Our First Trip to the Yellow Breeches

Well, before we could go to the creek we had to deal with a little mulch.  By a little I mean 3 cubic yards of mulch.  Thankfully we decided to stick with three and not bump it up to eight.  OMG there would be no way I could have moved that much mulch! We worked on a few loads and got down to the real fun.

 

 

Blowing wishing flowers and

 

making our way to the creek.  It is really not a long walk and other than pulling a wagon with rocks on the way home it is quite a nice one.  Baylor loves it there. He loves throwing branches and sticks and rocks into the water to make big splashes. 

 

We saw tiny little fish fry in the still water area. 

 

And he did some water's edge dancing which may be some ancient little boy ritual to prepare for walking in water. 

 

And then he was ready to start walking in the water. 

 

There is a long, shallow, rocky swath that nearly spans the entire creek.  We walked out as far as we could before the ground dropped off and the water ran fast.  We talked about how to tell where we can walk safely and where it was not safe to walk.  We will have that conversation many times I am sure.  He is a cautious boy so he was fine holding tightly on to my hand and talking about the water and rocks the entire time. 

 

We also saw a creepy creature as he called it. I called it a crawfish. He was more interested in scurrying away from me that he was being photographed.  Baylor was quite interested in staying away from him anyway.  We did see a small water snake and we both stayed clear of where he was hiding. 

 

So the boy who will not pee in the shower is just fine peeing in the creek and not caring who could see him.  We were not alone but I don't think they were paying much attention to us anyway. 

 

Up the hill from the path to the creek is a rocky area.  We have never wandered up there before and I thought he would be ready now.  Taking a toddler around a big rock with a high drop off never came across as a good idea.  But he has enough caution now to not run directly off the rocks willy nilly.  And he did not disappoint.

 

Back in the day, long before we moved here there was a dam here and the water was much deeper.  My coworker Bob tells me stories of his childhood spent at the rope swing and skinny jumping. Of getting caught by the cops with beer so the crossed the creek to the other county where the cops could not get them.  Of the fishing there.  Of sitting on a ledge under the water coming over the dam and being able to hide under there. And of the drownings. Not long after we moved here and before I ever walked down there, the township removed the dam as it was a hazard.  But apparently it is deep enough here to still swing out.  I did not explain to Baylor what the rope was for. He just thought it was for safety to hold on to look over. Worked for me. 

 

Looking down the creek to where we walk and where the dam used to be.  The shallow place we walked on took us to the tree and white branches hanging out over the water in the very center of the photo.  Baylor loved it.

 

Looking up the creek.  This is the creek that the peeper frogs peep in beginning in early spring and running all summer long.  I love their music coming in the through  kitchen screen door.

 

Sunday was a beautiful Spring day with blue skies, bright sunlight, and a cool weather.

 

And pretty Queen's Anne Lace flowers. 

We had a fun trip to the creek and I know we will be back soon. We do need more rocks for the garden after all!