Monday, December 29, 2008

Winter Walk

After five full days of non-stop eating and lolling about like Roman Emporers, this afternoon we thought it might be a good idea to A) go outside and B) move around a little. I was beginning to worry that my body might rebel and throw a tantrum like a 3-year old and refuse to do anything but eat if I didn't show it that other activities are possible.

It was a cold, bright, windy day out, much colder than it looked. The copious amounts of snow we've been dealing with have melted at an astonishing rate, which meant that the creeks and rivers hereabout are way, way higher than usual. After the thaw, everything froze right up again, so everything is encased in ice, too. So, in an effort to get the two kids out, we decided to go and investigate.

Man, there really is no greater magnet for children than water, is there? (Maybe fire, but that would be it.) Thing 2 and her friend poked at the very thin ice with sticks, risked life and limb by going way too close to the swollen creek, and fell down a lot. (Like, I mean, a LOT. Like, constantly. I began to think they had inner ear problems. The Mister got so frustrated with the two of them that he threatened to not take them to the Emergency Room if they broke their wrists. Like the idea of a home bone-setting would make them think twice about where they stepped.)
We saw deer tracks:
And poked around in the water. Here are the two girls clearly ankle deep in water they had been warned within an inch of their lives that they were not to go anywhere near.

This is the pathway, still covered in water. We usually head for that bridge in the background, but today we were thwarted. The two girls were all keen to forge ahead and get to that bridge, but the Mister and I declined. Forcefully. Besides, there was that little matter of coming back through the flood that they hadn't thought of.

All in all, we wandered around for an hour or so, and we were very cold and pleasantly tired by the time we got back. (Some of us had very wet feet, too.) I retired to the couch with a book and something to eat. Some habits are very hard to break.

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