This morning I took Em on a hike at a beautiful place about an hour outside of town. There is supposed to be falls everywhere, but she opted for the other trail that led away from them. We spent two hours exploring the woods, building fairy homes out of sticks and fallen leaves and counting bugs. She delighted at the centipede sighting, rescued slugs from the trail of dead pine needles stuck to their hind ends and pondered what animals live there. She chased butterflies, talked to birds, and admired flowers. My child became an explorer, a trail guide, and a mountain woman. We sat and ate lunch and she told me to stop and listen to the tree music.

It was beautiful.