March 1, 2011

February, with its nasty weather, had overstayed its welcome; it was wonderful to turn over the calendar to a new month today.  The official start of spring is still a few weeks away (and I suspect there'll be a few more snowflakes before it's all said and done), but I'm looking forward to the nice weather.

 While I'm waiting, I'm trying to appreciate all the signs of the season.  The days are getting longer.  In the morning I can find my clothes without turning on a light, and I don't have to use one in the kitchen when I cook dinner.  When I opened up the March tickler file, I saw articles about organic lawn care and gardening, and my calendar had reminders about buying plant seeds and sunscreen, and starting the herb grow kits I got for Christmas.  It also informed me I need to take the lawn mower in for a tuneup and see to the flat wheel on the wheelbarrow before the growing season starts.

All the prompts put me in a great mood, and the weather today didn't hurt.  When I left work all I needed was a jacket, so I bagged my plan to go to the gym. It was much too nice to be inside on a treadmill.  Time to get out into the real world!  First, though, I had to pick up the sunscreen I'll  need to start using.  It took me a while to figure out exactly where to find it in the store, but I enjoyed walking by the signs of nicer days to come; in the ladies department a collection of pastel-colored shirts were displayed on an end cap, and lightweight pants hung next to them.  I made my purchase, then started thinking about a place to walk.

We've had a lot of rain recently, so using an unpaved trail wasn't an option.  I decided to stop at a municipal park that's on my way home.  The park itself is small, but its trail connects with the adjoining subdivisions. There were a handful of cars in the parking lot when I pulled in, and a few children on the playground.  I made my way towards the pond at the bottom of the hill, where I saw ducks and geese enjoying the nice weather. They didn't seem to mind when I took a seat on a bench near them for a few minutes.

I walked halfway around the pond, then followed the trail toward the street.  There weren't many people out in the middle of the afternoon, but I did pass a pair of joggers and a woman walking her dog.  I heard birds chirping, and saw quite a few squirrels scampering around.  I walked for about 30 minutes before I realized I needed to use the restroom, so I headed back towards the park.  Unfortunately, their facilities were still closed up for the winter, so I got back in my car to drive home.

That didn't bother me, though, because I'm looking forward to taking advantage of many more nice March days.