The Adventurers...

The bold adventurers braved pricklebush and puddle to trace a trail from the Uncle-Marc-and-Auntie-Natalie bridge, (not the Auntie Tawny bridge), all the way to the neighbourhood park.

It was like a rite of passage, a metaphorical journey into manhood for these cousin-brothers. Feeling completely independent - though tracked by their dads - the boys bushwacked for about half an hour before arriving at the park.

However, the fun had just begun. Us dads decided that more adventuring was needed. We went where no man had gone before... Jackson Farm. The neighbouring farm was a beautiful scene of rolling hills and fallen trees. After carefully scaling the barbed-wire fence (Uncle Ryan's pants were the only casualty) we trudged through the woods until we came to the clearing. There, our little vetrinarian - Conbo - discovered a nest of hibernating "callipitters" when a large chunk of bark fell away from a fallen tree. As he and Caleb were harvesting the creatures, Connor's cousin accidentally squashed one. Connor was crestfallen.

The rest of the trip consisted of bouncy rides on the fallen tree, finding massive chunks of ice, and a double-soaker for poor Caleb.

The boys are so fun to watch as they see so many things for the first time. It was another great adventure.