First day of spring

Happy spring, to those of you up here in the Northern Hemisphere!

Yesterday morning we decided it was the first weekend day that was nice enough to kick off the outdoor season for us. We love going to state parks and forest preserves for day trips and start doing that before it's really warm enough to go camping. I looked for a park close to the Wisconsin border since we also had an ulterior motive: drive to Kenosha, get lunch at a favorite Italian grocery store, Tenuta's, and pick up some New Glarus beer and lambic (only sold in the state of Wisconsin, something many Illinois neighbors lament).

We decided on the Raven Glen Forest Preserve. There were only a few other cars in the parking lot when we arrived which is just our speed. Partially because we're sticks in the mud and like to commune with nature on our own, and partially because Pia acts like a turd whenever she sees other dogs, so taking her on a hike where we're constantly passing other people walking dogs is not exactly relaxing.

It was delightful! It was a chilly and clear day, and you could really see the potential for spring everywhere you walked. I love that time between the end of winter and the beginning of spring, when nothing is really green yet except a few buds, it's still kind of drab out, but you just know what's coming.

It also marked the beginning of Cowichan season. Yay!

I absolutely love Cowichan sweaters. With a Pendleton underneath, a scarf, and knee high wool socks in my wellies, it was just the right outfit for the day.

The forest preserve was lovely. There was a nice gently rolling gravel trail and an equestrian trail. Since there weren't any horses out, we meandered between the two. This shot below was taken from the equestrian trail, looking at a grassy wetland in the middle of the park.

The trail went alongside a lake. It was still partially frozen, which you can see in the photos below.

It was a little windy out on one of the fishing piers. I like how my hair is blowing one way and Pia's is blowing the other way. (Like her hand knit sweater?)

I like this photo because it looks like I'm on a farm or something. Hee!

The sky was so blue! Eeven though the prairie was still rather desolate, we could tell how beautiful this place would be in the coming months. (Though a controlled burn will come before that stage.)

Look at the little tongue!

Remnants of last year's Queen Anne's lace...

After a hike in the park we headed to Kenosha. This was our sandwich. Yes, ours. We shared. Would you believe this was the SMALL size??

We were a little hungry, so we didn't wait until we got home to dive in. (I'm starting to think I need a category on this blog for novelty sized food and drink. Clearly it's a reoccurring theme.)

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!