Happy Birthday, Janelle!

My darling wife turned... another year older today. She is a blessing to my life, and I am absolutely crazy about her. When we talked about how she wanted to celebrate her birthday, she asked if we could go hiking in Cook Forest, so that's what we did. Janelle, Will and I took Cook's Trail, a short (only two miles) loop, which starts at river level and climbs steeply the first half-mile before leveling out. The last mile (almost) is downhill, but a much gentler slope than the climb up.

Janelle and I both liked this spot. The moss was so thick it could have been a downy comforter on the forest floor.

This final picture illustrates life from death. This felled tree was a sappling around the time of the American Revolution. It toppled many years ago, and was then cut to clear the path. Now other plants and animals live on nutrients it stored over the centuries, and life goes on.

It was lucky we took a short trail, because it just poured not too long after our return home. No campfire tonight.

Anyway, I'm glad Janelle had a good birthday. As we like to say, only another 15 years and we'll be approaching middle age. Kind of like this tree... (I'm not sure that came out right.)