labor-in-vain

there's a road in my town called labor-in-vain. at the end of the road there is a field with rolling hills that tumble down into the salt marshes, which wind on to the ocean. today was another mild winter day, so elenora and i went exploring this afternoon.

we found pine cones. ella, who loves carrying small things in her hands, gathered a whole family of them together and cradled them in her arms as we tromped through the fields. (when we got home i found all of them stuffed into her pockets.)

if you walk past the fields down the road, you find a bridge that leads to a private way. the bridge spans over the river, which seems to be perfectly still on one side, and eddies around with huge ice chunks on the other. we stood and watched and listened for quite awhile, hearing the ice crunch and the ducks quack. it was so peaceful and beautiful, and the sun silently set behind us as we enjoyed the evening.

when we arrived home, i told ella to tell j. where we'd been. she answered "we've been exploring!"

that's my girl.