A walk in the park

“Sometimes Josh, girls are just mean.”  I wiped his tears away and said, “So, let’s go have a Mommy/Josh day of fun!”   And with that, we ran off to the park.

After an hour at the local playground and lunch at McDonald’s, we decided to go check out the big pond/small lake at the park downtown.  We stopped home to grab the camera and some drinks and hit the road.  It took a little while, but we made it to the park and Josh said, “Wait, Mom.  I need a moment to myself.”  He took it…

and we were off!

First stop – Byrd Park!

A word about the geese.  We were walking along the side of the pond and there was so much fecal matter there.  It looked as if it belonged to small dogs, chihuahuas, dachshunds, toy poodles, etc.  It wasn’t until I read the sign about the Canadian Geese that I realized that goose shit looks exactly like little dog shit.  This is a problem.  Families picnic here.  People come here with their younger kids to fish.  It’s  very open for picnics and kite flying, you could probably get in a game of jarts too.

The Canadian geese have more or less taken over.  Damn Canadians are moving in!  Perhaps they discovered that our bacon is WAY better than Canadian bacon (here in the states, we call Canadian bacon “ham”.  *snicker*)  There goes the neighborhood!  Apparently, the park is using border collies to help “control” the Canadian goose population.  The sign assured me that the geese aren’t hurt.  They are just encouraging people to not feed them and the collies chase them.  The hope is that a majority of the geese will migrate elsewhere.  I did not see any border collies, or I’d have taken pictures of them, as they are on my favorite breed of dog list.

My point?  Dear Canada:  Please call your geese home for dinner.  They’re wrecking my park.  Thanks.  Love, Kim

Back to our day at the park.

Josh’s favorite ducks.  They just kept mooning us.  I have a video about a minute long of the ducks coming up for air, and then going back down.

Josh found that if he ACTED like he had bread and held out his hand, the geese followed him around.  <Insert your joke about Canadians here.  I happen to like some Canadians, so I will refrain…>

Josh decided he was Superman and thought if he walked along something and then jumped, that maybe he could fly.  His first attempt was a bust, but he said that’s because he wasn’t high enough.

So he climbed a little higher, with the help of Mom.  I assured him Martha Kent wouldn’t have been all, “Sure Clark, let me help you.”  She would have been all, “Clark Kent!   Yesterday, you picked up a car, and today you’re asking me to help you get on a retaining wall…”

Flying was not in the cards today.  Sorry, SuperMan.

There was a beautiful old holly tree there.  I could stand under it and look up, so I did.

Josh could fit under it too.  NO, HE IS  NOT PEEING.

Did you ever take a picture of a kid doing something and it looked so neat in your mind at the time?  And then, you get home and SEE the picture and you wonder what it was you were trying to get a picture of?  Yeah, that’s that one.  I don’t remember what he was doing, but I assure you, urine was NOT involved.

Next, we ventured to the Maymont Nature Center where we saw fish and turtles, eels and river otters.  We learned about earth and river health and all kinds of things that I really had no interest in.  I am not a fan of earth science.  Sad, but true.  🙂

Happy Spring!