Tree Hugger

I'd been warned earlier in the week that Mommy had a baby shower to attend Saturday morning.  I've been wanting to take the guided walk through the old forest in Overton Park, and a last minute check of a local blog confirmed that there was, in fact, a hike scheduled for Saturday morning at 10:00.  It was set.  10AM, 85 degrees, three-year-old, a mile and a half hike, mosquitoes, poison ivy.  All within two miles of the house.  What more could you ask for on a Saturday morning?  So, we gathered at the assigned meeting place and set off on our adventure.  Of course, Walt was immediately recognized by the author of the aforementioned local blog, who was also along for the walk.  This "Hey, aren't you Walt?" thing is happening a lot these days.













Did I mention that Walt likes to ride on my shoulders?
  



















(Photo credit: the aforementioned blogger.)

Walt was actually a good little woodsman.  He walked for over half of the time, and he got down when I asked.  He even did a reasonably good job of keeping up.  (Basically, I didn't lose him.)













We learned about stinging nettle.  And we learned the easy way to identify poison ivy.  Tip: stay away from the fuzzy vines.  We learned that some of the trees in this tiny little old growth forest are older than the city of Memphis itself.  I'm not sure Walt learned any of this as he was talking the entire time our guide was explaining it, but he was interested and seemed to be having a good time. 






























As a reward for his efforts, Walt even got a sticker.  (I won't get into the dirty details on this blog, but let's just say the defenders of the Old Forest, one of whom led our walk, and the Memphis Zoo aren't seeing things eye to eye right now.)  I wouldn't call him an activist quite yet.  But he didn't protest when we covered his beloved "red car" with this "Save the Old Forest" decal.