Walking slowly but still 20 steps ahead of my young son, I led the way down the wide trail. We wore two layers apiece and caps today as the cool winds of autumn circled around us. He meandered from side to side as the undergrowth dictated. A smooth, well-trod path was just as alluring as the patch of waving grasses, jungle-like from his vantage point.
We share a curiosity that makes walking in the woods a slow, inquisitive jaunt. Every leaf, pine cone, flower and fern is susceptible to our inspection and play. Yes, we play. The pine cones gets kicked, the sink holes gets plugged with sticks, the turkey feathers ends up in hat bands, and the acorns get tossed back at the trees from which they fell.
In this wonderful spirit of fun and discovery we happened upon a magical puffball colony. Merely a gentle shoe-tap released wispy clouds of spore dust like little puffing steam engines. Imagine the mystery this brings to a two year old. And imagine the wealth of natural lessons these little wonders afford an instructive daddy. I kept it brief, this time, saying "these are little plants that puff out their baby seeds." And then we commenced to helping them disperse their seeds, vigorously. As language builds, so too will the length of the lessons. Some day, I'll show how this very fungus can be cooked and eaten, if taken at the right time of its life. Perhaps we'll talk about the mighty, distant volcanoes who similarly puff great plumes of smoke and ash. But today we kept it simple and fun...as simple as a smoke-puffing little round "plant" can be to a two year old.
