land
my nephew and I took a walk along the creek behind my parents house this weekend. we brought along two jars in case we saw any fish. i knew we wouldn't be able to catch anything due to 1) it was too cold for fish and 2) you can't catch a fish in a jar. but he was persistent and the jars were the only thing we could find in the garage that would potential house a fish.
it was also a bit too cold to be wading through the water, but as his only uncle, I believe it is my duty to brave the elements with him whenever I am in town. the last time we walked along the creek, I got in trouble for not changing his socks up upon our arrival back to the house. somewhere in the parental manual, which is different from the uncle manual it tells you that children has a higher risks of catching cold if left in wet socks for an extended period of time. as we headed down stream this weekend, I reminded my nephew that we would have to remember to change our socks when we returned so I would not get in double trouble.
as we began our journey, we quickly realized that we could not walk along on side of the creek for an extended length. either there was no bank to search for fish or the brush was too high for us to walk through. so, every so often we would hunt for a spot to cross the waters, sometimes with him on my back, as his legs were too short to reach from one protruding rock to the other, sometimes we'd walk right through a shallow pass or we'd find a downed tree and crawl across. Each time, we would have to toss our jars to the other side in advance when we would have to balance and/or crawl.
On our last trip across, I tossed both jars and missed the flat surface. both jars rolled into the stream and began to be taken by the small current away. "We've got to save the jars," my nephew exclaimed as they both fell in and then got caught up in a pile of stick and muck a bit further down stream. We made it to their side and began to contemplate how to retrieve them. I was able to reach from the bank to rescue one while my nephew started his plan for the second.
You see, when we first started off, my nephew was following me on the path up the creek. he was a bit apprehensive. a little unsure of where his uncle was taking him. quickly, he became the leader and I followed him up and down the creek to where he thought the good path was. we even ended up in a part of my own backyard that I hadn't been before. a beautiful bamboo forest. in the suburbs of washington, d.c., this was a sight to behold and we dodged our way through slower than we had been walking before to admire the strength and delicate balance of this alien wood. once again, my nephew was persistent and we had to take a sample home. after so reluctance, I found a half dead piece growing up from the ground and uprooted it so we could show off our findings to the rest of the family. it was the treasure we held after a harrowing trip.
or would you call it a misstep? my nephew had his plan ready. there was another downed tree leading under some branches that led to our wayward jar. he decided he was going to crawl on the tree to retrieve it and before I could convince him otherwise, he was on his way. a bit tentative again, he crawled slowly and I made myself busy by dunking the other jar into the water in hope some form of life would end up for us to take home. nothing doing.
close to his success, i started along the tree to offer any assistance to my sister's son. as I was half way to him, the excitement occured. it seemed that the jar was a little farther out of reach than the end of the tree so my nephew had to make a step onto another log in order to gather our soon to be litter. and then he went down. the log he stepped on was a floating and as he stepped in hopes of getting closer to the jar he fell in waist deep. a round of splashing and reaching got him on shore, but it was too slick and he went down again. this time I was within reach, grabbed his hand and put him on dry ground where he stood shocked and soaked a second.
"You O.K.?" I asked. "Yeah," he replied still stunned. "A bit wet, huh?" "Yeah." "Should we try again?" "No." "How about going home?" "Yeah."
And we were off. Homeward bound. Where the term Uncle would once again prove to be reckless, but behold a story beyond the television and video games. where my nephew learned first hand why we couldn't catch any fish, 1) the water was too cold and 2) you can't catch a fish in a jar, especially if the jar is too far out of reach.
- jaw
it was also a bit too cold to be wading through the water, but as his only uncle, I believe it is my duty to brave the elements with him whenever I am in town. the last time we walked along the creek, I got in trouble for not changing his socks up upon our arrival back to the house. somewhere in the parental manual, which is different from the uncle manual it tells you that children has a higher risks of catching cold if left in wet socks for an extended period of time. as we headed down stream this weekend, I reminded my nephew that we would have to remember to change our socks when we returned so I would not get in double trouble.
as we began our journey, we quickly realized that we could not walk along on side of the creek for an extended length. either there was no bank to search for fish or the brush was too high for us to walk through. so, every so often we would hunt for a spot to cross the waters, sometimes with him on my back, as his legs were too short to reach from one protruding rock to the other, sometimes we'd walk right through a shallow pass or we'd find a downed tree and crawl across. Each time, we would have to toss our jars to the other side in advance when we would have to balance and/or crawl.
On our last trip across, I tossed both jars and missed the flat surface. both jars rolled into the stream and began to be taken by the small current away. "We've got to save the jars," my nephew exclaimed as they both fell in and then got caught up in a pile of stick and muck a bit further down stream. We made it to their side and began to contemplate how to retrieve them. I was able to reach from the bank to rescue one while my nephew started his plan for the second.
You see, when we first started off, my nephew was following me on the path up the creek. he was a bit apprehensive. a little unsure of where his uncle was taking him. quickly, he became the leader and I followed him up and down the creek to where he thought the good path was. we even ended up in a part of my own backyard that I hadn't been before. a beautiful bamboo forest. in the suburbs of washington, d.c., this was a sight to behold and we dodged our way through slower than we had been walking before to admire the strength and delicate balance of this alien wood. once again, my nephew was persistent and we had to take a sample home. after so reluctance, I found a half dead piece growing up from the ground and uprooted it so we could show off our findings to the rest of the family. it was the treasure we held after a harrowing trip.
or would you call it a misstep? my nephew had his plan ready. there was another downed tree leading under some branches that led to our wayward jar. he decided he was going to crawl on the tree to retrieve it and before I could convince him otherwise, he was on his way. a bit tentative again, he crawled slowly and I made myself busy by dunking the other jar into the water in hope some form of life would end up for us to take home. nothing doing.
close to his success, i started along the tree to offer any assistance to my sister's son. as I was half way to him, the excitement occured. it seemed that the jar was a little farther out of reach than the end of the tree so my nephew had to make a step onto another log in order to gather our soon to be litter. and then he went down. the log he stepped on was a floating and as he stepped in hopes of getting closer to the jar he fell in waist deep. a round of splashing and reaching got him on shore, but it was too slick and he went down again. this time I was within reach, grabbed his hand and put him on dry ground where he stood shocked and soaked a second.
"You O.K.?" I asked. "Yeah," he replied still stunned. "A bit wet, huh?" "Yeah." "Should we try again?" "No." "How about going home?" "Yeah."
And we were off. Homeward bound. Where the term Uncle would once again prove to be reckless, but behold a story beyond the television and video games. where my nephew learned first hand why we couldn't catch any fish, 1) the water was too cold and 2) you can't catch a fish in a jar, especially if the jar is too far out of reach.
- jaw
posted by Joshua Aaron Weinstein at 3:52 PM
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