The Gremlin

Her Daddy calls her 'Martian'.

This is my youngest son, his name is Jeremie.  I call him Jer and this weekend I called him Daddy so Mari --- Amari, could figure out who I was talking to. He isn't her real Daddy, but he has been caring for her since she was born. 

She is the daughter of his fiancé. 

They don't really celebrate Valentine's Day. Jer suggested giving Mom a weekend off. He came Saturday night and we watched a movie he picked out.

Sunday, he asked what I wanted to do and I asked if he'd like to go 'hiking'. He does like hiking and we got the Reserve by 8am.

The day was going to be record breaking warm, so we got there before the temperatures rose and made the trails into slimy messes.

Mari usually wakes up very early. Like really early. 4:30 am early. I sent Jer back to bed. Afterall I'm a pretty good Grandma and I adore kids.

Mari and Charlie hit it off. He is such a kind hearted dog. Jer, who prefers cats also fell for Charlie. He quipped that he could so love to take Charlie home with him. 

Um. No. 

Here Jer is showing Mari a Pileated Woodpecker hole in a tree. Five year olds are curious about everything.

Mari has boundless energy and curiosity.  Jer and Emily, are taking her to one of the University Clinics to be tested for her neurodiversity issues this month.

I'd hiked this trail on Friday and knew it would be a perfect place to go on Sunday.

We found ice flows and explored bluffs together. We went to this ice flow or ice falls. Mari climbed up above and pretended to hide behind the tree. I was so happy that she stayed there while I got a photo of her and the flow.

Then Daddy convinced her to do this. 20 second slo mo of her first Ice Slide.

Just having fun....

The Kickapoo River was mostly frozen solid and of course my 'kid' wanted to see how far out he could go. I yelled at him. It is what mom's do even when their kids are no longer kids. And of course he didn't listen to me. However he did not fall through.

Jer and I sat on the porch later and watched Mari explore the yard and run back and forth. Fresh air, dirt, running, and hollering are all kid activities. 

So Mari didn't want to take a bath Sunday night. She was absolutely not having it. All she wanted to do was cry, moan, and say that she wanted to go home. Kids get that way when they are tired.

I asked her if she wanted to take a bath with Charlie. 

That changed her mind. 

So after she got in the bath, I picked up Charlie and put in in the water. Charlie played statue while Mari took a washcloth to him and rubbed his back and head. Charlie gave me 'the look'. I let him be in there for a few minutes and then took him out.

That was the trick. One happy bather, one unhappy dog. One clean 5 yr old.

For all the lead up and advertising for Valentine's Day finally had gotten to me. Even at the gym, it was the subject of the day in conversation. As the only 'widow' there I just was quiet.

Jer and the little Gremlin were exactly what I needed to distract me and make me laugh. 

I disconnected from the digital-interweb-internet- world for a couple of days. It was a good break.

 

Mudder Day...

Becoming a mom was one of the coolest things that ever happened to me. 

I was a mom to little humans....that grew up....

Mom to mules....

Mom to dogs....

[many dogs!]

The mom responsibilities have now been passed on to the moms of my grandkids and I hope they all have a wonderful and beautiful day.

We will enjoy some company today from Jason and his dogs along with some time outdoors.

Quiet and uneventful is a good thing.

To all you Mudders out there, have a good Mother's Day.

 

Once upon a time in a land ...

....not so far away...

Hubby and I used to ride nearly every week and weekend at the land formerly known as The Government Ground.

Here is hubby riding Jack on the Water Road. You won't find it any more as it hasn't been used in many years. It was a black top road that was submerged under the Million Dollar Bridge to Rockton. It was a short cut to the Cut Off trail and the Rookery.

My youngest son was just turning 16 and he rode with us quite a bit. Jer is on Fred and this was 25 years ago. Fred is still with us!

We often had lunch on Little Canada Trail just above the 'Poo. 

Shot from my mule Billy Bob. Part of the original trail that is still there if you look hard enough, but  was deemed unsafe after a bad accident along the bluffs.

Here is Rich and I taking a break after lunch. 

These shots were taken with my little green pocket camera that I always carried with me while riding. It was an easy camera to operate. Change film and shoot!

Rich at Hanson's Rock Lookout. 
1996

With Valentine's Day coming, I was looking back on ... well, you know. Sweet endearing memories and I came across these old photos.