A school field trip at Lettuce Lake Park on the Hillsborough River. Three classes full of fourth graders. What was I thinking? The trip had two main parts. First we walked on a path to the river, learning about the different types of wetlands and uplands and identifying plants (like poisin ivy) and trees. Then the children took turns scooping out mud from the river and identifying the critters they found - minnows, snails, water bugs, etc. Jonah LOVED this, of course. Then we went back to the starting point and walked the second half of the trip - a long loop of boardwalk that went out over the water. The kids were instructed on how to use binoculars. Lettuce Lake is not really a lake, but just a very wide part of the river where a tall tower is built for observing the wildlife. We saw several kinds of birds such as a white Ibis and a baby aligator who was about a foot long. Finally, we all had lunch and headed back to school. I was just glad to keep up the whole way.
