Today was only the boys (and Debbie), so we investigated all things that start with "B"-- Beaver, Burdock, Bridge, and Big Hill. Well, not really (and we totally would have checked out those things if the girls were here too!), but we did see those things. We played in the mud (there was lots of it today... a wet sort of day) and made chalk art to start. When trying to decide what to do today, ET, Pat, and I all had the same thought today: let's go to Beaver Pond. We grabbed our gear and hiked down the road to link up with the Beaver Pond Overlook trail (a trail we haven't taken together before).  There is a huge area where the whole hillside looks like it washed away, taking trees down with it. We examined it (from a safe distance) while a Ruffed Grouse was drumming in the distance for a bit before heading down a big hill to a bridge where the trail connected to some steps. Down the steps, there was a sandy area and we followed it to the Beaver Pond. So. Much. MUD! and Water! Time to play. Before long, it was time to hike back. We had to make it alllllll the way back up the big hill (sticks can be so helpful!), but half-way up something amazing happened: ET lost a tooth! My first lost tooth at Forest Preschool! His first lost tooth!! (note: I couldn't stop gushing and was probably more excited than he was!). This resulted in several questions about baby teeth. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9281","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-858","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"4608","height":"3456","alt":"IMG_2668"}}]] We made it up the hill and Pat (lets call him Plant Pat) showed us a very sticky plant growing on the side of the road. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"9261","attributes":{"class":"media-image alignnone size-full wp-image-854","typeof":"foaf:Image","style":"","width":"4608","height":"3456","alt":"IMG_2680"}}]] Q: Who doesn't love burdock? A: People who have to do laundry. However, it was a super fun to experiment with this Velcro plant. We finished our hike just as parents arrived, covered in burdock burrs, happily hitchhiking burdock seeds around. Happy Trails.