Today was sunny and warm with just a few fluffy cumulus clouds in the sky. Aksel found the world's smallest inchworm and delighted in observing a living creature that was so small. Next, we observed a funnel spider web in the hole of a parking barrier. While looking at it, a small moth landed at the top of the web and became stuck. All of a sudden, a spider came up, bit the moth, then dragged it down its funnel. I was amazed at the process, but Aksel expressed sadness that the moth did not get away.

On the trail, the boys enjoyed exploring a tree stump and climbing a tree. Brett could not climb the tree the same way Aksel could. At first he was disappointed. But then he started trying to climb the tree from different angles. He had a great time finding "a new way to climb the tree." and was delighted when he figured out a different approach. I told him that I hope he is proud of all his hard work. I am sure his muscles are now stronger (and so is his brain) due to the time he invested in tree climbing! It was also great to hear Aksel encourage Brett to continue trying!

We eventually made our way to the water and the boys had a great time playing in it! The tide was low, so the boys enjoyed jumping off the giant log. They observed a sea anemone on the log and we wondered how it got there. Did the water get high enough to wash creatures up onto the log? We also found a hole in the log that was full of water and we observed tiny living creatures swimming around. We had a great time catching crabs we found scuttling around a small log and we found about 30 shrimp exoskeletons and a big dead fish with flies all over and inside of it. Where did these shrimp come from? Why are there so many on the beach? How did that fish die? Why are there flies inside it and all around it?