[ The edge of the lake; the shore is made up of small rocks. The water is in motion, each wrinkle on the surface highlighted in the sunlight. ]
The sound of the wavelets running up onto the pebbled beach was SO relaxing. I love the sound of water & I haven’t been able to spend near as much time as I’d like where I can hear it. I’ll be going down to the lake as long as the weather allows.
Another crayfish claw for Ursula! I mean, they’re not lawn crayfish, they’re clearly not as cool, but they’re desert crayfish & that’s pretty awesome right there.
[ It’s a bone-white crayfish claw, maybe two inches long. Big sucker! ]
Heading down into the aspens later on we found a little creek — part of which was still frozen, despite a week of days in the 60s. It was tucked down in a really shady spot, though, much colder than the surrounding area, so I’m not surprised.
[ A narrow creek runs between grassy banks, with reeds in the background; one side is still covered in ice. ]
It looks like it’s a good year for juniper berries! I need to go harvest some. They’re so pretty, & smell really nice when you burn em.
[ Plump blue-purple juniper berries, maybe a quarter inch across, poke out from between pale green juniper needles. ]
I had to negotiate passage back to the van with a couple of cows who’d decided it was a nice spot to graze for a bit, & also scratch their hinder parts, which they did by rubbing them on the van. I have no photos of this process, because my arms were full of Loiosh, who wanted to go make friends.
The cows explained to me that they did not want me there, & I explained to the cows that I would go away as soon as I could get into my going away thing. The cows explained that they liked my going away thing for scratching their hinder parts on so could it stay there, & also could that flailing creature in my arms not be there, or at least not be flailing. I stuffed Loiosh in my flannel & explained the going away thing again, in that I needed the thing that goes away in order to go away in it. Throughout this process Tom was wisely exploring the woods, which was very much the better part of valor & made my life significantly easier.
Eventually, in the way of cows, they’d drifted far enough in their grazing that the van was no longer conveniently near for scratching their hinder parts on, at which point they were far more willing to continue said drifting. I stuck Loiosh in the van, forgot to close the window, & went to look for Tom, who’d pretty much finished exploring the woods & was headed back up on his own. What with the cows & all, he wanted to be back in the van, unlike SOME people who climbed out a window & went up a tree, LOIOSH, but I got a couple good pictures of both of them in the process, so I’ll take it.
Anyway, here’s a cow with Opinions.
[ A very dark brown cow, who’s staring at the van with one ear out to the side & the other laid back, which I assume expresses some sort of cow emotion. ]
She stuck her tongue in her nose at me, which I’m sure is some kind of bovine insult.
[ She’s looked away, both ears are back, & the tip of her tongue is in her right nostril. ]
Whatever, I was in my going away thing & I was, therefore, going away.
