Little Boy Heaven

 Just in case you can't tell from the photo, J is in absolute heaven here.  Turtles and frogs and everything else a nature fan could possibly want.  Well, except for bamboo trees which he's dying to see for some unknown reason.  Oh, and chameleons.  I don't think he believes me when I tell him that they don't live around here.

 But there's plenty of stuff that does live around here to keep this boy occupied.  Like this little grass snake that J caught one afternoon.  He put some leaves in with it to help it feel more comfortable.  Then he caught a cricket and tossed it in to see what would happen.  We spent a good hour watching that snake hunt and then slowly munch that cricket. 

Even the little girls were completely captivated by the process.

And they adored the little three-legged turtle that I discovered making its way across the driveway.  We named it Legolas.  But J only agreed to that name after we promised that we wouldn't laugh when we said it.  He was very protective of his newly adopted pet and didn't want anyone making fun of it.

The newly adopted pet was merely wary and tried to escape every chance he got.

He was surprisingly speedy with those three legs.  Unfortunately, he didn't fare so well living in the abandoned chicken coop.  And he didn't seem to care for store bought turtle food.  So we had to institute a time limit for all future adoptions.  That way, J still gets the joy of seeing and examining creatures great and small in close quarters without doing them harm.  So far, that has worked well.

It worked out especially well for Stretch, the cool orange turtle J found in the creek a few weeks later as he was walking up to the house after school. 

He was practically bubbling over with excitement.  It was JUST what he was hoping he'd find.  A bright orange turtle that looked exactly like the picture on the turtle food.

I bet you'll never guess why J decided to name him Stretch.

This boy loved that turtle intensely for the few days that we kept him.  And he tried his best to sweet talk us out of our time limits for wild guests.  But I couldn't bear the thought of this awesome little turtle being harmed just because we liked him so much.  So, after a few days of little boy companionship, Stretch was set free.

But there's always something else to capture his interest.  He found this awesome twisted branch which makes the absolute perfect hiking stick . . . or wizard's staff . . . or royal scepter.

And when all else fails, there's always forts to build in the woods.

With the neighbor who just happens to be in the same grade and quickly became a great friend.

I love the sign that J made.  It's the perfect final touch to their clubhouse.

I believe a huge part of the reason that the Lord led us here was for this boy.  He needed to have some wilderness to roam in, some nature discoveries to make, some serious bug collecting to do.  And with this amazing place, he gets plenty of all three.  How blessed he is.