A lull in the chaos...

We took Willow on a hike at Hidden Villa on saturday, which gave us a much needed respite from the usual nonstop parade of birthday parties and soiled heinies. We looked at the new baby lambs on the way towards the trail. I had been in the pen with a school group the day before, but we're not letting anybody touch the lambs just yet, due to their newness.
Willow is an enthusiastic hiker, mostly because she doesn't have to do any actual hiking. She likes being held in front of me, facing out so she can kick her little legs and reach for trees. Speaking of trees, I was reminded anew that there really are a lot of them up there in the hills. They seem to stretch on forever if you look in the right direction and ignore your peripheral vision. And down by our feet, little star-like wildflowers dotted the greenery. Lizards scuttled this way and that - mostly bluebellies, but also a few skinks and one whiptail. No horned lizards though, which is what we were particularly hoping to see. Oh well, Willow didn't care. She had a blast. She's really developing into a little outdoorswoman. We'll always encourage that.

cds I listened to while being back in the valley and noticing how ugly most of it is: The Bevis Frond "New River Head", Six Organs of Admittance "Compathia" and "Dark Noontide", and Oidupaa Vladimir Oiun "Divine Music From A Jail"