We went slightly farther than I've ever been before on a Thursday hike today, deeper into the Redwood grove a thousand feet in elevation above the school. By the time we got back, most of the kids were dragging their feet and complaining. There's this one girl that just smiles and thanks me at the end of every hike as she bounces past me. Today was no exception. In general, I've got a very good group of kids this week.

Next week is my last week of science school before summer camp madness sets in. The trails are all much more dry and the mosquitos, flies, and gnats are swarming. Instead of the 50 newts we saw on the same trail a few weeks ago, we saw one. The Alligator lizards are everywhere too.

There are still millipedes out and about. This is the kind that glows under a black light.




One of the girls found a Dobsonfly nymph in the creek too. Very strange looking creatures. I took a couple of pictures but they didn't turn out too good. I might post one anyway. We'll see. I also took a picture of a dead shrew the kids found on the trail, but it turned out blurry. Oh well, you probably didn't want to see it anyway.l