Then it was time for my "date"...

Back at home I rested with my kids for a while and helped my son get ready for our "date". We were headed out for our own happy time together.

The perfect ending to a lovely day...

We took a short hike in the woods. We saw deer bedded down, some on the ice by the creeks and some out in the wetland area. Snow lay like frosting on the evergreens that lined the path through the woods and the sun set as we walked.

Snow and a path...
Friendly fellow hikers...
A fire when we got back...
Hot dogs...
Marshmallows on fire!
Yay!
Chocolate and Graham crackers too...
What a perfect end...
to a very blessed day...

It was dusk...

Though just barely five o'clock, it was nearly dark when we pulled into the parking lot at Three Creeks Metro Park. We took the Bluebell trail down by the confluence as the darkness crept in. Together we tramped through the woods, admiring the water birds and the frosting of snow. We saw dog prints and people prints and smiled. We knew we had not been the only ones to wander the woods today.

After about twenty minutes, we turned around and headed back, happily retracing our steps. Questions of what was for dinner began to be entertained and I shared my ideas on the subject as I spied the path to the parking lot at the top of the upcoming hill. Just then, as we marched through daylight's last moments, a deer bounded across our path. We smiled. We saw a four point buck last night at Blendon Woods. What a treat to see a beautiful doe this evening.

If you crave your own walk down by the water,
you may want to check out
http://www.metroparks.net/ParksThreeCreeks.aspx.
Three Creeks is a nice place to visit.
Day or evening...
summer or winter...

No matter where your adventure takes you...
even if my winter exploits make you shiver
and you firmly believe you'd rather stay at home...
Today and always,
I wish you only the very best...
Peace...
Joy...
Blessings...

Night falls at Three Creeks

Tonight the wind blew and made me wish for a sweater.

I saw bats flit overhead searching for their dinner.

A possum dashed through my line of sight and the shining eyes of deer looked out at me from the dark.

Beside me sat my favorite people in all the world.

Where was I?

What was I doing?

Yet again, I was enjoying the wonderful programing offered by the Columbus Metro Parks System. More specifically, I was on a Full Moon Tram ride offered at Three Creeks in Groveport.

I urge you to take a look at the programing offered at our amazing parks and consider attending a night time event. (http://reservations.metroparks.net/programs/)

The forest comes alive with tiny sounds when the sun goes down and critters emerge that are seldom seen during the day.

Your dear ones will cuddle close when the breeze gives them a taste of the coming autumn.

As you head back toward home, you may find yourself buying hot fudge sundaes and quietly singing to the radio.

Trust me, it could happen.

Creeking!

Who can resist splashing in a creek and catching a crawdad? I know I can't and once you've been creeking, you won't want to miss any opportunity to play and explore either!

Today our family headed to Three Creeks, a Columbus Metro Park located at 3860 Bixby Road in Groveport, Ohio.

According to the Metro park program, everyone was invited to join the naturalist for an afternoon searching for "creek critters"!

This sounded like a wonderful invitation to us, so after lunch we searched for old sneakers, packed towels and extra clothes and of course, our camera. Then, we headed out looking forward to an interesting adventure.

We were not disappointed!

The kind naturalist leading our trip told us about the animals we might see and taught everyone how to use big mesh nets to try and catch little animals to examine. Then, she turned us loose.

Soon there were kids happily splashing everywhere you looked!

My son was the first one to decide that the creek was as good as a swimming pool, but he certainly was not the last kid to dive in! I must confess that if I had been completely positive my sandwich baggies really would have kept my camera dry, I would have found my own seat on the creek bottom.

The day was perfect! The sun was shining and a light breeze was blowing across the water. I was taken back to the days of my own youth and the many hours I spent wading through creeks with absolute abandon.

If you get a chance to play in a creek, pond or lake this summer, take towels and extra clothes for anyone who just may end up completely soaked!

(Consider taking some for the grown-ups too... just in case!)

For more information on Three Creeks go to: http://www.metroparks.net/ParksThreeCreeks.aspx.

For more information on upcoming programs go to: http://reservations.metroparks.net/programs/. Don't forget the program link to Columbus Metro Parks is always in the right hand column of my blog under "Necessary Websites".