Yard Work with Children

On Wednesday, I decided to spend some time in our backyard rearranging the landscape which has looked a little strange, since we had two big fir trees cut down last fall. My children were all excited about helping me, except for my youngest. He systematically picked our little fig tree and every flower he could find in our garden. He would pick a flower; I would admonish him. He would help us move a few little rocks and then...He would pick another flower before I could stop him. After every flower was picked, my son returned to a tulip, whose petals he had plucked, and tried to eat the filament and anther. Last year, it was the squirrels that kept destroying my flowers; this year it was my little boy. I would much rather see my little boy delighting in picking the flowers, than a squirrel ruining my garden!