Tuesday, August 28, 2007
More Rain - Torrential Even
Yesterday the Hubby and I were sans two kids. Only Eldest Son was home, the others having sleepovers. We decided to spend a little quality time with the boy, who will soon be off to the hinterlands on his own (unless he decides to move back home as a young adult). We took Eldest to a local state park for a walk. Normally we stay on the trails, but we noticed that the creek bed was down to dry stones for the most part and thought we'd take the challenge to see how far up-creek we could go. We were headed for a particular metal bridge in the park and we made it to within sight distance of the bridge before having to crawl up the bank to the trail. Hubby and I have never seen the creek so dry. Obviously, we're in a drought. And then it rained last night. Don't know if it fully alleviated the drought, but it was coming down in sheets. They call such rains torrential. Yep. That about says it. Time to mow the grass again.
Labels: children, creek, drought, husband, minnesota, park, rain, son, walk, weather
Friday, August 10, 2007
Caterpillar
I am alone.
My family scattered to the four winds.
Sounds so ominous, but it's not really. Everyone is off doing something they enjoy. I'm blogging, checking my emails, reading the various blogs I follow, getting hungry. Will feed myself shortly, so don't worry your pretty little head on my account.
I went for a walk today during a work break. My work location is very near a state park and it's simply glorious to head out for a woodland stroll and warm myself up from the chill of air conditioning. As I was making my way back, I saw a huge light, but vibrant, green caterpillar on the ground, making its way across the path. It had to be between two and three inches long and it was fat. I tried to get it to crawl up on a twig so I could get a better look, but it winced and folded in half when I touched it with the twig. Why am I telling you this? No cosmic reason. Just an observation, an interesting interaction.
My family scattered to the four winds.
Sounds so ominous, but it's not really. Everyone is off doing something they enjoy. I'm blogging, checking my emails, reading the various blogs I follow, getting hungry. Will feed myself shortly, so don't worry your pretty little head on my account.
I went for a walk today during a work break. My work location is very near a state park and it's simply glorious to head out for a woodland stroll and warm myself up from the chill of air conditioning. As I was making my way back, I saw a huge light, but vibrant, green caterpillar on the ground, making its way across the path. It had to be between two and three inches long and it was fat. I tried to get it to crawl up on a twig so I could get a better look, but it winced and folded in half when I touched it with the twig. Why am I telling you this? No cosmic reason. Just an observation, an interesting interaction.
Labels: blogging, caterpillar, family, hunger, walk, woods
Monday, October 30, 2006
Throwing Stones
The hubby and I went for a walk at the state park yesterday. Fine day for it. There's a creek that runs through the park, and an overlook that's suffering a sandy erosion. At the overlook, the kids started throwing stones down into the creek and we, good parents and environmentalists that we are, told the kids to stop. The hubby told one son that those stones would eventually alter the course of the creek. It seems like such an obvious thing, the fact that human beings automatically change their environment - moving stones from an eroding river bank down into the creek bottom. We feel bad for doing such a thing, but should we? If you're paying attention, you'll discover that nature changes itself. A deer scrapes a tree; branches fall into creeks, damming up the water flow; squirrels leave midden piles; animals crap all over the place, plant roots wend their way through soil. Just the act of us walking through the woods changes the woods. Is nature meant to be static? Or, is it okay to alter the course of the creek by throwing stones?
Labels: husband, nature, park, stones, walk, water, woods
