A few more lilacs

Judging from this morning's walk, it appears that this weekend will be the end of the blooming lilacs in the lilac tunnel. Luckily, today's stroll through the tunnel was beautiful.

Peony blooms, I think, will be next to arrive.

Morning reflection

Our weekly spring update

It feels like spring rolled into town full force this week, with warmer temperatures, plentiful sunshine and lots of leaves. I was deleting some leaf photos from my phone (if you can believe it, there are many more leaf photos that don't end up on the blog) and even as I poked fun at myself for the quantity, I also liked seeing the progression in the last several weeks.

So I'm happy to keep tracking that progress!

One example:

Another example, from a gorgeous midweek late afternoon walk:

It also seemed like candles popped out this week - a little later in the season than when I first noticed them a few years back, but marvelous just the same. (Candles are the little bright green extensions when pine trees grow each year - so named because they really look like candles.)

The dandelions are also in full force:

With lots of sunshine this week, I liked peeking up at the new leaves.

And of course, a return trip later in the week to the lilac tunnel, now in nearly full bloom:

I love the spring layers:

After a long winter, springtime in Minnesota is truly something to behold.

Next up: lilacs

This morning I walked through a tunnel of lilac bushes, the buds just about to open. (If my description makes it sound like one of my favorite spring places, that's because it is.) I looked a little closer and was delighted to see that every once in awhile, there would be one little flower leading the way for the rest of the buds.

In the evening, I walked past the same bushes. A few more flowers had opened on each plant over the course of the day, so on a grouping like the one above, there would be three flowers instead of just one. It was amazing to see. What will the lilac tunnel look like tomorrow?

A peek at the neighborhood

A big tulip patch next to a stop sign, leaving me wishing that every intersection included tulips:



A halo around the sun spotted on this morning's sun, reminding me of a winter sun dog:

A big sky with puffy spring clouds on an evening walk:

The prettiest blossoms, which I was ready to call crabapple or regular apple but may very well be something else entirely (input welcome):



A few raindrops during a chilly week:

And lots more leaves (and even some lilac buds) emerging with each passing day:

Blooms

All week I've been noticing a long row of tulip plants next to a building in our neighborhood. In the last couple of days, they've started to bloom:

Add that to the sight of emerging leaves all over the city...

...and it made for a pretty spring morning in St. Paul.

Shadow Falls (spring edition)

I don't usually make specific plans to visit Shadow Falls during a run. Instead, I meander over when the idea pops into my head in the middle of a run, which is what happened yesterday.

Last time I visited the area, I decided not to trek down to the falls themselves because of the snow and ice on the path. What a difference a couple of months makes!

I stood next to the little waterfall for a minute, and all I could hear was the water flowing over the rocks.

Minneapolis sunset

Tonight Josh and I ran an errand to Minneapolis that coincided with the sun setting behind the skyline.

This was at 8:15 or so. I love the extra daylight.

Contrast

One of my favorite ongoing 101 in 1,001 projects is the monthly photo project, which requires taking one photo per month in the same location to see how the place changes over the year. (I shared the halfway point report back in January.) I appreciated the project again this week, in the midst of steady rain (and even some snow).

Ready for the difference between March and April? I could hardly believe it. Here it is:

I like that green grass.

Tiny leaves

In this part of Minnesota, rain is falling and the wind is howling.

But from a walk earlier in the weekend: a little, welcome sign of what's to come.

Dog shadow (and green grass)

Our Colorado visit

Tonight we're back in Minnesota after a few days with family in Colorado.

We usually stay in Josh's hometown, but this time we stayed in a city about an hour away so we could spend lots of time with his mom, who is receiving treatment at the hospital there. She is in good spirits and being well cared for by the wonderful hospital staff and many friends and family members who stopped by for visits. Our time in Colorado also included celebrating our nephew's eighth birthday, the first year we've gotten to celebrate in person with him.

It sounds like spring has been feisty in Colorado, too, bringing some late snowfall to parts of the state. During our visit, though, the transition to the new season felt a week or two ahead of Minnesota:

We are grateful to have been able to spend this time with our family.

Morning clouds

I typically carry my camera with me for about half of my running mileage, but it has accompanied me more than usual lately. I think it's because I find the changeover to this new season so striking: buds on the trees, stronger sunlight (and more sunlight), rain instead of snow. (It's hard to believe that a week ago today I was snowshoeing.)

Because I'm running a long (long for me right now) trail race tomorrow morning, I wanted to squeeze a few miles in before work so I could rest this evening. (I usually take a rest day two days before a race or longer run and then run a few gentle miles the day before.)

The sky was beautiful and unusual as the sunrise interacted with all kinds of clouds: purple rain clouds in one direction, wispy cirrus clouds against deep blue skies in another.

And guess what? Less than an hour later, it was raining.

Spring afternoon

The Chain of Lakes

For a change of pace, I decided to drive over to the Chain of Lakes in Minneapolis for yesterday morning's eight-miler. Though I volunteered at events at Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun this winter, I don't remember the last time I ran around the lakes (as far back as last fall or even last summer?) and the spring weather had me wondering what it was like over there.

