retreating

We've been chilling at home for a few days. On Saturday Kaspar hit a rough patch and I was forced to accept the inevitable - teething or not, it’s time to take it easy for a few days. We’ve now spent the week-end at my mom’s place (the house, where I feel most at home, where I grew up), with regular nap times, getting to bed on time in the evenings and spending the days playing and walking and digging in the dirt in the back yard. It seems to have worked magic on the little fellow. He’s back to his old self, again. I guess the gypsy lifestyle can be hard on anyone, especially such a young chap!

Last week we spent a day hanging out on a farm, where they raise racing horses. Standing in a field surrounded by these gorgeous animals was both magical and a little frightening. Even though the woman, who takes care of them, reassured us of their friendly temper, we were cautious. The last thing I wanted to experience was being trampled by a herd of horses, especially with Kaspar in the sling. Even being kicked or bitten by a horse was not on my list of things to do. So, we kept our distance and made sure not to be swarmed by more then a couple of animals at a time. Kaspar loved to touch the soft nose of the horse. Every time his little hand managed to reach far enough to touch, he’d quickly pull away and squeal with pleasure. This black horse in the picture was very friendly! He kept trying to nibble on my hand and I was a little afraid that Kaspar’s hand might fit too far into his mouth. But in the end Kaspar only managed to put his fingers in the horse’s nostril. That kind of put an end to our relationship. I don’t think he was impressed. The horse, I mean. Kaspar was more then impressed! He was just waiting for the next opportunity to pick another nostril.

On Friday it rained. It’s been pretty cool all week, in fact. I’m so very glad that I brought my spring coat and a few extra jackets for Kaspar with us. We were visiting a friend of mine and went for an unusual stroll. Unusual for Jurmala, at least! Since Jurmala is a town that stretches for miles along the coast of Riga bay and has gorgeous white sand beaches, most residents of this town go for walks along the beach. But this time we had a nice stroll through the pine forest just before the beach, where the city has put pathways that are not unlike the boardwalk along the beaches in Toronto.It was great! A clean wooden path slightly raised above the forest floor, smooth… perfect crawling surface for Kaspar. Even though it rained a little the pines gave us just enough cover not to feel soaked and kept the path just dry enough for us. I’m calling this one “Chasing Kaspar”. I bet it will be spectacular here in the fall, when all these light green colored blueberry bushes are full of blueberries. Path or no path… I bet they’ll be picked!