A Promise Kept….

We’d been promising a hike, when we could all get together on a warm winter’s day, and last Sunday afternoon fit the bill.

Our destination was a special place close to home, a place anyone can enjoy because it is owned by our state’s conservation department.

First stop:

So named because the son of Aldo Leopold (father of modern conservation) stayed here when working one summer in the 1940s. He helped create the plan which reintroduced wild turkeys to Missouri. And it happened here! One of our isolated county’s true claims to fame.

Climbing to the top of the rock.

It’s a primitive cabin, with primitive facilities…

There was evidence of rodents living inside. No one in our group used the facility, just in case.

Caney Creek runs by the base of the bluff. See the green stalks of cane? An aptly named creek, eh?

Poppy explained to Wyatt that these canes make great fishing poles.

Goodbye to the cabin and off to our trail to….

Three-year-old Addie loved carrying a hiking stick.

She posed for me on this tree which grows out over a little branch….

We thought it looked like a bear’s hammock.

Daddy helped her across the tiny stream, making sure her feet stayed dry.

Sus and Derek liked these long icicles.

Addie noticed this odd-looking root. She said, “It looks like a nest!” She was right!

As we climbed and climbed, the trail became harder to see. We had to watch closely for these.

Our trailblazers, Poppy and Wyatt, stayed far ahead of us. They are two of a kind, not wanting to poke along and take photos and look at weird roots and odd trees and shiny rocks. They want to GET THERE.

They called down to us, “Hurry up! We found it! It’s cool!”

Most of us went down into Onyx Cave (some of us don’t like crawling into holes.)

Going down the trail was MUCH easier than the ascent. See Sus’s headband? It’s a pattern called Calorimetry that you can find here on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/calorimetry.

It’s a quick knit–I used Chunky Mochi…love the way the yarn self-stripes. There’s a neat wooden toggle button on the back. Sus says she likes a warm headband much better than a whole-head hat.

We drove on up to the top of the conservation area and stopped for snacks. Wyatt wanted to climb this tree.

Sus and Addie enjoyed the view.

I made Addie’s hat, too. The little knitted red flower made it cute.

We gathered for a group shot. (I don’t know how to compensate for too much light in a photo.)

 So we changed our angle and sacrificed the long-distance view in the background.

The sun was setting by the time we drove the North Trail back to the entrance and headed home.

It was a GLORIOUS end to an alreadly-beautiful afternoon.

Next on our list: the Spout Spring trail. Come see us and we’ll take you along!

CLEAN OUT THE FRIDGE SOUP

Today, a snowy, blowy sort of day in the winter Ozarks, is a soup day. We love soup in the winter, but sometimes I make it too often — or make too much of it. So I’ve been giving soup a bit of a much-needed rest. Today, however, is SUCH a soup day that I couldn’t resist.

Since January 4 (there’s no rule about starting on the 1st day of the year, is there?) I’ve been counting calories, and so I counted as I made my soup. I call it “Clean Out the Fridge.” Two birds with one stone, right?

Here’s how I did it:

Yesterday the farmboy called me right after he had left the house to do his morning chores. “There’s a big white bird on the lake!” he said. “I’m coming!” I replied, as I jumped into jeans, grabbed camera and ran.

Usually the lake is covered with a dozen kinds of ducks each morning, but this interloper had caused the regulars to scatter.

He swam effortlessly up and down the length of the lake.

I wanted a closer shot so we devised a plan.

I climbed the dam, hid behind a big cedar and waited, while the farmboy drove his truck to the upper end and sort of “herded” the bird my way.

He cooperated perfectly.

I wanted to see him find breakfast, but he seemed content to relax.

The cold finally made my fingers numb, so I left him to it.

When we got home from church, our visitor had flown. It sure was nice to have him stop by, though.

Come back soon, Mr. Pelican!

2011 gave us one last, lovely gift — an exquisitely perfect day.

We spent it with our dear friends, exploring some of our favorite nooks and crannies in our part of the Ozarks.

First we had breakfast close to home and then headed out for a hike.

On the trail above us, a couple were going cross-country on their mules. We hollered a Happy New Year to each other.

Down below,our desination was this beautiful blue spring, aptly named Blue Spring.

It burbles out of the steep hillside directly under where my Farmboy is standing.

It was easy to say, “I’d jump right in if it was 90 degrees, but since it’s only 60….”

Above our heads, this unusual formation reminded me of an eagle’s head.

Looking downstream from where the spring empties into the river….

Crystal clear, cold water–it is deep here, looking straight down into the spring.

I climbed up, up, up to get this bird’s-eye view.

On the trail, this sign pointed to destinations ahead. We liked the name of the creek and would have loved to go on another 20 miles to explore the old cemetery but would have needed a much earlier start.

Back on the road, we stopped by an old, abandoned country store….this one is most unusual in that it was built right on top of a spring. Inside, a trap door opens in the floor, and a basket was lowered into the cold water. The basket would have held butter and cream, to keep it cold, in those long-ago days before refrigeration. 

We longed to go in and poke around….

Our last stop was at a local landmark….

And we saw this sign that the day was coming to an end…..

That’s the moon up there, already riding high. So we headed home, completely filled with the beauty of this wondrous winter’s day. We’ll hold onto it, to see us through the cold, dark ones that are surely in store in the coming weeks. But we’ll savor our memories, for we couldn’t have thought to ask for a better way to ring out the old….in the company of beautiful people, out in the beautiful countryside.

Happy New Year to each of you–may it be filled with beauty for you, too!