Upon our return from vacation, I'm usually asked, "How was the cabin?"
I normally respond with something like, "Divine!"
I can't help it. The silence, the peace, the escape from connectivity, the heightened family connectivity and the spiritual refreshing is a savored gift from Heaven for all of us.
This year, Blossom4 hiked six miles without being carried. For the first time ever. Since the Rugged Mountain Man and I love hiking, we're excited that now our family hiking goals can grow.
I was also super excited to see elk tracks all around our cabin and on our hikes. Experiencing the expansion of the elk herd has enhanced the mystique of the surrounding natural areas.
Being at the cabin also brings out the naturalist photographer in me. I squealed with glee when I captured this inchworm "mid-inch!"
We kept noticing so many caterpillars and creepy-crawlers that I started photographing them.
When we returned home, our school assignment for the day was identifying and studying these caterpillars.
Talk about fascinating!
I try to say yes to the girls as much as possible at the cabin and then soak up the peace wherever I can snatch it. It's really a good plan. I enjoyed so many little moments of peace and beauty that I could've missed.
Whatever part of the creek they were exploring, I'd plop down and just gaze around at the loveliness. My soul ate it up!
In those quiet moments, I felt the Lord ministering to my soul.
Sometimes I swam too and sometimes I just carried stuff, like a good mom does.
Hands down, this is my favorite shot of the whole week. Blossom4 is definitely a critter lover! She doesn't even care if things are slimy or scaly!
She looks thrilled. The toads, not so much.
A little "talamander" that she adored...
And a frog! We were all so excited because we saw several frogs during this trip. Normally the toads are very visible and catchable.
We never get to actually see frogs! Imagine our excitement to have seen three frogs and caught two!
Thankfully, Blossom4 didn't try to catch this hairy beast! She was about 5-6 inches across and had an enormous egg sac attached to her. Thankfully she scampered off when I decided to cross on the log where she was resting.
In addition to all my caterpillar pics, from which I've spared you, I also am particularly fascinated with the vast world of mushrooms and fungi. We photographed many mushrooms and when we returned home to identify them, discovered how magnificently vast that world is!
It's much harder to identify mushrooms conclusively, than it is to identify caterpillars. However, the girls and I are only more intrigued!
Though I don't recommend eating mushrooms from the wild without a mycologist on hand, we did discover that puffballs are one of the easiest edible mushrooms to identify. According to the information we found about giant puffballs, if it has gills, don't eat it. If it's purple, black or gray inside, don't eat it. Apparently, the giant puffballs should be white and creamy inside to be enjoyed. I don't plan on testing this out, as none of us are big 'shroom fans.
So many treasures are buried deep in the woods. From lush flora,
to mysterious and picturesque outbuildings. My understanding is that this little building housed dynamite for the CCC camps, circa the 1930s.
We've occasionally found other paraphenalia left over from the CCC days, sparking interest from our resident "geologist." Mostly, I'm just thankful for all the trails and roads they put in during that time period.
The Rugged Mountain Man and I were abundantly grateful for the quantity and quality of family time we were able to have this week.
It's exciting to see the seasons of family life change. There is more conversation.
There are more ideas. There is a wider scope of all-family activities.
I think we're reveling in our little tiny girlies becoming people, interesting people.
Passionate people.
Beautiful people.
Sweet people.
Family time moves into something more like fellowship.
You feel "full" when everyone is climbing into bed at night.
It must be the fleshing out of one of my favorite verses,
"Children are a blessing..."
