It was chilly today and we still have quite a bit of snow but it felt like S P R I N G! It rained a lot this weekend and the stream has flooded, it’s fun to see it so the children and I all went on a walk. We were happy to go on our first walk of early spring, all together. Jacob wore Seth in one Ergo and I wore Sarah in another (that my sister in law let me borrow).
Before heading into the woods, we stopped to see the stream rushing into the pipe under the road. The water was wide and high.
On the other side of the road, the water was roaring out the pipe and down the stream bed….fast and furious. The ice was glittering on the bottoms of the tree branches.
Walking up the trail:
Jacob, with little Seth on his back.
At the watershed area. The land we are standing on here in the picture is the highest part, on each side the land goes sharply down. The stream flooded up and became a pond– and the water was frozen. The ice would crack and splash loudly….a strange sound that made me jump several times because I thought it was an animal on the ice. The water will gradually recede until the stream is properly narrow again.
The snow was blindingly bright! It hurt my eyes. But it was such a joy to be outside.
“Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you……” John Muir
David especially enjoyed throwing rocks onto the ice…the rocks would bounce and slide.
As we headed back toward home, it was tough going at times. The snow had a hard crust on top but every once in a while I would fall through and get ice down the backs of my heels. Plus, I am not used to carrying Sarah in the Ergo. She did really well, though. Wearing her is not as natural as it was when I wore Seth, for some reason. I think she needs to get used to the feeling of it. But she looked around and up at the trees. I think it was good for her to get fresh air.
The stream is flooded all the way up into our woods.
I wish you could hear the sound it makes. I’ll always be thankful that we live by a stream. Its the sourse of so much pleasure for the children and me.
When we got back home we came across two of our chickens, silently but busily taking dust baths together. They are so happy to be able to finally scratch and dig after all the winter months. We hope their happiness translates into more eggs for us, as we have only been collecting about 2 a day lately.
“You can bury a lot of troubles, digging in the dirt” -anonymous
The children played outside all afternoon. What a blessing it was to hear them laughing and running all their pent up winter energy out. They should all fall asleep nicely tonight.
We had a nice day of homeschooling, too, and I spent a few hours this afternoon being wonderfully LAZY while Seth and Sarah napped.
We had goulash and homemade breadsticks for dinner.
“Your home is secure; your nest is set in the rocks.” Numbers 24:21
“But as for me, I will sing about your power. Each morning I will sing with joy about your unfailing love. For you have been my refuge, the God who shows me your unfailing love.” Ps. 59:16, 17
“Peace be both unto thee, and peace be to thine house, and peace be unto all that thou hast.” 1 Samuel 25:6
Good to be Home 
A restful lovely walk with you Shanda. I enjoyed it all, a perfect outing with my sore knee I imagined the sounds you described and the fresh snowy air. The music, and quotes added to it. I am glad you are feeling better and up and out on a walk! Resting up now for the busy evening of packing and last minute things with Dan and Heidi. We have to get up at 3AM to drive to the airport!
I enjoyed your walk.
What a nice day you had for an outing with your children! Love the pictures.
Love your pictures, don’t know how many times the children and I have wished for a stream nearby!!! Out of curiosity what is your version of goulash?? We sorta have a “dish” we call that too, but the children are pretty sure it’s not the same thing!! 🙂
Wow, I didn’t realize how tall Jacob is until that picture of you all! And goulash…. YUM! : )
Your pictures are so pretty. It looks like you enjoyed a wonderful day outside. I like the picture of Jacob and Seth…he looks kinda like Indiana Jones on a mission .I like your quote by John Muir, if you ever get out to San Francisco you’ll have to visit Muir Woods.
Thanks for the walk thru nature with your kiddos and you! And wow Jacob sure is tall! Seeing him with his little brother on his back is adorable!
It’ so lovely that your children have room to ramble. I had that growing up as well, and it was wonderful!
how do you make your goulash? my grandma used to make it, and it was sooo good…
That’s so beautiful. I wish I lived in a place like that. Big city life doesn’t change much with change of seasons. :(It’s nice to see you guys having so much fun, and to live with beauty like that all around you.
Beautiful. It’s gray and gloomy here today, but we’re going to try to take a little walk after Carl gets home from work, just to enjoy the fresh air and warmer temperatures. Growing up, there was a small brook just down the road that always turned into a roaring river in March and April – I LOVED walking down to check it out in early spring. I hope someday to live near woods and water again!
Nice little adventure – loved it. side note: Rapid City, SD voted yesterday not to allow chickens in the city limits.
Just lovely!
i was doing a quick read of my favorite blogs this morning (you’re one of them) and my little guy has just woke up and joined me. he likes ‘the big boys sword’ and asked how old he was ….. oh, about 14, i said. then he wondered how old the mommy was. his guess was about 12 ’cause you are shorter than the big boy :)so beautiful there. our kids were outside all afternoon too yesterday – since it was so spring like.happy day to you ~
Mmmm spring is on it’s way, even though it is still so cold! And, as a gardener, I love that quote about digging in the dirt. I couldn’t agree more 🙂
These are the very best sort of days!!! I love knowing these places I can picture just where you were! Cute that Jacob carried his brother!