From Skilled Hands » Spring

A Walk in the Woods After a Spring Rain

fromskilledhands — Sat, 02 May 2009 19:24:33 +0000

We went for a walk in the woods last night. It had been raining on and off all day, and the air smelled like spring rain and fertile soil. There was the quiet coolness that follows a rain, with the only sounds the birds and the dogs playing in the woods.

We ran into my father-in-law and his dog. They slowly made their way through the woods, stopping to look at this and that, and to clear sticks from the trails. The May apples were up, groups of them like families at a reunion. Jacks in the pulpit were all along the trails. Fiddleheads emerged from winter’s sleep.

It’s a good thing to take time to look at things; you see things you’ve not seen before, and things you have seen in a different way. Take a deep breath and take a walk. Let your senses explore the explosion of beauty that surrounds you. Let me know what it’s like.

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Build It And They Will Come: A My Town Monday Post

fromskilledhands — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 02:29:47 +0000

The weather in my town has been just this side of heavenly—or maybe right smack in the middle of it. So the choice is: work in the garden, enjoy the sunshine, relax or write an in-depth MTM post. The former won, and, once again, You Tube came to my rescue. Actually, I did go to one of the rookeries and I did take pictures, but it was a gray and rainy day. I think that you will enjoy the 2 videos I have posted below.

It’s nesting and courting seasons for Great Blue herons in the Cuyahoga Valley. There are a couple of rookeries where you can see them up close. It is an amazing site: dozens of nests, with the males bringing sticks to the females. Here’s a look:

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Wander on over to Travis Erwin’s site to find links to blogs all over this fine planet.

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My Town Monday: A Walk on the Towpath Trail

fromskilledhands — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:58:34 +0000

Spring seems to be here in the Village of Peninsula, Ohio, population 601. Things are, as my Dad used to say, greening up. Steve and I took a walk the Towpath Trail last week. It is a beautiful trail, well used by walkers, runners, bikers and deer. Along the trail, we saw vestiges of old homesteads, marked by the plantings of daffodils, pine and fruit trees and foundation stones. Take a look at some of what we saw:

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Wander on over to My Town Monday’s chief cook and bottle washer Travis Erwin’s place. You’ll find links to blogs all over the world. Pretty cool stuff.

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