Springtime Hike

We've been reading the Root Children by Sibylle von Olfers to welcome spring around here. 

Flora and Fauna are waking up in Rhode Island as well:

 Violets, Kingcups, ferns, and trees are blooming and everything is getting greener by the hour.

The finches are working on their nests, the allegheny mound ants are working on their mounds, the bumblebee queens are coming out of their winter burrows. 

And the three of us went for a hike across gravel and rocks:

 

From one ant to the next ("amei wo?" - where is the next ant? "amai inai" - no ant here "eine" - one more, please):

Our lunch break, where Silvan ate my roast beef sandwich (at least he tried to), and fell in love with my klean kanteen bottle:

On the way back, we decided to walk along a small river. A small path, a dashed line on the map, and we had a little exploration of the Rhode Island marsh lands (click to see all the details, and read on for descriptions below from left to right and top to bottom):

1) It was so quiet and peaceful at the river. Due the wet weather the river was pretty full.

2) And we ended up having to wade through the water (cold and fun)

3) Where is the path? 

4) This could be a path.

5) At least we knew where we were on the map, it is only a short piece where the path was not continuous. Let's give it a shot.

6) Not too bad so far.

7) But the path is gone.

8) It was getting wetter and muddier.

9) We really had to keep moving to not get stuck, plus the outlook was thornier and thornier.

10) It just might be easier to turn around and hike back and find a different path.

11) We got pretty dirty.

12) We made it! 75min in the RI marshland.