Full disclosure: no weaving content today. 

A few months ago I signed up for a hiking group with some of my neighbors. Yesterday was the day of our first hike. I had fond memories of the Carrick Creek Nature Trail (in Table Rock State Park) from 5+ years ago, when it was one of my favorite walks, in all seasons. So I said, why not?

Carrick Creek and Green Creek, with their many beautiful waterfalls, seem to have gotten longer and deeper over the intervening years. The rocks over which one must ford the creeks at several points along the way have gotten larger, pointier, and more slippery. The tree roots on the path have heightened and become more gnarled, and the elevation changes on the trail are definitely greater than five years ago and the length of the trail is about twice as great as it was way back when. Is it possible there's another explanation?

Nevertheless, my companions were the best, we all completed the hike and enjoyed lunch together at the picnic tables in Table Rock Park. It was a glorious day. Truly. Pictured from left to right are Ted, Joy (hike leader), myself, Carol, Audrey, and Don (kneeling). 

Back home, I heard that neighbor Margie had put her delightful Fairy Village on display and I walked over to see it this morning. Here's just one little part of the entire set. She designs and builds each tiny item in her garage workshop, and it must be seen to be believed. This tiny outhouse is about 2" tall, and you can just see the wings of its recent fairy occupant rushing off at the bottom of the picture. 

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In the Department of Books, I just finished reading The Myth of Race: the Troubling Persistence of an Unscientific Idea, by Robert Wald Sussman. Published in 2014 by Harvard University Press. Find it at your public library or buy it wherever you prefer to buy your books.