An Afternoon with McKayla

Last week, Brian and I had the pleasure of spending a few hours with our 9-year-old niece, McKayla, who was up visiting from Southern California.

Since we didn't know ahead of time that McKayla would be coming up to our place to hang out, we didn't have any set plans.

Still, we found lots of fun things to do around our house and in our local area.

Like filling up the bird feeders (or squirrel feeders) with seed.

And checking the garden for ripe tomatoes, zucchini, and squash.


Here's what McKayla picked from the garden. (Kinda looks like a face, huh?!)

As Brian and McKayla roamed around our property looking at the pear and persimmon trees, Brian mentioned that a posse of gophers/squirrels had recently taken up residence in the rock wall next to our driveway.

McKayla excitedly asked, Can we try to catch one?

To which, Brian replied, Sure! Let's give it a try.



Using a plastic tub, a stick, and some string, Brian and McKayla constructed a squirrel trap. Underneath the box, McKayla sprinkled a few handfuls of peanuts, hoping to lure the squirrels to the area.


Then, the waiting began. Brian and McKayla chatted about school and camp and cheerleading. They were keeping their voices low--whispering mostly--so as not to scare away the gophers.

McKayla, who carries her iPod Touch with her everywhere, sent this text message to her mom.


Every so often, one of these little gopher guys (seen on the left) would climb up on a rock and look at the plastic box, but then disappear back behind the rock wall.

(Feel free to click on a photo to make it appear larger.)


From time to time, McKayla and Brian gazed up at a nearby tree where a baby woodpecker sounded a whinny call while waiting for its mom to deliver lunch.


If you look really closely at the tree, you'll see the head of the baby woodpecker. (I used my telephoto zoom lens to take this shot.)

In time, though, McKayla grew restless. It appeared that none of the gophers were interested in the peanuts. So, it was time for a new adventure. We left the trap as is and jumped in the car. Ten minutes later, we arrived at the Colfax Feed Store where we bought dog food, bird seed, and deer food.

While we were there, McKayla held a one-month-old baby chick.


After loading up the car with our purchases, we drove down to the Bear River where McKayla and Brian searched for flat rocks perfect for skipping.


Brian, a master skipper, showed McKayla how to hold the rock and throw it across the water's surface.


McKayla loved looking for rocks and throwing them out across the river. The river water was ice cold, but McKayla kept trying and trying. I even gave it a shot, but the rock I threw went ker-plunk into the water. Oh well!

Spending an afternoon with McKayla was so much fun for Brian and me.

We can't wait to see her again!

J