Hopper and I have adventures every day, sometimes by car but mostly by bike. Usually we go distances by car, like to the Ishii for groceries and arcades and Tokushima for parks, but we stay local with the bike, cycling around small roads to other neighborhoods or bends of the river, looking for lovely spots to find creatures or throw rocks.
Sometimes, on a nice afternoon, Hopper and I go to play in the river stream behind the onsen hotel. We've run into Kiko and the playgroup on a Wednesday, and other days we've had the place to ourselves. It's quite far so we usually go by car, but we even once rode the bike all the way there, only to discover wonderfully large tadpoles and the dangerous red bellied salamander.
Other days, we stay a little closer to home, but always on the lookout for animals to ogle or catch and there is certainly no shortage around these parts. We bring the fishing rods or the insect net or sometimes nothing at all. I treasure these moments, just us and the curious wondrous world.
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| crab with no claws, he was happy I found him one he could touch |
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| one of our more recent favorite spots, hidden behind some farms |
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| daddy adventures |
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| this massive wisteria tree is at a temple, the whole place was humming with bees and super fragrant. it's about a 15 min drive toward ishii, and visited quite heavily during peak bloom. we were given tea and cake by a lovely group of grannies. |
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| pilgrim statue |
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| behind the onsen bath house |
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| ginormous tadpole |
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| rest stop |
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| driving adventure, had to turn back at a point where there was space. so no one and no thing |
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| protecting the house in new ninja armor |
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| some days we stay indoors because it's raining or we got some new art supplies |
