Hiking The Valley

Before a good hike you have to have 'Wammy donuts' for breakfast and...

Cassie put her foot down...before anyone could leave the house they had to soak their nasty fingernails and get the dirt out...and clipped if need be.  That went over like a lead balloon.  But they were troopers and got it done.

  

We visited the Community Garden and checked out all the different kinds of plants and seeds.  Lots of plots with vegetables and flowers still producing.  It is a really nice area and looks like there are lots of people taking the opportunity to garden.

Michael and I have been here many times before and have seen this barn mentioned on the map but have never made it to that side of the Nature Preserve.  But today was the day that we would finally venture to the other side.  We found some very interesting things.

A lucky find...a catapult.

We have no idea what this barn is used for but we imagine it is where they store all the tractors that cut all the wide paths and trails thru the Nature Preserve.

It looked to me as if someone was working on restoring this old barn.  I have always dreamed of living in a old restored barn.  The  stone walls in the 'basement' are beautiful.  We kept hearing a woodpecker tapping on the wood.  We all wanted to explore but knew we couldn't.  Just dreaming about what it would look like.

We never really figured out what this is but we are guessing it might be a bat house.  I am going to email the website to see if they can answer a question or two about this structure.  (I emailed Valley View Nature Preserve and got this reply...It’s a bat house(condo).  It was made by an Eagle Scout last year.  We put it near the wet area on our property to try to naturally control our mosquito population.)

Their are trails on the prairie and then back in the woods.  We liked back in the woods.

We couldn't figure this one out either.

She looks just like her Momma.

She was not going to be outdone by the boys!

'Wammy, why are you always taking pictures?"

Little ones were starting to get a little tired and hungry so Cassie gave them a challenge...find a ways to get to the car without walking on the ground.  Ellis was all over it as you can tell.

Ellis was the only one that made it all the way....He won a gold metal according to Michael.

One day when it get warmer at night and Cassie and the kids can stay for a few days we will go back and camp and hike more of the trails and find our way to the river.  I'm making plans already.  But I am going to have to practice my pop and squat!

We were sitting at the light at 131 and 50 when three deer came out of the cemetery and crossed the road and headed for the creek.

I pulled down a side street and just as I was getting ready to back up Cassie yells to tell me that they are coming right at us.  There was a deer head peeping over the grasses about 20 feet from the van.  I yelled for her to grab the camera and start shooting

She was able to catch all three on the run!  It was crazy.  Then we had a conversation around people in our family that have every hit a deer...little minds are amazing things.  We again told the story of Cassie hitting a deer in the van when Ellis was a tiny baby coming back from a visit to WV.

We were hungry so we headed to Penn Station to meet Aunt Sarah for lunch.

Seemed like an awfully short trip this time but we will make up for it when Pappy has two days off during the week and they can come back.  Counting my blessings that the Oakes had the opportunity to move back closer to 'home'.