Outdoor kids: tickly ladybugs, wiggling worms, tiptoeing through the tulips

I have two girls: girly girls. They like to dress up, talk like Fancy Nancy, put on ballet shows for one another. You get the idea. So given what our local weather people were calling "unseasonably warm" temps this weekend, we spent a whole lot of time outside: weeding, pruning, mowing our shaggy lawn (the fresh scent of newly mown grass, the first of the season!), transplanting in the garden. The warmth and sunlight were like a balm for our rain- and winter-weary souls. But what was lovelier still than the mountain views, the birdsong, the scent of fresh clean air, it was the joy my girls found in finding ladybugs, and having them climb on their hands, giggling as the little red bugs tickled their skin. It was digging up fat, slimy earthworms and holding them as they try to wiggle away. This feels like a monster-sized achievement in the raising of these two girly-girls. They are reaching out and touching nature. Unafraid. Curious. Gentle. Long live the green hour. I don't know if I have anything to do with their recent embrace of nature. Maybe it's the reading of all the eco-friendly storybooks such as Diary of a Worm, Diary of a Spider, etc. Maybe it's all the days we've logged walking to school, splashing in puddles, tiptoeing through the tulips. Who knows? Maybe on the next sunny day they will run in terror and fear away from the worms and bugs. All I can say is this weekend was lovely. And I'm really looking forward to more sunny days.