Flower Friday. : : Flag Iris

Spike and I both hit some kind of milestone today. We had our usual coffee gathering at Trail House and Spike lasted the whole time without having to go to the car. He and Trixie, Dan and Tobi's dog, co-existed nicely and we were all able to ignore the odd muttering and grumbling emanating from underneath the table as we carried on our usual random discussions on the state of our families, the rudeness of certain county workers, where to take lightly used medical devices (including an elevated toilet seat) and upcoming travels.

On the way home I suggested a walk at Spring Lake and we set off with not particular goal in mind. John took the dam trail with Spike because there are fewer goose encounters and I took the lake trail which is paved and level. My walk felt more natural and less like I was lurching and by the time I met up with John and Spike, suggested that we go for the full circuit of the lake. I can't think when we last did it but it has been a long time, and once the decision is made, the die is cast (as my dad was fond of saying) as turning back would be just as long as forging ahead.

The flag iris is blooming,* a night heron was standing on rocks in a shallow inlet stalking some unseen prey hidden beneath the murky water, and a swan was visible on the other side of the lake. I chose a picture of the iris because that curious almost geometric form in the upper left side of the picture is actually two turtles sitting on a submerged log. There were two stand-up paddleboarders in the middle of the lake and a fisherperson in a kayak trolling along the shoreline. The bullrushes have grown up around the perimeter making the lake invisible for much of the walk around the back side, but the sounds of geese, redwing blackbirds, distant barking dogs and conversations drifted towards us. Yellow and white wildflowers lined the trail, now turned to dirt, and there were signs informing us that the swimming lagoon was closed. Indeed the lagoon had been drained, the sand has been removed and there is a fence around the whole thing while they clean it in time for the summer season which opens on Memorial Day.

We made it back to the car in good shape and my phone informs me that it was 6,640 steps.I have no idea how this translates into mileage since I don't know the length of my stride but my phone probably does. And, by the way, how does my phone know how many hours I spent in bed?

The sun came out while we were walking, the weather is nice and we began looking at the pots on the deck near the bird feeders and thinking how best to refresh them. In the end we went to the plant nursery around the corner and came home with $100 worth of plants. It didn't even take long because I did finally run out of gas while we were wandering around there.

So another successful day on the path toward 'normal'. 

* Close up in extras. They look especially delicate this year.