For my birthday, I headed back to my roots --- home to Bristol to visit family, friends, and parks new and old. There's far too much to include in one post, so I'll just hit the highlights here.

Our favorite mulberry tree at Steele Creek is showing her age, with ailing limbs and lots of woodpecker damage. In another couple of decades, there may be no tasty treats for children and geese to fight over.

On the other hand, there are plenty of new attractions, like this trail winding up the side of a hill that previously saw only off-trail traffic.

Plus a brand new addition to the nature center, full of highly impressive and educational exhibits. If you live nearby and haven't been, put it on your list!

There's even a crawl-through cave that puts the one at Bays Mountain to shame. Okay, so Steele Creek's isn't as big...but this one feels like a real cave inside, complete with fossils and rock formations. An imagination builder, no doubt.

And how could I miss the natural Christmas tree, decorated with dried flowers, berries, and bird nests collected throughout the year at the park?

Next stop was the King University (no longer King College) woods, full of old trees I never noticed while illegally sledding down their hills as a child.

This pond gave me ideas --- I loved the way straight, concrete lines could look so nice amid nature. Maybe I could save my pennies and get a concrete truck to come create one of these to harvest roof runoff for the Ohio garden? Some day!

There was also a lot of delectable ice cream, an adorable two-year-old who will actually be able to have her name and face on the blog in four weeks time if all goes well, and plenty of board games. What more could I ask for from a philopatric holiday?