Walker is preparing to go to Boy Scout camp at Ransburg again this year and he has signed up for four merit badges. Most of them have prerequisites and we are strongly encouraging him to do as much as he can before camp so that when he returns, he will have earned the badges free and clear.
One of the requirements for the Environmental Studies badge is to choose two outdoor study areas that are very different from one another and classify the plant and non-plant species.
Bill thought it would be a good idea to go back to the Howell Wetlands where Walker and Mason each went on a field trip in second grade. It was a steamy hot day and the wetlands were really different that I remembered them. The surface of the entire pond was green. It almost looked like quick sand.
![IMG_5321[4]](http://www.ybles.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/IMG_53214.jpg "IMG_5321[4]")
Do you see the moss covered turtle on the log?
More turtles were sunning on a log underneath that giant tree trunk.
I asked Walker to snap pictures from a number of angles in the 2’ x 2’ area so we could classify them at home.
At the other end of that bridge, there was shade and on the other side, there were marshy grasses. Walker took a few more pictures and we tromped off through the woods to the playground.
When all was said and done, we were hot and sweaty but the field work was accomplished and the rest of the work would take place in our air conditioned home.
What a lovely experience!