All the rain up here is really weighing heavy on my plans to spend time outdoors. I didn’t really figure out much to do inside, so I’m scrambling to find stuff C will enjoy.
Yesterday, we went for a nice walk in the woods — William’s Woods, to be exact. It was a little squishy on account of being in a marsh and the recent rain. But we had fun anyway. C loved looking for each trail marker along the way and I got some beautiful photos. I ended up carrying her for most of the 2 mile walk because the roots were thick and the terrain rough and sloped. But she didn’t seem to mind. We saw a downy woodpecker, a blue jay, and a snake. In all three cases, I was more interested in letting C look at them than I was making any motions to get my camera, so, there are no photos. Looking up information online, the snake was either a Ribbon Snake or a Garter Snake. The former is apparently very rare here and a species of special concern. I’ve looked over the comparison photos over and over again trying to decide which one I saw, and I just can’t. He was in fallen leaves so I couldn’t see his sides, and his head was pointed away from us. More than anything, I’d done very little research on snakes before going hiking and just wanted to stay far enough away to ensure we didn’t get bit, just in case, and yet close enough that C could enjoy it. After lunch, C was ready for a nap. But, despite my best efforts, she just wouldn’t go down. So we decided to take a drive to Middlebury, just for a trip in the mountains. Of course she fell asleep within a few minutes, but I finished the drive anyway. She woke up just as I was pulling into the drive way. Her request: “ride in the white caaaar!??”. I tried to explain to her that we’d just finished a 2 hour drive, but she wouldn’t hear of it. By the time I decided I needed to go to the store anyway, she was in total breakdown mode. It was the first time it had ever happened for me. I asked to her to calm down so we could talk and waited patiently for the 15 minutes or so in which she was upset and inconsolable. We spent the rest of the evening inside, coloring pictures, playing with bowls, and reading books. We ran to the store around 7pm or so and had fun looking for things and playing silly games. A lady at the store came up to me and said, “your little girl is precious and you seem like a really good father”. That made me feel really, really good. Today is supposed to be cold and rainy. We’re driving up the lake to see my brother and do some sightseeing. I’m going to have to pack my bags FULL of stuff for C to do, just in case the rain is so bad it’s not worth trying. The plan is to do some driving around and some walking and playing, pick up his girls when they get out of school, and then make supper for when his wife gets home. Then we’ll drive back down to my grandmothers. It should be a fun day, especially if the weather cooperates. I hope you enjoy this photo of Celeste walking on my grandmother’s driveway. The plastic bag she’s carrying is for collecting leaves.