Nature Walking

One fine day this spring (ok, it wasn't a fine day, but after a big storm, the sky turned blue for at least an hour and we jumped at it) Theo and I took off for the river to see what we could see.  I mean, when you live next to the Mississippi, one of the greatest rivers in the world, you should walk along it every now and then.  When I tossed the idea out to Theo, I wasn't sure if he'd go for it.  But he was enthusiastic, quickly packed himself up a 'nature-watching kit' and we were off.  It wasn't until we were down by the river that I took a look in this bag.  This is what he had:  two butterfly nets, binoculars, camera, flashlight (for looking into dark holes), extra batteries, a sharpie, and a cowbell.  A cowbell?  He told me, with just a touch of disdain, "Mom, it's for scaring off the bears."  He didn't say 'duh', but he was thinking it.  And why shouldn't he take bear precautions- afterall, two times this past spring my parents' home in Hudson suffered from bear attacks- their bird feeder poles were bent in half as if they were made of pipe cleaners, not iron.  Large footprints were left in the snow, and golf balls were found gnawed in half.  I never thought of bears as wildlife we might spot in St. Paul, but now I'm not so sure.  You might find me packing my cowbell on future outings. For the record, we did not need it this day- what we did need was our rubber boots.  The river was still real high and we had to hop our way around puddles and over logs.  Didn't see much wildlife of any kind, actually, but it was fabulous to be out in the woods with my sweet guy and his cowbell.