Nature AND Nurture

My house is like a corporate headquarters these days. Dad's busy working on his new business plan and Mom is having meetings and writing grant proposals on deadline. So today was an unexpected treat when we took the afternoon off to visit the Hopkins Wilderness Park in Redondo Beach.

Who knew there was so much nature in our own backyard? One minute we're driving on a main street and the next we're lost in the woods! It was pretty neat. Our first stop was a campground table for lunch. I tried my hardest to get my hands on that huge cookie for dessert, but I had to make do with animal crackers.











After lunch we hiked the many trails that run all through the park. Actually, Mom and Dad did most of the hiking, I was pretty much along for the ride. There were lots of trees and birds and...well, you know, nature stuff.











My favorite part was when we found a pond with ducks. Those guys crack me up the way they hide their heads in the water and then pop back up. I tried calling them by name, but apparently my "duck" sounds just like "dog" so they weren't paying much attention to me.

As we were leaving the pond to head up another trail, Mom spotted a little family of turtles. That was really cool. It looked to me like the littlest one (who really wasn't all THAT little) was trying to get out on his own and show some independence, but his parents were following close behind. Boy, do I know how that is.

I have to say, though, that hanging out with the folks isn't all that bad. I mean, they live for my every word (even my mumblings) and smile. So if I can keep them entertained, it's worth it. Plus (I can't believe I'm going to admit this), they're actually kinda fun...in a goofy sort of way.