A question

The oldest asks a lot of questions. One question currently on the table is "What exactly happened to these trees?"

Many of the oldest's questions arise, as this one did, while hiking on Pilot Mountain. Wonderful to see his mind so stimulated, save the speed of hike he favors exhausts me, rendering me somewhat useless for on-the-spot explanations of scientific phenomena. I have not the child's

vim
noun
Ebullient vitality and energy.
[Latin, accusative of vīs.]
"vim." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 30 Dec. 2005. http://www.answers.com/topic/vim