A Stroll Through Yoctangee Park

Sunday was gorgeous but the day found me running errands. Before the errands though, I stopped by Chillicothe’s Yoctangee Park for a stroll around the pond. This city park is a favorite spot for fishing, senior photos and reunions. There’s also a trail around the water’s edge that’s paved part of the way and natural ground part of the way.

First you cross the bridge.

Then you encounter a bunch of ducks along the path. These guys were so still they looked like statues.

There’s gorgeous scenery and lots of squirrels with a soundtrack of birdsong for good measure. This non-native species is called Muscovy but I just call them murder ducks. Don’t they look murderous?

Then there are the swans. They’re on the nest right now!

I was sad to realize they have marked some beautiful old trees for cutting. They look healthy to me but I assume that someone smarter than me about these things sees something I do not.

Either that or they’re just needlessly destroying some of my favorite trees so we’ll go with the first story and hope for the best.

This stroll preceded stops at two home supply stores and Kroger. It was exactly what I needed to prepare me for the work ahead!

Nature is amazing for our mental health and physical well being. Even just a few minutes of fresh air and birdsong can work wonders. Try it. I promise it will improve your day!!

Springtime

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn.

Lewis Grizzard

Blue Sky

Spring sprung yesterday and I celebrated with a walk at a favorite place. Sadly, it still looks like winter. In southern Ohio that means everything is brown and ugly. But I saw some signs of life that indicate the landscape will be green and brushy within a few weeks.

Of course, everything is prettier when the sky is blue. Here’s wishing us all blue skies today!

In Like A Lamb

Appalachian people hold closely the old wive’s tale that when March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb. So if the weather is bad on the first, it should be mild on the 31st. Here in southern Ohio, March arrived gentle as a newborn lamb so we assume that the month will go roaring out.

Another superstition tells us that it will snow three times on the forsythia bloom.Well, it was 75 degrees and sunny for the forsythia bloom yesterday. The evening ended with a thunderstorm. No snow in sight.

Will we see snow this month? Will this fool’s spring succumb to cold and snow when the real spring should be arriving?

Probably so and I’m sorry for that. As much as I enjoy winter with its cold and snow, I’m always ready for spring by early March. Anything different feels like regression and that sounds terrible.

A Little Early

This winter has been unseasonably warm here in southern Ohio. While we would normally expect daily highs in the twenties or thirties, we’ve mostly been in the fifties and sixties for a while. Thursday will be 76 degrees.

I tell you that to say this.

Our spring flowers and shrubs are confused.

I plucked this little daffodil from my yard last night and brought her to a vase inside. There are at least a dozen more ready to bloom today or tomorrow.

This cartoon comes to mind this week.

These gals typically bloom in late March or early April so this feels super early. This is what we call “fool’s spring” so I’m trying not to get too attached to the idea that the earth is stirring to life.

Meanwhile, when you’re in the presence of a daffodil, the appropriate response is to smile. So I’ll just keep smiling.

A Spring Day

Yesterday was a perfect spring day here in southern Ohio. It started out gloomy but quickly cleared up to be about 73 degrees and breezy. The azure sky was punctuated with enormous, fluffy clouds that seemed so close you could reach out and grab them if you tried.

The lilacs are in bloom. This one came from a bush at my parents’ house. This bush came from a start of a big lilac my grandma had in her front yard for many years. I look for lilacs everywhere I go but swear that none are as fragrant as those handed down from my grandma.

There were lots of people out fishing including this father and son.

The trees seemed taller than normal yesterday.

A skink was even out enjoying a sunny patch on my back porch.

The dogwood is pretty this time of year too.

From the tallest trees to the smallest creatures of the forest floor, there is much to see that is beautiful this time of year. I am grateful for days like yesterday and the opportunity to be outside enjoying it all.