Stir Crazy

PJ and I are very fortunate to be able to stay home, so we do. During the warm months it was easy to spend the days outside; walking in the woods, playing with the chickens and tending the garden. Winter has given those outdoor activities a time limit before she turns into a toddlercicle. I keep on flashing back to when the boys were this age, and all the cool stuff we would go do during the winter. Trampoline parks, indoor play areas, museums, walking around the mall, movies, etc. New England is well equipped to get active kids through the winter months.

Not this year.

To add insult to injury, she is finally at an age when she would be aware of, and really enjoy these activities. Lockdown happened a month before her second birthday and we are soon coming up on her third. The growth this year is incredible. There is a part of me that is super happy she don’t know what she’s missing but I know how much she would be getting out if it this year, so that has been bittersweet.

The other day it was a balmy 16^o and I decided it was time to take a drive, and go to the beach. When we first moved east we settled in Kennebunk for a couple years. I loved living close to the ocean as it has always been a big part of my life.

We had an ice storm the day before gilding everything, it’s breathtaking. I tried to get a couple pictures but they hardly do it justice, but you a least get the idea.

I thought of calling them Swarovski shrubs, prism pines, glass trees, gilded forest, etc. All I know is that it’s sublime, each turn in the road brings about a new vista dripping with light.

A few miles from the beach the ice abruptly ended. We had found the ice/rain boundary. It was lovely pulling into our old town the place that welcomed us our first winter. Maine beaches are rocky by nature, which makes them great for a (not so little) girl who needs to climb something, anything.

The tide pools were partially frozen making the halocline visible.

Tide pools are always etherial and beautiful but the ice defiantly adds another layer of elegance to the landscape.

The little monster thing ran around jumping in puddles, throwing shells, exclaiming “MAMA! Rocks!!!!!!” at each one she picked up, before chucking it seaward.

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Her pockets filled with rocks, she swelled with excitement at the change of scene and seeing the ocean again for the first time in months. I thought these snail tracks mirrored her beach activity. She danced with the waves, a rock laden ballerina in a parka and snow boots.

Dogs ran on the larger stretch beach and she was over the moon with each new furry critter to arrive. The world is so exciting to her now, partly because of her age and the year she has had. Winter can seem impossibly long and February always seems to be the worst. But the sun is returning day, by day, and I am trying to look forward to more adventures in the sunshine.

We drove back home through the crystal forest, cold, tired and content. It was a day of frozen light, good company and a huge take-out order from our favorite pizza place, to bring Daddy a little taste of the sea coast and our old stomping grounds. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

Be well!