A week or two ago, Clay and Sam started building a bug box one day after work. It only got about halfway finished before it was time to come inside, so Clay ended up finishing (and redesigning) it as a birthday present. Of course, he can never make anything ordinary, so this one has more of a Gothic shaped peak on the ends and a little door set into rails that slides up. It's pretty rad. But, for those of us with less ambition, it would be so easy to just cut two "U" shaped pieces (or house shapes) and nail them onto the ends of a rectangle. You'd want to cut out a round hole in one first and you could just cut out another round piece of wood, slightly bigger than the hole, and nail it over the hole such that it could be swung in either direction to open the door. Then staple screen around the top. Ta-da! A bug box! I like it because Sam loves it, but also because it keeps the bugs a little safer from his eager fingers, although he is getting much better and being gentle and not squishing now.
We took the bug box (and the new wagon) out for a test run Sunday morning before church. We kept our eyes peeled for bugs and Sam looked fearlessly in all places, including reaching elbow deep into a hollow tree.
We found two Box Elder Beetles, his favorite, and saw some flying bugs that were too quick to catch. We even saw a bird's nest! After admiring them for awhile we let them go; Sam thought the shaking them out of the box part was quite exciting as well.
I love sharing and exploring with Sam. He's at an age where he teaches us just as much as we teach him. This hike he taught us not to be in a hurry:) We travel significantly slower when accompanied by a toddler on foot, but you know, I probably would've missed the bird's nest if I'd been cruising along at my regular pace.
