On The Way To A Bit More 'Normalcy'

A lot of change this week! Spring continues to slowly seep into the landscape, the tops of the maple trees tinged red with new growth. The peepers and wood frogs call from the wetlands. More trailing arbutus blooming and the first of the season coltsfoot. We have a large flock of red winged blackbirds, cowbirds and grackles feeding out back. They sure are noisy!

Sam had a good, if tiring, full week back at school. She seems to be adjusting well to her new teacher and new classroom, even if there was a bit of grousing about having to go in each day and a bit of pushback about reading each evening. However, by Friday, she was worked! It's a big adjustment to be back to waking up at 6:30 every day and being in school 5 days a week after 13 months. 

Tuesday was the last swim practice of the season with the end of the season "state meet" swim trial on Sunday morning. 

And perhaps most exciting of all, both Ryan and I got our first vaccination shots on Wednesday! Incredibly grateful for that, and I must say that it was extremely efficient and easy. We are lucky indeed. Yay for science and a great community coming together to ensure we can all get vaccinated!

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It rained on and off all day on Monday and the wind was whipping. Sam was in school and Ryan and I were working at home for the day, which felt a bit odd as I am definitely going to miss the extra time we've been able to spend together the past year while we've all been home. I suggested a walk but then wasn't quite enthused to head out at the appointed time due to the weather 😂 Ryan said, suck it up buttercup! and I begrudgingly got on my raincoat, hat and gloves and off we went. It was most definitely rather dreary out, but good to get in a bit of nature therapy and time with Ryan, and as always with these things I was glad to have gotten (dragged) out 😉 (2.0 miles)

Tuesday ended up being an afternoon run. It had warmed up considerably but was still rather overcast and windy. I ran out on the trails to loop down to the river and back. Peepers and wood frogs calling and squawking en route, and a pair of mergansers and canada geese out in the Heath. Stopped at the vernal pool but did not see any movement. When I looped around on the back dirt road, there were several patches of coltsfoot blooming on the sunny side. (6.0 miles)

Got up and out at sunrise on Wednesday morning, although with the heavy cloud cover, there wasn't much color. Ran the cart paths in reverse. Three deer seen. Nice, mild, overcast, damp kind of morning. (6.0 miles)

Then it was off to get Covid shot #1! Super impressed by the process, which was quick, easy and efficient. My shot was scheduled for 9:01 and I was moving away from the shot chair by 9:02 down the line to make my 2nd appointment and then was able to leave by 9:17 after my requisite 15 minutes of remaining in the facility to ensure I didn't have any sort of reaction. 

Must admit that the arm felt pretty sore the rest of the afternoon, but otherwise, I felt fine, and just so happy to be part of the growing group of those working towards full vaccination in the state and beyond!

Unsure of how I would react to the vaccination, I had planned for a rest day on Thursday. Arm was quite sore when I woke up and I was a bit tired, but otherwise felt OK. Fascinating to see how we all react so differently to these shots!

It was such a warm, sunshiney afternoon that we decided to get out for a short family walk on the powerlines after Sam got home from school. It was good to get a bit of gentle movement, and so nice out! (1.9 miles)

Friday was another beautiful day and I headed over to the field house after dropping Sam at school to run out through the Commons and Coleman Farm. Definitely that early spring kind of day where it is cool in the morning but warms up quickly. I wore tights and definitely was a bit warm by the end of the run! Bright blue sky, sun shining, the red buds of the maple trees beginning to really show, pussywillows and catkins along the roadside, one bluebird, two Hairy woodpeckers and a number of chickadees and phoebes, and lot of bird call. Explored some of the Coleman Farm side trails and looped back on the new Landing trail I discovered last week, which made for a nice loop. Took it easy, but felt decent after shot #1! (8.1 miles) 

Mom and Dad came over for dinner and Sam and Mom got some pansies potted in the pots for the front of the house. Always nice to have flowers by the front door! And in the garden beds, things are greening up quickly. 

Lazed around a bit Saturday morning but finally got out the door around 8:00. Another cool, bright and beautiful morning! Headed out on the powerlines and looped down on the Riverside trails and out onto the Gone Fishing trails for a nice run. Trails are in pretty good shape, fairly dry, with the exception of the trail along the beaver dam out on the Riverside section. Got some wet feet there for sure! The alpaca was out sitting in the shade, totally unimpressed by me stopping to say hello 😂 (10.0 miles)

Temps warmed up dramatically and quickly and by 2:00 when we headed out for a walk it was 70 degrees! Wow. That is a serious shift in a matter of hours, and out in the woods with no tree cover and the bright sun shining above, it felt hot. Crazy. We did a nice loop out in the Cathance, enjoying the roaring river and the quiet trails. We stopped at the snow hole farther out in the trail system, and there was still a fair amount of ice - it will be interesting to see how long it lasts! (2.8 miles walked)

The snowhole

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Then it was off to Fielder's Choice for big ice creams to wrap up the day. Perfect weather for ice cream for dinner! 😋🍦🍦

Sunday morning was Sam's final swim meet of the season. Instead of the typical big State meet, the teams were all doing smaller time trials and the results will be compiled to produce a "State meet." Although swimming has not quite been the same this season, I've been impressed with how the Y and the LRSC staff have adapted and handled things in these Covid time, and we are so happy that Sam has been able to swim and get to enjoy time in the pool with her friends. Sam swam well in all her morning events, and came home one tired kiddo!

I got out for a run after she woke up and Ryan was in charge of getting her up to the Y. It was overcast and rather raw out when I headed out, especially in comparison to yesterday's beautiful weather. I looped through town on the roads and connected up to Highland Green for a few cart path miles before heading home. (10.0 miles)

There's a whole island of gnomes in one neighborhood that I pass through, but this guy caught my eye and made me laugh. Couldn't resist stopping to take a photo! 😊

We wrapped up the weekend with dinner and watching the end of the Masters over at Mom and Dad's, and then came home to get Sam into bed early so that she survives this upcoming week of school before April vacation 😉 Of course, I went to bed early too! 😆