Fountain of Youth? Woohoo!

He was mastered by the sheer surging of life, 

the tidal wave of being, 

the perfect joy of each separate muscle, joint, and sinew 

in that it was everything that was not death, 

that it was aglow and rampant, 

expressing itself in movement, 

flying exultantly under the stars.

 ― Jack London, The Call of the Wild 

"I'm a like a wolf. I can see in the dark," said one of the young people as we headed out to see if we could find scorpions with an ultraviolet light.* The Junior Master Naturalist field trip took us to Berry Springs Park and Preserve - in the dark.

Okay. No matter what else you are doing at BSP, it is essential to visit the donkeys first. They are always glad to see you.

BEFORE the dark we set up two stations with bright lights and screens so we could attract, observe, catch, photograph, and identify the insects and moths that showed up. And they showed up. As darkness fell, JMNs and parents arrived and prepared for the evening of "catch and release."

"CAUGHT IT!"

It was the first time for me to meet with this big new group. There were eager faces - some familiar,** some sibling, and some new.  These trainees were busy taking notes and focused on the task at hand. Volunteers and parents joined in.

Securing, observing, photographing, identifying...

Let's get a photo of that insect.

Two groups peeled off to head to a nearby pavilion where scorpions were often observed. The scorpions did not show up, but caterpillars, spiders, a frog, and a praying mantis kept us on our toes.

Carolina Mantis

Our mascot*** took over the hike at the end of the final hike. "Raise your hand if you think those tracks were made by a duck!" he directed. Yes, this is the next generation of naturalists. It is a privilege to walk among them.

One of the dads spied this American Bullfrog at the edge of the creek. Most of us saw him before he swam away.

 NOTES:

*On this night, only silly string and the name tags glowed in the ultraviolet light. It may be too cold for scorpions.

**Our program allows for a young person to take it three years. So some of the participants took the classes last year. I remember them from the frog class, field trips, and their volunteer project.

***The grandson of one of the steadfast volunteers. He attends more meetings than I do.

DH and Z take a break from the action.

Final Note: I know I took photos of the 6 legged spider we saw on the trail. We don't know how it lost its legs, but saw that it could still moved quite well. [I'll have to check DH's cell phone and see if that's where the photo is hiding.]