June 12, 2012

We have had a number of nice days, and I am sure that as I type this the weather will change and we will have dreadful weather ... in any event, Stone and I got out on a hike yesterday that was full of bugs and snakes. We made our way over to our "usual" spot to go up and down down the hill.  On the way up we came across a (small by Texas standards) snake warming in the sun.  It was patient enough to let me change lenses so that I could get some close up shots.  After some time of shooting and observing, Stone and I went on our way.  There were not too many blossoms in the mostly shaded trail, and other than Stone and I there were only bugs ... On the way back down we came across the same snake who was making its way up the trail.  A few more shots, then we parted ways.  As we were almost to the van we spotted another snake warming itself on a path.  So, while not as exciting as the snakes that we might come across in Texas, fun none the less.

After our hike, a local cyclist was walking by and we struck up a conversation.  His english was good enough to talk for a few minutes ... he was meeting a friend there and they were going to run the trail that we had just hiked.  Although Stone was being a bit shy as he was tired, he still smiled, and the fellow laughed at his smile.

Today Stone was watched by Asami, allowing me to get a ride in before gathering Stone and riding to meet Mommy for lunch at the local udon noodle house.  The wind today was stout, so I went directly into it and thus got blown back to the house.  There was a bout a 15 degree temperature difference between where we live and the peaks I rode through, I was almost dressed accordingly.

Stone is not only mimicking the sounds he hears from us and the video pacifiers that he watches, he is also starting to mimic as best he can the sounds of the out of doors.  Over the past few days, he has started looking up and making a "whoosh" "whooosshh" sound, and pointing at the clouds, talking back to the wind.  When he hears a bird call he snaps his head toward the sound and searches intently with his eyes for the sound.  The first propeller driven plan flew over the other day and he made the vroom vroom sound previously reserved for cars ... now he knows that some cars fly in the air.

A few hike photos in this album.

A few photos from the ride.

Jeff