Up north in spring

Last Thursday, as I chatted with the bakery ladies about the beautiful weather we were looking forward to having over the weekend, I realized that spring is not really the ideal time to head north. In the summer it's a cool break from hot weather, in the fall the vast spanses of trees provide a beautiful display of color, and in the winter the thick snow covering nothern pines brings a festive feel to any trip, but in the spring the thaw is generally behind ours here in "the south", the blooms come later, and brisk temperatures linger long after we have packed away our winter jackets at home. But spring is spring no matter where you are, and time well spent with family is always a boon to overworked spirits, so north we went for a long weekend in Harbor Springs.

Jon's dad once said that he felt a weight lift from his shoulders as soon as he was north of the Zilwaukee Bridge. My "weight lifting" latitude is a little farther north in Westbranch (that's where the traffic lightens and the distance between towns lengthens), but I fully agree with the sentiment. And when we got north we were met with a rather welcome surprise—an upgrade in the weekend's weather report from cold and rainy to chilly and sunny. We hadn't counted on spending time outside, but with such improved weather we found ourselves taking nature walks, going for outdoor runs, and even doing a little shopping in town. Jon got quite a bit of work done, since the long weekend was gained by promising some work "from home", and I completed a lot of sewing, and sewing lessons. We stayed up late watching home shows and movies, we napped and enjoyed snacks after mornings spent out and about, we ate good food, and we accomplished much. It may have been chillier than it was at home, but it was at least as beautiful, and the company was twice as good.

Zoo days are here again

The weather has been unbelievable as of late. On Tuesday, with temperatures reaching near 60, Calvin and I spent our day at the Detroit Zoo. This is the best time of the year for the zoo—if you don't mind the occasional mating dance, the animals are the most active in the spring before the heat has set in but after the cold has passed, and the zoo is uncrowded yet warm enough to enjoy. I think this is the first time that Calvin and I have gone to the zoo as just the two of us, and I think it might become our favorite new weekday activity. At least until the schools get out, that is.

The otter was sleeping. I think I have about a dozen other pictures just like this.

The female tiger was busy. Jon and I remember the year she was born—the year we first joined the ranks of zoo membership, six years ago.

The peacock joined us for our picnic lunch, even though we didn't share.

And we took the time to stop in the butterfly house on our way out of the park. We don't usually hit any of the indoor attractions, but now that we have our own butterfly garden at home Calvin thought we might get some pointers from the zoo's butterfly garden, so we stopped. So beautiful.

These boots were made for splashing

This morning we had one purpose in mind when we journeyed to the nearby resale shop, and that one purpose was splashing boots, or, as most of know them, rain boots. I was half expecting a trip like this one from last year, but knew it was virtually impossible—nothing could be quite that cool twice. True enough, it wasn't quite as cool as last year's trip, but we did find boots. The upside? They only had one pair in his size, and Calvin fell in love with them. The downside? They were new, not resale. I wavered momentarily—do I actually buy something brand new at full price when there are so many good resale clothing options out there that are kinder to both the pocketbook and the environment?—but the images floating through my head of a wildly grinning little boy splashing through gigantic puddles with brightly colored chameleon boots on his feet won out.

I was not disappointed.

I comfort myself with the knowledge that I haven't bought him brand new clothing (other than his daily wear shoes) in over two years. Not to mention that this afternoon's joy was worth every penny of the higher price tag (as fun as a carnival but cheaper actually), even if he was to never wear those boots again, which I think highly unlikely.

Signs of spring

I keep having to remind myself that really it isn't spring yet. Whenever I begin to get lulled by the beautiful sunshine and the fifty degree weather I have to remind myself of March 21st two years ago when we signed for this house in the middle of a snow storm and ended up stuck in Ann Arbor and staying with my parents. It was fun, but definitely a Michigan style spring. I am expecting at least one more of those episodes yet this year.

But still there are signs of spring all around us. At the library last Friday we were treated to a special "farm animals" story time, followed by a chance to touch and feed a variety of baby farm animals. What could possibly say spring more than bottle feeding a baby goat?

Maybe tiny peeping baby ducks?

How about maple syrup? On Saturday morning after swim class Jon took Calvin to a  special Parks and Rec presentation on maple syrup. Yummy. Calvin got a chance to crank the tap into the tree and also to taste some freshly made syrup.

Definitely signs of spring everywhere, even if we are in for at least one more snow.

In like a...lamb?

On Sunday this past weekend I watched Jon dress the kid in his full winter regalia for a trip to the nearby sledding hills. They spent an hour out in the snow pretending to be Frog and Toad in the story "Winter", which mainly entailed Calvin falling off the sled repeatedly. When they came home and proceded to make a snwoman for an additional half hour, I knew the weather wasn't quite as "depth of winter" as it had been of late, but with March just a day away I wasn't about to get my hopes up for spring.

I still don't have any real hope for spring being "right around the corner" (that's more Frog and Toad, in case you're familiar), but when March arrived this year it brought with it sunshine and relative warmth. We have taken walks outside and enjoyed the sounds of birds playing in the yard. I guess it's time to get the summer feeders set up again so that our birds will be able to find us.