Perfect cure for the end of summer blues: an end of summer (or early fall) hike!

I love summer.  I'm a summer person.  I'm not one of those people that says, I love summer soooo much, and I also love fall, and I also love winter...  No.  I like fall.  I like spring.  I do not like winter.  But I LIVE for summer.  And every year, when I feel it drawing to a close -- shorter days, colder nights, Halloween decorations in the aisles instead of pool toys -- it totally bums me out.  I was feeling it BAD last week due to all the chilly weather and the fact that I've been secretly hoping for an indian summer that lasts all the way through October.

In an attempt to combat my despair, on Thursday I took Bob for a hike to Agassiz Rock in Manchester by the Sea.  And you know what?  It totally worked.  The cooler temperature makes the hiking a whole lot more enjoyable.  And the air in the woods smelled so crisp and clean!  I feel newly optimistic about fall.  (Although I'm still a little nervous about winter.)

Bobby LOVES to be outside.  He loves trees and dirt and rocks and leaves and sticks.  As we walk through the woods Bob points up and says, "tuh, tuh" over and over -- so far that's the best he can do for "tree."

Agassiz Rock was a really cool spot, too.  The huge rocks make it lots of fun for kids (and kids at heart, like me).  Much more exciting than what I saw of Ravenswood Park.

As always, here are the pics...

Here's Little Agassiz:

I'm sorry there are so many photos in the following set, but I couldn't help it.  I'll tell you why I had to choose each one...

(Because look at that face!  He is just so precious.)

(Because it looks like he's using a tiny walking stick to climb that rock.)

(Because he's just so enthralled by the birds and trees.)

(Because he looks like such a little midge in this shot.)

(Because he obviously wanted me to take this picture of him waving his stick.)

(Because, look at those lashes!  Is the picture too small here to get the full effect?)

(Do I even have to explain?)

(Because I love to see him so pleased with himself.)

(So you can get the bigger picture of my baby crawling around in the forest.)

Bob was in heaven in this little tree fort:

At the top of the hill where Little Agassiz sits are a bunch of smaller boulders... lots of things to climb on and great photo ops.

Here's Big Agassiz.  The land was swampy all around this big guy so we didn't do too much exploring.