Camp Marshfield Bug Hunt

Well, after the sun broke out late this afternoon, a small band of Marshfield campers were spotted in Maritza's backyard with a butterfly net and a yogurt container.

"We're catching butterflies!" Sarah and one of the young Brady Boys shouted while running to the back of the yard.

I actually ended up getting a second week in a row of my Growing Home share. Much as I would have liked to take the girls back over there, between the wet and the press of my day job I jumped on my bicycle instead and left them bug hunting.

When I came back, their target had shifted to grasshoppers. "We've got lots!" Sarah told me. Some, however, escaped the small box they made for them. Sarah asked if I had anything like the single-size yogurt container she was using. I had a couple of generic plastic cups with lids about the same size, so I went in and got them.

We had fun going through the various boxes that appeared today. First, their eagle eyes spotted a grasshopper in my vegetable box. Joys of organic, right? Then Sarah begged me for a green bean. She likes to eat them raw. I had one, too. Her enthusiasm for them prompted one of the Brady girls to give it a try, but she didn't come back for more. Sarah kept on asking, then demonstrating how fast she could eat them.

"Why don't you slow down and enjoy this one?" I suggested. "It's your last--we're cooking the rest of them."

The first box of Amazon goodies arrived today, too, so Sarah helped me open that box. It was the books I bought with the gift certificates from California--you know who you are--thanks again! We got four Magic Tree House books, and fortunately at least one was new to all the campers (one of the oldest girls had read the first three, but not the fourth one). I also gave her the research guide on Twisters since she had been learning about tornadoes and hurricanes in school. The youngest Brady girl dived right into Eloise--she even quit bug hunting to sit on the back steps and read it. She really liked the page that folds out to double its height and shows how Eloise rides the elevator in the hotel.

The rest of the kids asked me to hold on to the books here in the house so they wouldn't get dirty. I'm now debating whether to squeeze in a bit more work before I get tired, or quit and invite them to plant some seeds with me. I'm still recovering from yesterday's mosquito bites, which may tip the decision toward the great indoors.