This hawk is a crow, a scarecrow

 

When the tulip bulbs push little green sprouts up above the earth in the early spring, the rabbits eat them. The result? No sprouts, no tulips, no flowers. My wife has tried numerous ways to keep the rabbits away but all to no avail. This year she has a new approach: a scarecrow. So far the hungry, little. hopping monsters have not dared to brave the gaze of the "hawk" guarding the flower garden

Bubbles: fun to make, fun to pop

 

Before the arrival of the dollar stores, seeing a bubble making child was a relatively rare occurrence. Not today. With these little stores pushing an array of inexpensive stuff, children are now frequently sighted making big bubbles. Often one child makes 'em and another child pops 'em. Not here though; here we see cooperation.

If you leave tracks, turn back.

A few days ago I posted a picture of a family struggling to hike beside a snow-melt soggy trail. The exceeding wet trail itself had been left deeply rutted by previous hikers. At the time, I wondered is hiking down a trail in such condition, or even beside it, wise?

I now know the answer: It isn't.

To quote the Dogwood Audubon Center: "So who cares about a few ruts or a bit of mud?" The Centre's answer is "We all should" and continues by explaining why. Proper land management and erosion control are two big reasons.

 

Other sites may advise not hiking on trails left soggy from melting snow or a heavy rain as it is simply good trail etiquette. We all must strive to minimize trail destruction.

https://www.deschuteslandtrust.org/news/blog/2019-blog-posts/2019-muddy-trails                       "Hiking and biking on muddy trails is destructive . . . "

Going around muddy spots on the trail widens the trail and erodes the trail. Widening trails kills or harms fragile plants along the trail. It also turns lovely small trails into wide roads. This in turn requires time and money to repair. The good news is trail widening can be avoided if everyone follows the “If you leave tracks, turn back” adage.

Google "stay off muddy trails" and in under a second you will have 13 and a half million hits! (Like the following.)              

Off to shoot some hoops

 

These two boys are heading for the basketball court at the neighbourhood school. The plan is to shoot some hoops but if there are some other boys hanging about the court, maybe a pick-up game can be arranged.

Bike Rack Doing Double Duty

Although these girls had fun stuff to do inside one of the strip mall stores, the warm, sunny spring day beckoned. They found a spiral bike rack a fine spot to park themselves while they chatted and enjoyed the warm, breezy afternoon during spring-break.

These bike racks, so common throughout the city, are made by the same Ontario company that makes a lot of the fancy, twisted-metal playground equipment found in city parks.

A slippery slope

 

Getting a bike up the slope at the edge of the former gravel pit can be tough at the best of times. In the spring with the prevalence of mud on the trail, it can be downright impossible for some. Almost everyone must stop to get a second wind.

Not my kind of hiking trail

 

My nephew and his wife took their teenage daughter and two of my granddaughters on a hike in the Westminster Ponds area of London. My youngest granddaughter and I bowed out. The hiking trail was simply far too muddy for us. I was not all that gracious when making my displeasure with the choice of trails known.

Would you have taking children hiking in this muck? Or was I a wimp and party pooper? I'd love to hear your opinions. I'm in the proverbial doghouse with my nephew and his wife.