Woodland Creatures

I spent the afternoon with Gretel last Friday. Fittingly, we went for a walk in the woods. I totally should have worn my Hansel get-up. Alas, I’m finding myself wanting to wear this 70’s vintage flannel shirt non-stop lately. I found it recently in the men’s section of the Goodwill while browsing for Lucas.


There’s a lovely little trail loop only about a 10 minute drive from our house. It winds up into the oak covered hills that overlook Spring Lake. The loop is short enough that Clover can now make the hike without needing a stroller. Though I did end up carrying her a little.

I like that Gretel still re-occurs from time to time. With the discovery that her options are basically infinite, the characters seem to come and go pretty quickly these days. Always being replaced by whoever is in the next book we read or movie she sees.

The pretty red floral scarf tied around Clover’s shoulders made its way to her all the way from Turkey! The lovely Sara of Forestlass, was sweet enough to include it in a little package she sent me awhile back.

Unfortunately, the adorable pinafore dress she generously offered me (an etsy trade that turned out to be too small for her) turned out to also be too wee for me. The scarf however, was a big hit, and so Gretel appropriate! Oh, and not to fret about the fate of the adorable pinafore, it found an adorable home with my niece Vida :)

Outfit: 100% thrifted. When I found this little dress last spring, I was thinking that it would be perfect for fall/winter. How right I was, I’ve been wearing the heck out of it!


The hike takes you uphill through the trees, reaching an open meadow at the top. Here a shallow seasonal pond sits. The perfect spot to rest up and poke around a bit, taking in the quiet stillness punctuated with frog croaks and birdsong.

About a month ago Lucas, Clover, and I hiked up here on a drizzly day and were surprised to find the pond packed FULL of salamanders. Each about 5 inches long, they were everywhere, hundreds of them. It was quite amazing. Also, quite obvious that it was mating season and haha, Clover got a kick out of all the salamanders “doing piggyback.”

This time we didn’t see a single salamander, though the pond is now covered with small gelatinous egg sacks… all that remains of their crazy lovefest.


The trail picks up on the other side of the pond, looping around and heading off down the other side of the hill.

I had both cameras with me, so I pulled out my trusty little point and shoot and its rickety little tripod to get a few “outfit shots” on the way back. At this point I think Clover was already plotting her next costume and trying to get me to go home so we could implement it.


Another gorgeous view of the lake on the way down… and such was our little mother/daughter adventure!

Fun story: We own the Andy Goldsworthy documentary Rivers and Tides and had watched it with Clover the night before. It was her first time seeing it.

I stepped off the trail at one point to photograph the lake, and Clover says: “I’m gonna make sumpin.”

A few clicks later, I turn around to find her stacking rocks in a perfect circle. I watched her for a moment before Andy Goldsworthy stacking stones to create his pine cone-shaped structures flashed into my mind… that’s what she was trying to do!

She’s a pretty rad kid.

By the way, if you’ve never seen Rivers and Tides, it’s pretty amazing, and you should. Here’s a lovely sampling someone put together of Andy Goldsworthy’s work: