We went for a modest hike this weekend, and collected acorns, spotted a snail, dipped our toes in the Missouri, and startled the same little fawn twice. The river was really full - we've had rain, and are getting more - and so instead of wading in for a few minutes as we did last year when we hiked here, we mostly just stood on the muddy bank and marvelled at how high the water was. Both on our way down and our way up, we scared a little teeny fawn, complete with spots, who could run like anything but seemed unwise in terms of choosing hiding spots. (Under the boardwalk? Not so private, little deer!) It was fun to have a conversation about the Latin terms for plants and animals, however, and see Grace's face light up... fauna... like a fawn! Yep!
Next time we go we'll consider insect spray (instead of the largely unnecessary sunscreen we used liberally) and we'll plan to stop in the visitors' center to investigate further. I think we need some more books on Lewis and Clark, too, since Grace found the signs describing their adventures very interesting and read them all aloud. 
The white tube with the leaves inside is the protective housing for an oak tree - in an effort to rebalance the species in the woods, they're clearing out enough trees so that the oaks can get some light in which to grow, then planting oaks grown from acorns collected in the area, then protecting them from... I guess deer, but maybe also rabbits? with the plastic tubes, which come off eventually. They were unexpectedly beautiful, and it's interesting to see that kind of forest management at work in a relatively small patch of woods.
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