Her Mother Nature

By fall our troop began monitoring Lee Creek on Stony Point. The setting was tranquil and free of traffic, except for the occasional neighbor inquiring into our suspicious behavior. After all, we were up to our hips in waders and boots and the children were tromping and exploring. This time through piles of leaf litter and debris, the fate of a fall storm and the usual autumnal offerings.

Here Jill is transferring some of the netted findings onto a shallow white tray which makes identification easier. And you may be wondering if she's mixing up a couple of stonefly cocktails on the rocks, but actually, we used the ice cube trays to separate our critters into their own species-specific compartments.