Family-Outdoors

Recently we spent some time together in the woods as a family.  It was pretty awesome.  David and Daniel are two pretty awesome young men.  Not too long after we were at this spot, they decided they'd run for awhile through the woods.  They hid from us and then tailed us.  We pretended not to know where they were.  Daniel and David "help" their mom stay on top of the log they are sitting upon. Here we are as a family.  I am glad the bear was willing to take a moment and snap a photo for us.

I do not know who lived here. Twenty-five years ago, when I was a college kid and had no idea I'd be living very close to this old place, I would hike around it, and sit in the woods, and wonder about the prior occupants. At that time, there was still the remnants of the old house and you could find pieces of the family's pottery. Whenever I am in a place like this, where people have come and gone, I wonder what the dreams of these people were. Were they like me? Did they ever wonder if years after they were gone, would someone traipse across their land and wonder about them? Did they figure their mark on the land would be more permanent - the start of something big? I left Missouri and went to Alaska and then Colorado with my wife. We had kids and built a life together and had some good adventures and plan to have more. A dozen years ago, we moved into the home that my wife's parents had built as a vacation getaway. It is perhaps 250 yards from the place y...

The Forest Floor In East-Central Missouri on March 13th, 2011 Just 24 hours ago, my wife and I took a walk through the woods near our house.  It was a bit chilly, but nothing too bad.  Laura wore a coat and I wore a quilt lined flannel shirt.  Though the chill was there, the evidence of Spring was all around. I had Spring break starting today, but Laura and our son were headed back to the regular schedule.  Laura had a tough and busy weekend without much rest.  The bright spot had been the trip home to visit from college by our oldest son.  Anyway, she went to bed on Sunday night tired and wishing she had another day of rest.  I went to bed wishing some miracle would occur so she'd get some of that rest. The Forest Floor in a Cedar Grove above our House March 14th, 2011 She woke me up this morning and said it had snowed a bunch and that the power had gone out for a few moments.  I got up and watched the television just on the off-chance...