Fathers Day

Today I'd like to say Happy Father's Day to my Dad, the most awesome amazing Dad ever. I'm not kidding, this is pretty much as awesome as a person can get. Since a novel won't fit on a bumper sticker, I thought this would be good instead: "(his name here) is MY dad". Or at least a "Proud Daughter of a fire captain, death ride cyclist, gourmet coffee brewer, artist, inspiring, loving, best breakfast buddy, incredibly intelligent, talk to about life the world politics nature family and whoops there went 3 hours engrossed in deep conversation with my Dad and they cleared the table long ago and filled our cups 50 times and we're still going strong talkin... Okay, whose idea was it to make a bumper sticker to tell the world I love my Dad? Like a sticker could say it all! I guess I'll just have to go with: I love you Dad. Happy father's day!

Oh not to steal any holiday thunder here but later today I went on a hike, cuz it was only 85 degrees, and Clarence found The Stump. This is really just your ordinary cut down tree, a bit tall, maybe 5 feet. There's a hole in the top that goes through all the way to the bottom, where there's another hole at the base in the side. Water collects in it in the winter, and the first time I found this stump I glanced in the opening at the bottom and saw what looked like 5 feet of tunnel leading to a sky with clouds. The water in the base was reflecting the sky, but just for a second I had a moment of dizzyness, where I felt like I was Alice looking down the white rabbit's tunnel into another world. That one tiny split second before I realized the truth was a moment where the universe opened up and all things from soaring like an eagle by stretching my arms to unicorns bolting through the undergrowth could have been real. Well, actually, that was after. First it was a kind of fear, then realization dawned with the fading possibility.
Okay, now I just sound crazy.
Anyway, that stump is now The Stump.


And Clarence found it today.

Ain't he gorgeous?

Then Pheonix had to come check it out, not to be outdone, you know.

...aaand then Pheonix REALLY had to check it out.


And then Clarence was like, "hey! Whatcha findin in there? Hello?"


Pheonix climbed entirely inside that thing. I can always count on him to be the explorer in places I can't go. Not that crawling in a bug filled old log sounds like something I'd do even if I COULD fit. Well, maybe. But anyway, I didn't get a shot of him inside the stump, unfortunately.

Because then I noticed I was the sun and a galaxy of mosquito planets were circling.

And so I ran.

And Lilly was stoked that we were getting out of there because the boys were boring her and she really wanted to get back to the regurgitated pile of rodent back home.

My boys conquered The Stump today, and they were damn cute about it, too.

If they start having tea and unbirthday parties, I am soooo giving that stump another look. Warily.