Spring, At Last!

It finally felt like spring to me during this morning's run. I got out the door at 8:30am after dropping Sam off at daycare, and still managed to get in a nice hour-long run. On days like today, I really appreciate my job, which allows me extra time in the mornings. I know it is unusual, and I try not to take the extra time for granted. Of course, talk to me in the summer, when I'm in earlier and work later, or on a Saturday when I'm working and not with Ryan and Sam, and it might be a different story, but for today, I felt lucky to have the time to get in a good trail run before coming into work. When I left, it was 50 degrees and muggy. The air felt heavy and full of moisture. Buds have finally appeared on some of the trees out front, and the lilies and irises are really starting to grow by the front door. I decided to head over to the Cathance trails again, and ran a loop similar to Sunday's run, but with a few changes, making the route 6.5 instead of Sunday's 7.15 miles. Skies were overcast, so there was no deafening chorus of peepers in the Heath, but the phoebes and black & white warblers flitting around the Vernal Pool were making quite a racket. I also spotted my first flower of the season - a few blooming trailing arbutus in some of the sunny spots! Hurray!

Trailing Arbutus

A number of fiddleheads were also pushing through the wet ground as well, but nothing else is blooming yet. Still, the forest floor will be filled with greenery and spring flowers in the next few weeks, which always makes me smile. I always say fall is my favorite season but there is something so wonderful about spring. The days get longer, lighter and warmer. Birds flit about, mating and nesting and singing. Plants rise through the ground, flowers bloom, trees bud and the world becomes green again.What's not to love?