Early Morning Dip

The Clarion River runs through the heart of Clear Creek State Park, where we camped last weekend. We took an early morning walk down there on Saturday and Liam couldn't resist wading...."just a little, Mom! I promise I won't get wet!"

But the cautionary holding up of shorts and shirt soon gave way to the excitement of the water.

And as he waded farther and farther from the shore, I knew what would follow...

Luckily, we had plenty of dry clothes back at the cabin.

and the only casulty was one of his flip-flops that got carried downstream.

The Bumblebee and the Butterfly

This past weekend, I found a bumblebee and a butterfly sharing the same flowers.

In my experience so far, it's been really difficult getting good shots of butterflies, as they're too quick for me.

This time, though, the bumblebee proved to be the one who flew off first...

leaving the butterfly behind to search the rest of the flower for nectar.

The Birthday Boy

This is my baby, Liam.

He's a bit of a ham.

Really, he cracks me up daily.

He's not your typical "All Boy" type.

He likes all manner of outdoor stuff, but he's not at all into organized sports. He still likes his stuffed dog, "Fluffles," and he finds a calculator highly entertaining.
Liam's 8 today.
I hope he doesn't expect me to start letting go for a few more years.

**Note: To those who wondered about the animal tracks from yesterday's post...the big ones are raccoon tracks, and there are a couple of small bird tracks in there too. Nothing too dangerous. ;-)

Back from the great outdoors

What a great weekend camping! We stayed in the cutest little cabin, set back in the woods. It was also right across from the river (and the flush toilets, which is the most important thing)!
We did all the usual camping things...s'mores, hiking, swimming...
and saw evidence of animals, if not too much of the real thing!
Of course I have tons more pics to share, but the mountain of laundry in my basement isn't going to wash itself, and there's work in the morning. Hope you all had a great weekend too!

It's Camptastic

We love camping, but haven't had a chance to go all summer. Fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants types that we are, I called today and got us a reservation at Clear Creek State Park, about 2 hours southeast of here. We actually got a cabin this time, so I don't have to worry about packing the tent and all the crap that entails. And don't tell Dan or he'll think it's not really camping, but the cabin has electricity. I can bring my coffee maker, and everyone will be happier. (You know the saying: if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.)

These are a couple of my favorite camping pictures from our 2005 expedition. Liam's grown a lot bigger since then....he may need a real camp chair instead of his little Spongebob one. Anyway, have a good weekend....see you Sunday night or Monday with lots of camping/hiking/creek walking pictures!

12th Street in Lomo

This building stands at the corner of West 12th and Raspberry Streets. Some see an eyesore...and yes, I guess it is an eyesore. It makes for some really neat shots, though. All of these use Addicted to Design's free Lomo action (linkage available in the sidebar).