Thursday, May 17, 2012

Everything is Blooming

Clematis

It was so thick my throat started closing up!  The pollen is incredibly high right now.....exceptionally high.  I headed out for a run tonight and halfway through my route, my throat started to feel funny and I felt like I couldn't even swallow.  There was also an overwhelming smell of something blooming .  The smell was so strong it almost turned my stomach.  I love spring, but wow, this is the most powerful spring I can remember in a long time.

Work is stressful,  and life is busy.  Just listening to the bird songs tonight made me feel better.  Hey dad, I heard a Wood Thrush singing tonight in the deep woods.  His song was so beautiful....I smiled and thought of you daddy-o!   

Monday, May 14, 2012

My Buddy!

 

Last minute decision this afternoon.  Do you wanna ride bike today?  You betcha!!!


My cycling partner Kim, met me late this afternoon at the Red Cedar trail head.  Our first ride together since last September.  The weather was delightful and perfect for a spring ride.  The trail was busy tonight with other riders, walkers and runners.  It sure is good to have my riding partner back again, especially since we can talk girl talk!!!!!  (16 miles & 83 degrees)

PS.  A big Happy Birthday to my dad today.....he turns a young 84 years old.  Love you daddy-o!

Sunday, May 13, 2012

My Family


A great weekend with our kids.  Enjoyed a boat ride on the lake today with Chris, Trisha and Becca.


Hey Becca, nice hoodie!

Was impressed with the brook trout our son caught on his way over to our house yesterday.  Nice Son!   

I really enjoyed my weekend with the kids.  Good food, a relaxing camp fire and plenty of laughter.  The best Mother's Day weekend.....thanks family.    

Friday, May 11, 2012

Relax


My idea of relaxation is to build a fire, then pull up a chair and take in the warmth.  The wind was a little concern tonight, but I was very careful not to stoke the fire too hot.


Of course I grabbed the Kindle Touch so I could sit by the fire and read tonight.  Bike man joined me later on, but the winds increased making it very cool, so we finally headed inside.  I love a good campfire, especially for a lazy night!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Our Day of Relaxation


We haven't biked the Red Cedar trail since last October, so I've been missing my favorite outing.  Everything was lush, green and fresh.  The birds were exceptionally loud today and their bird hormones are peaking....wow!  The skunk cabbage was everywhere we looked today, and trillium's were blossoming in the shady moist areas along the trail. 


I normally don't post dead animals, but I felt bad when we came upon this deceased mink, and I wanted my blog readers to see what a mink in nature looks like.  Poor thing.  I'm guessing it's young, but not necessarily as mink are typically small.  The mink in commercial farms are much larger.  I wonder what happened to this little creature?


Bike man and I decided to ride to Durand, Wisconsin since the weather was perfect and we had all afternoon to take our merry time.  Of course we couldn't resist stopping at the Panther.  I call it the purple Panther.  I couldn't believe it was already open for the season!  The Panther is an old fashion drive-in restaurant. We both ordered a burger and shared a root beer.  Perfect fuel!!!


So what do you do when a mother and father goose and their babies are hogging the bike trail ahead?  You just pick up the pace and ride right up behind them.  I was scared, as the papa goose squawked loudly as we approached, but I followed Bike man's lead to keep riding and the adult geese would fly up off the trail.....they did just that.  The only problem was that the baby geese scattered.

This poor baby goose was separated from it's parents and just decided to lay low as we rode right by him on the trail.  We were confident the parents would find all it's babies, but still don't understand why the birds decided to strut down the bike trail when they had plenty of open fields to the east and west!   I guess that's nature for ya!  (43 miles)

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Pots and More Pots


I think he spent his whole day outdoors planting flowers in our many pots.  Bike man loves to organize our yard and plant lots of flowers.  The strawberry pots have always been my favorite. I truly love this time of year.  Ended my day with a run, and now planning for a long bike ride tomorrow on my day off.


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Popcorn Showers


The storm clouds look threatening tonight, however, it didn't amount to anything. Crazy day of dark clouds, sun and pop-up rain showers.  My day whizzed by quickly.....no watching the clock for me!  I'll pick up tomorrow where I left-off today, that's how it works.