Walking outdoors

I'm reminded of a saying my friend Joel has used at times like these...

Spring is sprung,
the grass is riz,
I wonder where the flowers is...

It's springtime in Iowa. Last weekend, Linda and I visited the Ahquabi State Park to see if the trail was ready for the new season; it wasn't. Oh... it was probably okay for some but there were enough truly mucky stretches that I was disinclined to really press the issue. There are portions of that trail that are mighty steep; slipping and sliding around those hills isn't really all that appealing to me, especially when the Annette Nature Center is just up the road. Eric and I had actually visited the nature center a few years ago but I'd not really explored the grounds. Today, Linda and I set out to see what really was there.

The barbed wire bison statue is one of several metal pieces around the parking area at the nature center. We bypassed the center and headed on down the trail toward the water where we saw two nests with geese atop trying to look inconspicuous.

We flushed several ducks at various points along our hike. They soon returned to resume their little paddle parades around the ponds. The preserve is fairly small but makes up for it in hills. Not as wooded as the trail around Ahquabi, these trails were grassy and our footing was sure. We tromped around most of the trails, long enough to get a good sense of the space and get a bit winded. It was a good day to be out among it.