The Good Earth

Seems like you're lucky when you find something both you AND your kid enjoy doing together. Before uprooting all my little plants that I'd salvaged from my "past" life, I used to love, love, love gardening. Topie---not so much. Guess she won that battle and all I have left to show for it are the sporadic pots scattered around our new home.

Even so, like her mom, Topaz is a child of the Earth and we thrive when surrounded by the elements. Topie, specifically, likes to conquer stone quarries. I think it's because her name is a mineral, so she has to let the other minerals know she's boss.

Here, I was relaxing after 5 miles of pulling that tank of a bike trailer and looked up to see my happy little daughter playing in the wind like the wild ponies we passed along the way. The sky was GORGEOUS! I forgot how immense it can be when it's not cluttered with buildings and other various people-prints.

Sighhh.... the bench says, "Sit here and contemplate the universe."

And this is me, happy on my bike, but all crazy-looking as usual. I mostly just wanted to show the world what an awesome trail we have at our fingertips. There are wetlands surrounding the area, which serve as a habitat for numerous bird species, foxes, raccoons and the occasional feral kitten. Just an FYI, wild kitties are impossible to catch, no matter how innocent and pathetic they look on the side of the path. I know this from multiple recent experiences...

I wish this picture hadn't turned out so grainy because it really is so pretty to look across the fields in the dusk. You can hear the cows nearby and there are almost always friendly people walking their dogs. I'm glad Topie has a chance to grow up where I did and gain an appreciation for "country" life.

This just goes to show the recovery efforts that follow pedaling up a steep hill with a 40lb kid-drag attached to your bike.

Even though I complain, I heart the bike trailer. And my dependable little mountain bike I bought years and years ago is still one of my favorite things. Before moving back out to Davis County, our Sunday tradition included a spin around Liberty Park. Now I wish I'd blogged about it because it was really fun too.

You can't really see us, but Topie and I tried to pose in front of the sunset. We're really into the sky lately. In my opinion, too few people actually stop to enjoy it...