drink the wild air

now that a thunderstorm has brewed up tonight, and my baby fell asleep nursing, i am finally going to post about a little outdoor adventure we took a week and a half ago. (then we all got sick and we are finally crawling out of the muck of it. actually, both babies did fine... just little signs here and there that they might be fighting it off. but darin and i, well. we were in hell.) 

i almost forget how to blog. i know that i want to write thoughts i've had or ideas or start discussions but at this point i'm just making memories and then recording them i for my own perusal down the line. right now it's all i can muster and i'm ok with that. i promise to offer readers something more substantial....someday....

you probably heard about the terrible drought in california. or you live here and aint no way you've missed it. anyway we finally got some lovely much-needed rain over the last few weeks and our landscape is refreshed and finally kind of turning green. everything is vivid after rain and we could use a whole lot more of it. as this thunder crashes outside tonight i can hear our rain gutters spilling over and splashing and it is pure music to my ears.

in any case, we headed down to coloma on one of darin's days off to eat a late breakfast at our new favorite place and to hike down to the river and enjoy our little spot in the luminous california hills. 

we walked around the park and explored the ruins of the old goldminers' jail.

bandit!

later at greenwood creek the waters were rushing to meet up with the languid american river. i have this little song i sing to toot, (i think it's an old girl scout song a friend once taught me) "the river she is flowing, flowing and growing, the river she is flowing down to the sea. Mother carry me, child I will always be. Mother carry me down to the sea." She grows quiet when I sing it and although it is not a favorite or a much-demanded tune she seems to reflect on it and it soothes her. we are water signs after all, she and i.

she could stay all day. perhaps a budding geologist, she loves rocks, the colors and shapes and textures of them, and throws them in with gusto. at any given moment on ordinary days if she's grumpy i can talk to her about the river and throwing rocks and she fills up with merriment and excitement.

blossoming independence, feisty and determined she can be....she wants to walk by herself, taking her sweet time. we knew naptime had already come and gone so darin had to carry her parts of the way. she was none too pleased.

she wanted to take off her tights and boots and wade in the water. surprised at first, she was very brave about the shocking cold of the water and the ice cold slippery rock surfaces. and of course, never wanted to get her shoes back on.

this little twink woke up just in time to enjoy some later afternoon sun on the sand and a nice nursey.

it is good to feel the sand on your toes and to show the places you love to your own babies as they grow. the  time outdoors, the sunshine and the clouds and the water flowing: the whole day left us glowing.

i can't wait to go back.

now that we've boosted our immunity, that rain won't deter us long. i plan to take tootie puddle jumping tomorrow.

hope you are all enjoying some fine adventures.