Mietzke's Holden Adventure

The sun came out today and was gloriously warm and bright. The Holden staff gathered in droves near the ark. Musicians brought their instruments and painters, their paint. There were people playing cards and knitting and just lounging. All of the village kids were playing in the drainage ditches making dams for the melting snow water and then breaking them apart to watch the water run down. It got warm enough for them to wear bathing suits and they were all covered in mud and smiles! Lunch was also eaten outside and the sound of running water surrounded us along with laughter and bird chatter.
Dave’s sister and her family are up with a youth group for the May youth weekend along with Dave's daughter Rachel. My nephew Alex and my niece Hiwot are playing with the girls. Nyrie has set up her tent in the square and is having a party with her dolls and throwing snowballs at Cable. It just feels so magical out here. There is bear white skin hungry for light and many of us came away from the day with pink arms and legs and faces.
The birds are amazing. There are so many of them dipping and gliding, pulling worms out of the ground and building nests. They are busy and insistent. We have two humming bird feeders on our porch and the humming birds are so loud. Their wings make a whirring sound and they fly quickly across the porch pausing for a sip and then are off again. Yesterday I ran out of sugar water in the feeders and a little humming bird kept returning and hovering around my head trying to let me know that yes indeed it was time to put more out. He was so persistent that I finally gave in. I am a sucker for hummingbirds, what can I say. The chipmunks and squirrels are also our in droves sneaking around trying to get a taste of today’s lunches off of people’s plates. They are so darn cute and fun to watch. Sometimes they are a bit too daring.
The smell of damp warm earth is so strong it makes me want to be digging and planting. It is so nice to sit here taking it all in listening to the playful banter and reveling in this beautiful creation! The May youth weekend kids just got out of their session and are out enjoying their freedom. They seem to be having a really good time at Holden and I have been really impressed at the organization put into the programming! They seem to have just enough activity and free time to keep kids out of trouble which is nice!
Dave and Hiwot and I hiked out to ten mile falls this afternoon. The snow is really slick and we had to be careful in the woods not to step in pockets around the trees and rocks. Hiwot lost her shoe in a hole while walking near the river. We had to stop and find it under the snow before she could put it back on. I can’t believe how much the trail has changed already and how much snow has melted just within the last few days. There are whole sections where we were walking on bear ground! Hiwot was a good hiker and we made good time as well as being able to enjoy the beauty of the waterfall. It was really fun to get time with her.
We had fun hanging out as a family and playing games for Alex’s birthday. I actually made a cake which is not something I normally would do. Then we played Apples to Apples. It was a nice way to end a really good day!