Marsh Creek winds its way along at the end of our street, and it is my favorite source of inspiration and solace. I have taken photos of it every month this year, and for this installment, I played with two of my favorite apps, Camera Bag and Toy Camera. Maybe tomorrow I'll actually take the SLR with me, but the year's documentation has all been taken with my iPhone. Amazing what that thing can do.

The kids are excited about having tomorrow off to play at the creek. I told them of all of the birds I spied today, and the big fish I was able to see because the creek is running so low (rain, please). It's everyone's favorite place to play, even the dog. After finishing Last Child in the Woods the other night, a book every parent in America should read, it has become even more important to me. It's our little slice of wilderness in this suburbia, an experience that is slipping away from our kids. I remember building a tree "house" (really just tree benches, because enclosed structures invite all sorts of nefarious creatures in the Arizona desert) and playing for hours in the wash behind our house as a child. I was about as afar as you could get from being called a tomboy, yet outside play was still the norm for everyone, then. Now video games and simulated play on the TV are.  Why, in heaven's name, would you want your preschooler to ride a plastic bike hooked up to the television when they could be actually riding one outside? Come on, get up and go play outside. Just remember to take your coat.