mountain man

Yesterday was too beautiful a day to be inside. Once the rain left there was a misty, overcast sky that made the grass look so green it felt like a dream or a cartoon. Unlike a sunny day, when all the colors seem kind of washed out, gray skies allow all the colors of the earth to shine in a way that I find startling and always have (hence the picture I use as my blog header).

I knew of one place where we could really enjoy this. So we went for a hike at Devil's Den State Park. There's a trail there that leads to a lookout called Yellow Rock, where you feel like you can see the whole world in front of you. You have a vantage point of miles and miles of Ozark mountains, and snaking rivers. A place where you can't help but feel at peace.

This was the first trip to the mountains for Everett. We were a little concerned about how a four-month-old would tolerate an hour and a half hike in the Bjorn, but let me tell you...Like a wild mountain lion, he scampered over logs, adeptly scaled rock walls, caught muskrat with his bare hands, and gnawed on them with his eager gums.

I'm kidding - the doctor says he won't be able to do those things for at least two more months. He sat pretty still, went along for the ride, eyes glazed over, half asleep, and didn't do or say much of anything. We had a blast.





















(this is what happens when you try to take your own family picture: two-year-old looking at a bug, baby trying to eat his arm, vein popping out of the cameraman's head, and stunning wife doing exactly what she's supposed to be doing)