It’s April. I need to remind myself of my childhood. This was common then. No one counted on snow being gone until late May. But here I was getting shorts out of the closet and getting ready for fishing. I guess I could still fish, but snow makes it a little less attractive.
It amazes me that we’ve already mowed the grass twice at this point.
Snow.
The weather is flirting with temperatures that would be acceptable for getting the kayak out and on the water. I don’t mind a little cold, but mixed with even a touch of rain and grey skies, being out on the water is a lot less fun. With that said, a boat doesn’t get itself ready for the season.
There is cleaning to do. Gear to check. And maybe a few improvements to implement before the season gets underway. One of those is a nifty GPS/Sonar unit for finding fish.
Yes, this is a toy for a toy. No, I don’t need a fish finder to assist in the Not Catching Of Fish. Sensor data is fun. Building out something like this for inclusion on the kayak will provide opportunities for learning something new and generally screwing around with fun stuff.
But that’s a project for next weekend. In the mean time, I will clean things up.
It wasn’t much, but it was snow. Most of the lawn was covered and there was enough out there for my daughter to go out and roll up a snowman. Today? It’s all gone and the grass is green. Mother Nature was just testing the room. It’s still chilly out and it’ll warm up in a bit and then head back down. Such is life in this part of the world.
I do love the transition from autumn to winter.
Parks. Hiking. Camping. Bicycles. Kayaks. It’s been all outdoors, all the time for a lot of people since the COVID train left the station. I will argue that this switch in how we spend leisure time, or how we keep ourselves sane, is a net positive from these Strange Days. For our family, one of the only activities that has managed to stay somewhat in tact is Scouting.
Scouts are very good at following rules. Things like masks and distancing are taken very seriously. I saw some pretty solid behavior on the part of some Webelos this weekend as they prepared for a hike and enjoyed a cooking demonstration by yours truly.
Yes, I was in fact gloved and masked during all food prep. We minimized at every step. The Scouts had a great time and so did the adults.
Since I was doing the cooking, I didn’t get to enjoy the adventure of wandering less than maintained trails with excitable fourth graders, but it’s the sacrifice we make for the program, right?
It was a beautiful day. Perfect temperature. Sunny. Breezy. The trees were colorful. It was everything one could ask for in a fall day of hiking. We could all relax and enjoy some time in the open air. It feels good. That’s why we’re all doing so much of it. Funny that we might have forgotten.