Getting out in pouring wind and rain for a bit of nature play. Day 340 of the 365 Nature Play Challenge. Kicking pebbles, making up games and having fun with wet weather gear and puddles.
Sunday 26 January 2025, Very wet and windy, 8°C
B and I had a long discussion about challenges today. We’re a bit wiped out after yesterday (see challenge 341 – Stargazing) but really need to get out. My instinct is to get out in the shed, listen to the rain and find things to make a big 340. B is not impressed.
“No. You choose all the time. It’s my turn. I know what I want to do and it’s a surprise.”
After last time B led the way (see challenge 344 – Pumpkin smashing and cauldron splashing) I’m a bit wary of surprises.
“Have you really got an idea though?”
B: Yes I have. And we need to go back to that car park we went through when we were litter picking (see challenge 345 – Adventures with litter picking).
Me: How long is it going to take?
B: Maybe 5 minutes.
Me: No, that’s not long enough. Tell me what it is? It’s got to have a proper title and everything.
Turns out she wants to kick stones again. She had a lovely time last week kicking little aggregates from the car park all the way down to the swimming pool. She’s thinking we can kick them into puddles and score points by the size of the puddle. I’m impressed. This is definitely better than hanging round in the shed all morning.
We come up with a plan. We need to get the car cleaned so we’ll drop it off at the car cleaning place, walk down to the swimming pool doing the stone kicking/puddle challenge and then go swimming. We’re excited and ready. The weather is impressive. It is POURING with rain and very windy. There is no doubt what we need. We dig out the waterproof ski trousers and waterproof ski jackets and find two pairs of gloves (not waterproof – that was a mistake). We get out the wellies and get ourselves ready to go, then stagger out the door waterproofed head to foot.
…and it’s really fun. We both can be a bit anti wet weather gear. It’s so awkward when it’s not raining, but when its torrential it’s really good. It takes us a while to get our courage up for the big puddles. We find the stones and spend ages trying out B’s game but she’s making up the rules and I stop playing after a while. Kicking the pebbles is fun though.
B keeps hers all the way to the swimming pool (bar one point where she lost it and got sad but we found it again). Mine is officially the same one but has in reality got swapped for others that look the same about six times. The pavements are surprisingly straight and even and the puddles are not that impressive till we get almost there and find an overfilling drain which makes proper splashing possible.
We could have done that for longer. With past experiences in my head, I was worried about B getting water in her wellies (though it’s less likely with big rain trousers over the top) so hold her back a bit. Finally, we find a muddy puddle and B gets stones and twigs to make the 340. She won’t make it though – doesn’t want to get her hands wet and dirty. Next time we’ll bring the waterproof gloves!
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