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A great poem, reproduced with the author’s permission.<\/p>\n
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On Being A Naturalist<\/strong><\/p>\n By David J. Hawke<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n They came here today on a big yellow bus,<\/p>\n Another class of students that were booked in with us.<\/p>\n I had tidied displays and made things just right,<\/p>\n They were just off the bus when two started to fight.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As they came up the walkway I suddenly felt sick…<\/p>\n Instead of 21 students…they had brought 46!<\/p>\n Well, I got them inside and had them sit down<\/p>\n (And I think I did well not to show them my frown.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we looked at great pics that appeared from a slide<\/p>\n The boy in the back row poked a girl in the side.<\/p>\n Tho\u2019 I thought that I\u2019d taught them with style and with flair<\/p>\n They still can\u2019t tell the difference \u2019tween a rabbit and hare.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After our talk we went on a short hike<\/p>\n And were told great long stories by a loud-mouth named Mike.<\/p>\n They were cautioned to be quiet as we approached the bird feeder,<\/p>\n When a kid at the back yelled, \u201cHEY, I wanna be leader!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We studied fresh tracks, learned which way did they go,<\/p>\n While several in the group talked about some new TV show.<\/p>\n As I tried to point out the wonders of snow.<\/p>\n The boys with crossed legs asked, \u201cWhere can I go?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we walked on in silence there was a tug at my sleeve,<\/p>\n Retrieving my thoughts from \u201cWhen would they leave?\u201d<\/p>\n The kid in the red coat removed all my strife<\/p>\n When he quietly said,\u201cKnow what, Mister? This has been the best day of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n David J. Hawke is the Stewardship Program Manager for the Couchiching Conservancy land<\/p>\n trust. He is an award-winning outdoor writer, nature photographer and naturalist.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A great poem, reproduced with the author’s permission. On Being A Naturalist By David J. Hawke They came here today on a big yellow bus, Another class of students that were booked in with us. I had tidied displays and made things just right, They were just off the bus when two […]<\/p>\n