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By S.L. Hazzard

I have three wonderful grandchildren, Aidan, age 9…Gannon, age 7…and Quinn, age 4. They live eighty miles from our home, in Alabama. The distance is far enough so that, to them, it is like taking a vacation to come to our house. All three children are gifted intellectually beyond their years, and in other areas, as well. To them, the world is one huge science lab, and they are constantly learning about things such as insects, reptiles, birds, geology, and botany. Their parents, my daughter and son-in-law, see to it that the children have many books in their home library, and reading is a daily delight at their house.

The children take turns coming to stay with us over a weekend or during a holiday. Since Quinn is not yet in school, he has more opportunity to visit. A couple of weeks ago, it was Quinn’s turn to spend some time with us. He is constantly curious about everything and his favorite question is, “Why?” Although we live in the suburbs of a large city, we are fortunate to have almost an acre of yard. There are trees to climb and a lot of ‘sticks’ to use to pretend for weapons, and we have a garden. There is an abundance of wild birds visiting the birdfeeders and a menagerie of small creatures to hunt down and capture.

Quinn’s favorite thing to do at my house is to dig for fat, juicy earthworms and grubs in the compost box. While he is entertained by the wriggling creatures, he is entertaining me. This particular week, since it is the Spring Season, we found many small creatures on our expedition in the back yard. Since I have a lot to vines growing on the fences, they make a good hiding place for the lizards. But, they are easy to catch.

I always keep plenty of empty plastic jars with perforated lids, and a special “Critter Box” that was purchased in the toy section of Walmart. Quinn and I were able to capture three lizards, and he proudly put each one into the critter box, along with a diet of fresh green vegetation and rolly-pollies, and a small container of water.

Quinn carried the critter box with him everywhere we went for three days. I found him sitting on the ground under his favorite climbing tree with the box sitting next to him, as if it were his best friend. He was talking to the lizards, telling them all about the Universe.

When it was time for his mother to come for him, he sadly told me that they do not have any lizards at his house. He knew it was time to let the lizards out of the critter box and say goodbye to them. He asked me if I thought the lizards could go home with him, so they could have baby lizards to populate his yard. With a hug and a smile, I told him I thought that was a great idea. When my daughter arrived, Quinn had all his things packed and ready to go. With a huge smile on his face and bright, twinkling eyes, he proudly announced his mission to free the lizards at his house.

Truly, an ecological scientist in the making!