the mulberries taste like mulberries
well, i’m still working on the top ten music list for the purposes of self discovery, sharing, and mixed cd exchange…it’s a lot harder than i thought! and i mean a LOT harder.
in the meanwhile, we went to glendale shoals AGAIN yesterday, with three of the AIRs in tow, patrick, sarah, and jonas. ginna joined us as well, and heidi even came along too. she loves it more and more each time, even though swimming is still not high on her list of priorities, and i have to sort of drag her in. she does adore the rock hopping though, and continues to get more confident each time, even jumping over a ~3 foot section of rapids yesterday! we saw lots and lots of snakes there, which i didn’t share with anyone other than brad, since upon investigation i discovered that no one else likes them, and in fact sarah witt seems quite terrified of them. anyway brad and i still find them infinitely interesting to observe, and they mostly stick to one area, which makes me feel relatively comfortable as to where to swim and where not to. besides, they scatter as quickly as possible the moment they see or sense you anywhere nearby. that’s why it’s so tricky to see them, you have to be so surreptitious or they’ll be out of there before you even get a glimpse! i wish most people understood that, as they are actually really cool animals who have no desire whatsoever to harm you. i do understand though, as i was terrified of snakes for a majority of my life up until the past few years, when i decided to confront that fear. i am even now to the point where i can hold them without fear. however i wouldn’t just pick one up in the wild, it has to with a herpetologist, in a nature center, or the like.
on sunday we bought a couple of inflatable mini boats and took them down to the water. navigating a couple of the rapids was a lot of fun, even though brad tore a hole in the bottom of one of the rafts because some parts of the creek are too shallow for it. you have to sort of push yourself along in the really shallow parts, but once you learn where to go it is such a blast. we discovered a new area to swim also, a little below the upper rapids, but not directly below them, although you can swim there as well. that brings the swimming hole count at glendale up to four, which i am of course thrilled with, since i love to swim. the new area has portions that are deep enough that i can’t touch the bottom, and it’s wide enough to actually swim back and forth a good twenty or so feet, which is amazing. i will definitely be hitting that spot up again, especially during the hottest parts of the summer, since it’s the shadiest of all the swimming areas.
ginna’s microbiology professor told her he wouldn’t go swimming in lawson’s fork under any circumstances, nor would he kayak there. he then said that he doesn’t know how to kayak, which i think had a little something to do with it. it’s true that the water there is somewhat polluted, and that bacteria levels are high. most of the town is unaware of this though, since the warning signs are posted above the dam, where almost no one goes. anyway, brad and i have gone there for years and suffered no ill effects from doing so, and there are always numerous other people out there enjoying the water as well, every time we go. i think the reason i’m not too worried about it is that i never, under any circumstances, put my head underneath the water. i wouldn’t want that water in my lungs or ears, or digestive system, but i feel like wading around above the water level is relatively safe. hopefully i won’t eat my words one day, although it might make ginna feel good if i did. thanks for the heads up ginna!
anytime an outing to glendale shoals is in order, so is picking mulberries from the giant tree by the dam. yesterday i picked a full tupperware container, and last night i made a mulberry cobbler with it. it was absolutely scrumptious, and a new way to enjoy an old favorite, although nothing is more satisfying than simply eating them right then and there as you pick them. there is something infinitely wonderous about being able to eat directly from nature, and i feel the beauty in it every single time we pick. it really
