Playing in the Creek.

It's been a wet, rainy spring, so our "Sometimes Creek" has been running a lot lately.  We've all had a good time trekking down the hill and around the "Usually Not Pond" to get there.  In the above pics, you can see from one end of where the creek hits our property to another.  It's got steep tree-lined banks, so great for my pale family to avoid sunblock.




 Maggie and Ivy can play in the parts where the water is shallow and fast.

Livvie and Hollis love the place next to the big sycamore tree, where it's about three feet deep so they can paddle about a bit.  You can see the sycamore tree in the top picture.  It sticks out into the water more than any other tree out there, and has a great gnarly root system.

Hollis and Ivy claimed to have spotted a snake last time.  How big was it?  And why are we so happy about it?

Those who know Lochlan know that he's a clingy little guy who mostly loves to be held at all times.  I kid not when I say that he will sit for an HOUR and toss rocks into the creek.  BY HIMSELF.  He'll pick up a rock and make a questioning "Hmmmm?"  Then he'll toss it in with a decisive "Hmmmmm!"



Toby and I were actually there, too.

Okay, Toby started goofing off when I shot these...I call these poses, from left to right, "The Gun Show," "The Underwear Model," and "Napoleon."  Fun, right?

I learned something this morning.

Ivy cottage is without a dishwasher as of yet, and it seems that if dishes are going to be washed, I'll be doing them.  I need to make the kids do it, but until school's out, that will have to wait.

This morning, I was looking at the pile of dirty dishes, and thinking how many there were, and feeling very sorry for myself.  Then I thought it would be nice if I stacked them according to type, so they could be washed in order.  I am a bit OCD there.  I like to do glasses first, then plates, then silverware, then pots and pans...that way, I'm going from least dirty to most dirty, and I don't have to change the  water too many times.

I stacked the dishes, in organized piles, and...there weren't that many.  Or at least, my brain didn't register the neat towers as "chaos."  Suddenly, with a little order, the task seemed a bit easier.  Whatever it was, I'll be trying to remember it in the future.