Lone Field Flower

When I was a kid, we got to do a lot of exploring in the "wild" places in our neighborhood. Nothing fancy, these were just creek easements, runoff spillways, and semi-wooded or cleared yet undeveloped lots. None of it was truly natural, but you could still collect tadpoles, dig up worms, gather clay, build dams, and hunt for (but never actually find) native american artifacts, crack open rocks in search of geodes (again, never actually achieved), etc.

Sometimes you came across a random homeless person's camp, a stray shopping cart, or some drug paraphernalia. We didn't have cell phones or chaperons. However, I never felt that there was any danger in it. Our parents could easily drive the less than one-mile radius of area and find us if they needed to. We knew not to talk to strangers or play with dangerous trash. We knew to stay off the railroad tracks. Giving your kid this amount of freedom was okay back then--either because Austin was a smaller town or there was less hysteria about child safety in our community or perhaps there were fewer dangers known, I don't know.

Yet, I don't see myself letting Tillie and Django do this now. Is it because I live a lot closer to the highway, with its speeding cars, seedy strip clubs, and drunken panhandlers? Is it because the creek near our house is just plain disgusting compared to the one I used to explore as a child? (Then again, perhaps that one was just as gross, but my 9-year-old eyes didn't see it as such.) Or, is it because I am just a more nervous person than my parents and their friends were, whether due to our inherent natures or due to our contemporary socio-political climate?

I can't stand the idea that my kids wouldn't get that kind of self education. I either need to take a chill pill, or create some sort of safe alternative. I could rent a farm or send them off to camp in the summers. Perhaps I could sign up to be a scout leader or buy some camping equipment. Fortunately, Tillie has a while before she will grow out of our backyard. In the meantime, let me know if you want to organize some future nature walks with my kids (and yours if you got 'em).