Stories

The stories I have posted here may also be found on other parts of the site, but I thought that having all of them in one place would be easier for reading purposes. Some stories may not have fitted well into other categories.


A Cattail Story
                  In August 2000 the kids and I took a ride to meet my mother who
                  was doing a ride from Seattle to Vancouver (RSVP). We had been
                  told that her ride was going to be on a specific road, so the kids and
                  I headed in that direction. We began traveling up the road that we
                  were told that she would be traveling on. We weren't quite sure how
                  far we would go before we started being passed by the high-speed
                  riders doing a century ride vs. us the casual riders. As the day
                  progressed we had traveled quite far away from home and still had
                  seen no sightings of any of the group that she was riding with. I
                  began to wonder what had happened. We chose to not continue
                  going further away from home, but rather to stop and wait for the
                  other riders. So alongside the busy highway the kids and I waited...
                  and waited...and waited. We stayed for about two hours before
                  finally returning back home. During the time we were there the kids
                  became very creative with what was present to discover and play
                  with. The kids found some treasures in the dirt alongside of the
                  highway. Those didn't keep their interests very well for long though.
                  The thing that finally kept them entertained for most of the wait was
                  ... the ... CATTAILS! 

                  The kids were so funny! 
                  They discovered that the cattails were growing in MUD! In the
                  middle of a dry summer... they had found one rare place that still had
                  MUD! The kids got quite muddy, or at least on their shoes. They
                  soon created games to play either in, or with the cattails. They
                  trampled down the cattails and did games of hide and seek while at
                  other times the cattails were broken off and compared for length. At
                  other times the long stems were broken off and used for imaginary
                  swords and the sword fights began. We came home that day with a
                  whole new concept of how tall cattails are, how the seed parts feel,
                  and the kind of soil that they grow in. Our packs were partially filled
                  with samples of the goods to further examine at home.  

                  Once at home the kids measured their cattails. My son, Jason, had
                  found one that measured 21 inches long, which was nearly double
                  the length of the other ones nearby. He was very proud of the size
                  he had found while he was out on a bike ride. (He later learned that
                  they don't store indefinately, because they dry out and... expand...
                  causing the tiny seeds to flutter everywhere!) 

                  Now when we see cattails I don't hear,"Mom can we stop, I just
                  want to feel one, they look so soft!". I can see learning occurring
                  through this event, how about you? 

                  We later learned that we were on the wrong road to meet the
                  group with that ride. We never did see my mom and the kids were
                  very disappointed. This year we were able to see a map and meet in
                  route with much more sucess!

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