Summer might be over, but I still have lots to tell you about our adventures, because we really lived it up this year!  Of course, we couldn’t let the season escape us without a visit to Reinstein Woods for our seasonal hike.  (See our previous hikes: winter and spring.)  Last year, when we did our seasonal hikes at Tifft Nature Preserve, we actually squeezed our summer hike into mid-September, but since it wasn’t the equinox just yet I called it good.  This year we did a little better, getting out for our summer visit to Reinstein on Labor Day.

And what a day for it!  The sun was shining, the sky was a deep blue, and the woods were a riot of gorgeous white flowers.

Our first stop was the lily pond, which proved to be aptly named.  I think there were more lily pads than pond.

Steve and Peanut immediately spotted a family of turtles sunning themselves on a log.  So cute!

Lily pad closeup:

Next we continued on into the nature preserve and made for our regular loop around one of the larger ponds.  This one was also a riot of lily pads.

Gorgeous!  Reinstein Woods is a small nature preserve, but it feels much bigger than it is and it manages to pack a lot of beauty into a relatively small parcel of land.

I made the wrong shoe choice.  It was summer, it was warm, and I thought it would be fun to wear my FiveFingers… which it would have been had the trail not been entirely made of large pieces of gravel.  For some reason I completely forgot that most of the trails were rocky.  I mainly stuck to the grass.

We attempted a family portrait – total fail.  Neither kid is looking at the camera, and we could be anywhere.  Well, we will keep trying.

Two out of four.  Not bad.

On our way out of the nature preserve, as has become our little tradition when walking at Reinstein, we let Peanut loose in the nature play area for awhile.  She had a ball running around, picking sticks up off the ground and waving them around (some things never change!) and holding court in the little shelter.

Oh, and riding on turtles.  As one does.

Nugget, as usual, cuddled up against me and watched his sister run and play.  Next year he’ll be wobbling after her as fast as his little legs can take him, but for now he’s still my snuggle bug.

Eventually he let us know he was over the whole experience and was ready to head home and have his lunch.  And thus began the delicate negotiation (cajoling, threats) to get Peanut out of the play area.  She does love it there…

That’s my little Dirt Barbie!  Heh.  Such fun to visit Reinstein again for a third season.  We have one more season to go, and then we’ll have to decide on a spot for seasonal hikes in 2016 – unbelievable!

Who else has been hitting the trails recently?