Sabbath rest

Stump with lichen
Originally uploaded by the gladdings

With temperatures creeping into the 50s, we decided to hike a trail in the Kentucky Palisades this past Saturday as part of the rhythm of rest we've established. Being outside the city in the quiet of the countryside is extremely restorative for all four of the Gladdings. We drove south to Jim Beam nature preserve (this being Kentucky), and found the trailhead as described on the website, although, despite it supposedly being "open 365 days a year", the gravel parking lot's barrier was down and locked. So we parked in the grass by the track, and walked in.
We spent a delightful couple of hours getting up close to lots of lichen and fungi - the only green to be found in the drab colours of winter. Rebecca overturned numerous rocks, and the eager looks of anticipation on Maggie and Seth's faces as the secrets the rocks held beneath them were revealed was priceless. "Can we turn this one over too?!" The highlight discovery was a newt, with golden ants, wriggly earthworms and beetles aplenty.
We heard cardinals chipping in the distance, saw vultures circling, and were accompanied by a Downy Woodpecker, who flitted from tree to tree ahead of us for awhile.
We breathed deep of the solitude the woods afford, catching glimpses of the palisades through the trees, and hearing the sound of running water from the small streams winding their way down to the Kentucky River below.
One day in seven to rest. Good idea.