Hiking

Here I am, in a middle of our hike. When I say "hike", remember that we have three kids with us, all under school age, so it was not very impressive climbing. But fun, nevertheless! The weather was really nice too. I found my sports pants a bit too snug, and I imagined how they would get looser during the hike. They did not. Hmmmm... too many muffins for breakfast, perhaps?

You cannot find a place with absolutely no people in Central Asia. If nothing else, there are the shepherds. I do not know if they go home for the night, but I think they do. I cannot imagine what the animals are eating....there are only thorny bushes and dust, as far as I can see.

Here is my attempt to do macro photography. A rock with dry, black moss on it. Pretty, huh? Improving my skills in photography is in my unwritten list of New Year Resolutions, definitely! I read a quote in one photographing site that said "Your first 10, 000 photos are your worst".

I went through my folders of photos and cried.

And then I was grumpy for the rest of the day and decided to stop trying.

And then I decided to read the manual of my camera again, and take notes.

And I will take more and more photos...watch out!

And I should just start saving money for a new camera with couple of nice lenses.

I have so much to learn!

Our family towards the end of the hike. It is interesting to see the different temperatures that run in the family. No, I do not mean to say 'temperaments', but as I wrote 'temperatures'. As usual, I am afraid of freezing to solid ice. I have taken off one fleece, but the fleece vest and the scarf are still on. My oldest daughter loves to be warm as well, and is happy carrying all the beautiful rocks she found in her purse. My husband and my son have thrown away their sweat shirts miles ago.

Exploring the ground. She found out that the dry, thorny bushes hurt if you squeeze them in your fingers...

..but the rocks are fun to pick and carry for a while. It was great to see her toddling on the steep mountain side. Our yard is so flat. Here you actually need to use the sense of balance!

Just before we were leaving, we saw a herd of horses far away. Horses are so graceful.