Every now and then, one is afforded a glimpse into The Inner Workings of a Child's Mind.

Often these glimpses are either hilarious or disturbing. At times, they are an amusing mixture of both. Yesterday, Flipper and I discovered two things out of the ordinary on our daily trek through the graveyard, across two creeks , and through a web of trails on a densely wooded hillside with the dogs.

The first thing was a dead muskrat at the edge of the creek. Few things make me sadder than dead animals. I cannot bear to see the daily carnage along our roadways. Flipper, who has NOT apparently inherited my Sensitivity-Gene (where animals are concerned) had a few questions, then continued, unfazed through the woods.

We came to a striking tree, a dead cedar, all silvery and pointy-limbed. Flipper had to, just HAD to climb it, so I waited around, quelling my fear that she would impale herself on one of the sharp, broken branches.

At the base of the trunk was a hole, a perfect place to hide something, or for some sort of animal to live. The hole looked too perfect, too clean. So I stepped closer and peered inside. Tucked in the dead, dry leaves was a small Tupperware container. First thought: Some teenager's pot stash for romantic evening with his girlfriend or skipping school with his friends. Second (correct) deduction: We had stumbled inadvertently upon a geocache!!

I finally got my nerve up and reached inside the dark hole, bracing myself for some sort of wild animal/poisonous snake attack upon my arm, and pulled out the little box and opened it. And I was right. A geocache. Teeny notebook, small trinkets. I put it back and partially buried it under some leaves.

Several months ago, I checked geocaching out, but it seemed like too much effort, and I imagined Flipper's disappointed wails when we failed to locate the cache ruining what would have otherwise been a pleasant hike in the woods. So I bagged the idea. Plus, equipment is required, equipment I don't have or have any desire to buy. But we found one anyway!!

Surely, I thought, surely Flipper will remember this and it will enter the region of her brain that files away Cool Things My Mother Has Found, a list, let me tell you, that is quite long.

But, as it turns out, I was wrong. Because later that evening, while eating dinner with Keith and his mother, I asked, "Flipper, do you want to tell *Babci about the cool thing we found in the woods?"

And she said, "What, the dead muskrat?"

Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational technique to hide and seek containers (called "geocaches" or "caches") anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure," usually toys or trinkets of little value. Today, well over 650,000 geocaches are registered on various Web sites devoted to the pastime. Geocaches are currently placed in over 100 countries around the world and on all seven continents, including Antarctica --- Wikipedia definition

* Babci: bob-chee. Polish for grandmother.

Leigh appears every Monday on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh at Flipper and Me.