poppers

July

The most surprising things are the robins. 

I get to walk (or run, or skate, or bike) in a pretty spectacular public park across the street. It is just under 300 acres, with a 3-mile path around it and many winding through.

Its birds are abundant, with over 200 species noted so far, including a grey/brown one that my Merlin app continues to fail me on. (Anyone know what this is? Anyone?)

The structure is unusual, with it being a public park but run by an independent commission. 

And so many other things are impressive. A stream recovery project restoring a water source covered over a century ago, 150-year-old gazebos, collaboration with Osage tribes, carriage rides (on which I learned the park has at least 35 varieties of magnolia tree), staff saving bearded dragons, music nights, farmers markets, cocktail hours....

But the robins are what surprise me. Their color blends in to both the asphalt and the dirt beneath the trees, and from "nothing" suddenly a chirp and a rustle! 

They make me jump a little, every time.

March

March

December