A Child's-eye View: Turkey Creek Sanctuary

I've walked through Turkey Creek Sanctuary with my grandson before, and we've ooo'd and ahhh'd over lizards and turtles and fish, but I'd never actually seen what he sees, until I handed him the camera and let him lead the way. Wooo, hooo; what a wonderful experience that was . . . (these photos were all taken by Caden, with the exception of the shots of him walking down the path.)

With my old Olympus E-410 (with a good 40-150 zoom lens) in his hands, Caden and I headed into the Turkey Creek Sanctuary for an afternoon of nature photography. This was his first experience with a DSLR all to himself, and it was our first photographic outing together. He quickly left me behind and headed down the path, as a man on a mission.

First stop: the butterfly garden. A few fumbled shots, a fuzzy photo, a quick lesson on focus and mechanical issues, and we were on our way.



As we walked toward the entrance to the preserve, we saw what we thought was a gopher tortoise statue on the edge of the garden, but it moved as we approached. Caden carefully focused his camera and grabbed the next shot:

Well done, little man!
 
For the next two hours, I looked at the sanctuary through the eyes of a seven year old, following him along as he scoped the brush and the woods on either side; what an experience that was! Every one in a while I heard him voice an abrupt little "Hm," and we would stop, while he framed and focused his shot.
 
Few of us spend much time thinking about the beauty of destruction, but Caden considered them all . . . the unusual break in a tree trunk, blown down by hurricane force winds:

 
Or the stark beauty of a dead pine tree towering above our heads into a clear blue sky:

 
We looked at flowers and new growth plants and side paths that led to nowhere, and finally, came to the creek, where there were gators and turtles and fish and we spent nearly an hour as he snapped photo after photo after photo! One of the biggest gators I've ever seen in Turkey Creek:

And a large gathering of turtles and catfish at the canoe launch dock:

Finally, as we left the trail, nearly two hours later, one resident gray squirrel beggar made one last attempt to garner a handout.

We made one last stop in the nature center, where Caden took his last photos of a manatee skeleton and this (stuffed) barred owl on display there:

If you have a grandchild take him or her for a walk with a good camera in their hands! If you don't have your own grandchild, borrow one! Not only do they need to be turned onto the beauty of nature, we need them to love it enought to take care of it, when we are gone . . . and I guarantee, you will have the time of your life!