Spring in January

It is 2:20 pm. Liam and Lydia are down for their afternoon naps. Usually, I bustle the other two into bed and have some time to my self, but today it is about 45* outside, the sun is shining, the birds are swinging and Abbi and Phin have disappeared. In their stead is “Wild Cowgirl” and a cowboy named “Mud” (who likes cookies - who doesn’t?!). We all just returned from an excursion into the wilderness of Heart-attack Hill. (You my recall my sledding adventure down the logging road.) Heart-attack Hill isn’t nearly so tiring when hiked with a two year old. You then get to go at a snail’s pace, aka. a dawdle. Very slow.

Before we ascended to snowy heights, we wandered in the foothills, following deer trails and squirrel tracks. The kids were fascinated by not one, but two trees that had a whole pile of wood shavings at their feet. Upon investigation we found the spots where a woodpeckers had been hard at work. We found vibrant green moss, peeking through the last layers of snow, striving to reach the warming sun. Abigail found a huge vine, probably 4” in diameter and promptly proclaimed that she was very glad it was a vine and not a snake. I agreed. We found a couple claw scratches on the side of a tree – couldn’t have been from anything bigger than a raccoon – and Phinehas announced that he was SURE it was from a monkey. We listened to chickadees and smelled the fresh air. And then we began our climb.

First, Phinehas set out as leader. I told him to keep an eye out for anything interesting, so he could show it to us. He immediately turned to a mundane bramble and announced that it was very nice because its little branches looked like a hand; hmmm, not so mundane, was it! He quickly tired of leading (or of having Abigail right on his heels) so he fell back and Abigail had her turn in the front. She found a trough of wood laying across our path and chuckled as she stomped on it. Liam and I slowly trudged along behind. Toward the summit, Phin declared that he was done and didn’t want to go any further. “Aren’t your legs tired, Mama?” I told him that they felt great and asked him if he liked being a mountain climber. “No. I’m not a mountain climber; I’m a cowboy.”

On the way down, Liam decided that he was going to become a bulldozer. He marched right over and through each and every bramble he could find; its not like they were blocking our path! But he went right through ‘em! And my! Did he yowl when he got hung up! But he pulled through and made it down unscathed.

And where was sweet Lilly this whole time? Strapped to my back, happy as could be. She sang with the birds, growled at her siblings and kicked me happily in the kidneys. She didn’t complain a bit!!!