quarter potatoes so that the pieces are about the same size as the pearl onions. 
We couldn't have sunbeams if we didn't have clouds.
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