Why, yes, we did go back to the Audubon Park

 

We happened to show up just as volunteers were bringing out nets and buckets for kids to search the wetlands for critters.  

 

Perfect, since H had decided that morning that he was going to be a creature all day. We never did figure out what kind of creature, but it involved paws, and didn't speak, but was an excellent critter finder. 

dragonfly larva

 We didn't get to see any frogs or turtles this time, but saw tons of damselflies mating and laying eggs, and quite a few dragonfly larvae.

We learned that grasshoppers like indeterminate creatures!

 

and regular kid-like kids too :)

  This guy spent much longer riding J's shoulder than I would have imagined,

 and then decided to take the creature for a spin.

J even bonded with a small mouth bass. She's the one on the right. 

I'm sure we'll be back again soon, there's a geocashe there that I will not let win.

Exploring Gantz Park

 It was a perfect day for an adventure, so we headed out to Gantz to do some exploring. First thing out of the car, we searched for and found a letterbox. After adding our stamp and replacing it safely, we headed down the path toward the gardens. The kids said hi to the reading girl statue, visited with a cat that was lounging closeby, then ran off to walk the labyrinth.

Don't forget to stand in the center to hear the echos!

 

Callicarpa japonica

 We found this shrub, which caught our attention with it's striking lustrous purple berry. It's not one we were familiar with, so we made sure to look for the sign. It's called Japanese Beautyberry (Callicarpa japonica), and seems to be related to Verbena. 

 While we were there, a bride and bridesmaids arrived to take photos. The kids were quite curious about them.
After a walk around the park and some squirrel watching, we explored the creek a bit. There were quite a few fish, and H and I surprised a small water snake while walking across some partially submerged rocks.
To finish off our adventure, we hopped back into the car and drove a few miles away to find our first geocashe!