Good afternoon everyone! It was cloudy and snowing lightly this morning. We got snow overnight, but only about 2 inches, it is a little hard to tell from up here exactly how much we received. Hmm, the sun is trying to shine through the clouds at the moment. Maybe it will clear. 

Just as last year, Saturday will be my time to share stories from the past, just with a different name on the post. We will go back a number years for this one and a nice, warm, summer day. I will use a selection of summer pics to enjoy too, but they are not from this story. A good day for a hike was my thought. So, I got things ready and off I went, stopping for breakfast at a restaurant on the way. Krissy asked what I was doing that day, so I told her. 

A small part of our lake in summer.

She just looked at me and said “no!” Then she told me that she had to work that day since her parents were going away for a couple days, so she would not be able to come with me and she said I could not go by myself. Hmm, I am still going. She came back from the kitchen and told me her dad gave her permission to go with me, on one condition. 

Why is there always one condition? Anyway, I agreed and we were soon on our way. ”There is the spot,” I said. ”We are going to climb that cliff?” she asked. ”It doesn’t look hard,” I said, “it actually looks like there is a natural path going along over there.” She looked at this ‘path’, then at me. ”Scared?” I asked her. ”If you can do it then so can I,” she replied. 

Some White Pelicans soaring overhead.

Off we went along this cliff edge. The path was quite wide, about 4 feet, so it really was not so bad. That is, until Krissy stopped. She was in the lead at that point. ”Um, our path seems to get rather narrow here,” she said. I looked past her. She was right, it narrowed to about 6 inches (15cm). ”But it does get wide again,” she said, “and it’s only about a 6 foot jump, I could do that easily.” 

A closer view of one.

“No jumping,” I said, “I don’t want to see you fall.” ”Then close your eyes,” she said giggling. ”We turn back,” I said and I started walking. Then I heard her yelling, “your turn!” She had actually jumped across! ”I will catch you,” she said. ”And we will both fall,” I said, “just remember what you promised.” Sigh. 

I ran and jumped, but my foot slipped on the other side, causing me to fall. Krissy quickly fell flat and grabbed my arm. ”Grab that rock,” she yelled, pointing to a small rock by the cliff face. It was part of the cliff rock and not just a loose rock, so by pulling on that and Krissy helping pull my other arm, I was able to get up. I was also able to use my feet to push me up. 

Baxter the Blue Jay waiting for a peanut.

Finally I was sitting next to Krissy. That drop would have been about 50 feet. ”You are crazy,” she told me. ”I am crazy?” I asked. ”I just said that,” she said. ”I was asking a question, not agreeing with you,” I said. She just giggled again. We were very much alike, we both liked taking chances. 

Although it terrified me when she did it. ”We will find a better way to go back down,” I said. ”Oh, admit it, you enjoyed that adrenalin rush,” she said. ”True, but I do not need to fall off a cliff for that,” I said. Well, guess this is a good place to stop and I will finish this story next time. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and God bless! 

Steve and Muffin. 

©2024 Steve McLeod.