afternoon in the park

Our weekend of foggy warm weather gave way to more January-like temperatures, but we decided to brave the chill and head to one of our favorite local parks to see how the wildlife was faring this winter. My hands were numb in about 5 minutes, but it was definitely worth it to see the kids bound out of the car and race through the woods to find their favorite haunts.

We found that the ducks seem to be no worse for the wear this winter.

As usual, the older kids scampered over the rocks and waterfalls like chipmunks. And, of course, my first thought was, "it's awfully cold to be fetching someone from an icy creek!"

Thankfully, even with a few patches of ice around, everyone stayed dry.

A bit more leaping, climbing and crawling, and we headed back down to the trails.

We visited the ducks down by the pond, and promised to bring them bread next time.

Paulie found a birds-eye view of a few straggler ducks.

And we headed out of the park through the bamboo forest.

Even though the winter wind was quite chilly under the setting sun, I'm glad we ventured out for some fresh air.