Friday found us at Longwood Gardens, a favorite haunt for the Davis-Ross children. Each time we visit we manage to make it a new experience, in part because of the changing seasons and in part because Peter, Lucy, and Thomas are different people.
Our most recent visit found us listening to things, as Longwood is hosting a "Notes from the Forest" exhibit. We listened to the sounds of the woods through giant copper listening tubes, whispered secrets to one another on the whispering bench, and scanned the trees for the huge wind chimes that rang in the wind.
We visited the hourglass pond, where we discovered some huge catfish. They like crackers, did you know? I didn't, until Peter and Lucy started tossing theirs in. Then, Lucy tossed in the cracker bowl and started crying. "It's PLASTIC and the FISH WILL GET SICK!" she screamed.
The spring bulbs were in bloom, and we spotted our pre-selected colors (orange and PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and tried to guess the names of the fancy hybrids. Peter and Lucy were fascinated by the snapdragons and many a finger was lost to their ferocious bites.*
And as we were leaving, the highlight of our day: hide and seek in the topiary garden. I'm going to round up our playgroup for this one, as all of the children have been interested in games of tag and hide and seek.
*Relatedly: on the drive to Longwood, Peter requested "the dragon song" or "Puff, the Magic Dragon." I started singing along and then started crying while singing, "A dragon lives forever, but not so little girls and boys." Oh, that powerful combination of hormones, lack of sleep, and nostalgia.
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