Ferns and moss

The theme for Abstract Thursday is Painterly.  Thanks to Ingeborg for hosting. I've added the original as an extra.
We decided to go up to the waterfall close to us. It's been quite awhile since we've gone to check it out. As we walked up the road, we could hear kids' voices and a dog barking. Turns out there was a group of kids from Grades 6, 7 and 8 on a field trip. Several of them were at the top of the waterfall and others were climbing up the rocks and a couple of boys were stripped down to their underwear, playing in the water at the bottom. The teachers in us thought it was risky. We've climbed up to the top in past years, and the rocks are very slippery. There was a man at the bottom, so I went to talk with him. He was an Education Assistant and said that he was very uncomfortable and had safety concerns. The two teacher supervisors were at the top of the waterfall. I told him that we were retired teachers and also had safety concerns. I wanted to take some photos but had decided not to because I really don't like taking photos of kids without permission. He said it would be okay as long as the kids' faces weren't showing. There are a couple of kids barely visible in the extra. We ran into one of the kids alone on the road and asked if they'd been bussed up there. They hadn't. They had walked up from Drummond Park, quite a few kilometres, and were walking back down later to be picked up by parents. On our way back down, we talked about the safety liability risks, no vehicle anywhere if someone did get hurt, and I wondered if there was even cell service there. It was cold too, and we thought that there might be a chance that some of the kids who'd gone in the water could get hypothermia. Shudder. No way I would take a class on a trip like that. Too many kids, too few supervisors, too many risks. The EA said that he wouldn't be participating again in anything like this. 
We did have a lovely walk though, and we might go back so I can get some photos while the waterfall is flowing.