Animals On Willow Pond

I'm often surprised by the things that amaze our kids and capture their attention.  I was worried that our family vacation would consist of my wife and I trying to alleviate our children's boredom.  Other than our plan to spend one morning at a beach in nearby St. Joseph, we had a blank schedule.  We were going to stay at our cottage and enjoy it; thank God for the animals on Willow Pond.

BUD....WEIS...

The frogs were pretty cool entertainment for the kids.  Despite our son's sensory issues, which usually cause him to shy away from anything sticky, slimy, or scummy, he was trying his hardest to catch the frogs that surrounded the pond.  Okay, so he was actually just trying to poke them with his hanger so they'd jump into the pond, but still, he interacted with something that didn't require batteries or an AC outlet.

Look at the head on this thing!

The greatest draw of the pond had to be the turtles.  When we first walked to the end of the dock, we were greeted by at least a dozen small turtles.  We went inside, grabbed some stale bread that the previous occupants must have left and started feeding them.  That's when we saw Mama Turtle.  I'm not sure if this thing gave birth to the smaller ones or if it was eating them and pooping them out whole.  Either way the kids were excited to see this monster.

The shirt says "Hello Kitty", but the smile says, "Hello Daddy, I Want A Pony".

The cottage we stayed in is located near the Willow Tree Equestrian Center, and what would an Equestrian Center be without a tiny pink-shirted equestrian?  If the turtles and frogs weren't enough to pull the kids outside, the horses were.  You could visit the horses in the nearby stable, take carriage rides with a draft horse, and let the little ones ride the pony.  Guess which one we did?  If you said all three you'd be right.

Bent at the wrist and elbow. That's a kill shot.

Of course, not all the creatures we saw were well received.  Things we killed on this trip include (but are not limited to): multiple flies, numerous june-bug looking things, one bee, and four pounds of bacon.   Our presence on Willow Pond this weekend brought death to some animals, but the presence of some animals brought life to my children.

...ER