Simon's school of lizardry

Simon is so intent on tracking lizards that he's become despondent over all the following in the last 72 hours, purely because they interfere: having to go to church in the morning (morning being when lizards are slowest), having to go to bed (he wants to be free to slip outside at any opportunity), or having anything scheduled during the day.

However, he attended his Sunday meetings and was rewarded with this prize shortly after:

A baby gecko.

Poor buddy dropped its tail over the new friendship with Simon, so we had a little conversation about observing and not always catching, and "what would it feel like if you had to choose between dying or losing a leg? Is it different than just loosing a fingernail?" (Pretty good reasoning of mine, if I do say so myself. Did you know a gecko's tail keeps twitching as a decoy for a lot longer than you'd think?)

Simon even mowed down by hand a huge patch of grass near the garden that's been growing out of control and out of the mower's reach--all because he was sure a green anole was still hiding there. Tenacious. Dedicated. Amazingly observant. Those are the qualities you'll come away with if you study at his school.

Mary Tessa's found an apprenticeship as First Tomboy. She's not afraid to get right down there in the leaf litter.

Lest you think it's only lizardry you'll come away with, Simon discovered this outside before I was even awake today. Happily Mark was still here to throw around words like "ovipositor" and "stick bug" and "male/female dimorphism."

"This" is actually "these"--a couple of stick bugs . . . ahem. The male is much smaller (the dark brown section at the bottom).

So you can probably already tell, but I think this is a great way to experience childhood. Keep it up, my boy!




Keeping us well-rounded was our attendance at the library's fairytale event. Books, fancy dresses, and small sandwiches.




We like culture and we like dirt.