Even though there was more snow than I expected, I was glad I went. I love my St. Paul routes, but the views of the lakes, the yellow willow trees, and the Minneapolis skyline were a treat.

I looped parts of three lakes (Calhoun, Isles and Harriet) before heading back to St. Paul. I won't wait as long for my next visit.

Minnehaha Falls visit

Now that I've decided to sign up for a trail 25K next month, it's time to start bumping up the mileage on my weekend long run. I love this because instead of making the long run feel more tedious, it actually is more fun for me because a longer run opens up so many more route options. I love a long run that takes me up to the University of Minnesota's campus or around Lake Nokomis or even over to Lake Calhoun. For these longer workouts, I keep the pace nice and gentle because I'm working on rebuilding endurance.

Today's route: a 12-miler that meandered over to Minnehaha Falls.

It's spring! It's spring?

Brr. It was hard to dress properly for this run because the temperatures were more typical of January or February, especially with the wind, but the March sun is so much stronger. I alternated between being toasty and cold, depending on whether the wind was in my face or at my back.

As I got close to the falls, I heard the water flowing. I remember visiting Minnehaha Falls with friends last summer, when the Sea Salt Eatery lines were long, the patio was packed, and the park was full of visitors. I wondered how different it would look.

The answer: pretty different. My first view:

(Author's note: A day after publishing this post, I stumbled across a photo from that summer visit and had to include it for contrast. Ready?)

The staircases leading down to the falls were closed, but I got a good view from above the waterfall. You can see the water flowing in the center of the falls area. The rest is ice. Here's a better look, with water on the left and ice on the right:

One last look before I turned around and headed back to St. Paul:

I've never seen Minnehaha Falls even partially frozen, and I'm glad I got the chance today.

The start of spring

Today is back to blustery and gray skies, and I wore my down jacket on my evening walk with Wish. But yesterday! Yesterday: 50 degrees and warm sun. Josh and I went for a walk around the neighborhood after work and got to see the sun set. It was the first day of spring, and I'm looking forward to more walks with warm sunlight in the season ahead.

Marvelous Monday: Week 10

First, a weekend report: I volunteered at a TCM race over at Lake Harriet, watched "Casablanca," got a haircut (thank you, Mom!), stopped at a local bakery with her for pastries, took Wish for a long walk and did some spring cleaning (thank you, Martha Stewart Living!).

Here's a view from our walk:

And here's a peek at the Lake Harriet bandshell's seating area (also known as benches without benches). The days of summer concerts seem far away, but this view might look a lot different today after a couple of days with temperatures well above freezing (read on for more details!).

Now: it's Monday. My friends are still waiting for their baby's arrival over in Washington, D.C. Come on, baby!

1) Josh has been traveling for work and came home on Sunday! Wish and I went to pick him up at the airport, and on the way home, we stopped at Chipotle and Josh ran in to pick up dinner. You could tell that Wish thought he was gone again, just moments after our happy reunion.

NOT FUNNY. WHERE IS HE??

I WILL FIND HIM.

Of course, Josh returned with Chipotle and then Wish's only problem is that we didn't share with him.

2) It's the warmest day since mid-November!!! 51 degrees? 52? The specifics don't matter. It was wonderful, especially around the noon hour, when the sun was shining.

3) This afternoon Molly and I met up for a run. It was plenty warm enough to take her baby boy out with us in the baby jogger. He wore a very cute little fleece bear suit and the three of us covered five miles together. I wore shorts for a run outside for the first time in months. We saw someone driving a convertible with its top down. It was great.

4) I keep meaning to mention this around here: I am loving my five-year journal that Lindsay told me about awhile back.

5) I am trying out a new decade this week. Hello, 30!

What's marvelous about the start of your week? What are you cooking, reading, eating, watching this week? If you are in the Midwest, how are you celebrating this heat wave? And do you love Chipotle like we do?

Marvelous Monday: Week 9

First, a question: My first visit to the American Swedish Institute over the weekend made me wonder what else I've been missing all this time. Do you have a Twin Cities museum recommendation for me? Please share.

On with the marvelous tidbits:

1) Natty's due date is this week, and I am thinking of my friends in D.C. as they get ready to finally meet their little one!

2) Over the weekend, I finished Liz Murray's powerful book Breaking Night: A Memoir of Forgiveness, Survival, and My Journey from Homeless to Harvard.

3) It's March now, and that means spring (sometime soon!).

4) Temperatures are finally heading in the right direction: to the 20s and even 30s for the foreseeable future. I have been in maintenance mode with my miles lately, just trying to consistently get outside when I can. I was hoping to do 8-10 miles on Sunday morning, and when I woke up, it was -10 with a windchill of -31, which is just not very conducive to the mileage I had planned. (I skipped that run, just to be clear.) I am excited to finally do more outside and put together my spring and summer race calendar.

5) This scene from over the weekend:

Back to museum for just a minute: What's your favorite museum ever? (I just tried to type out a few favorites and had so many feelings that I might have to write about this another time.) What's the best one in your town? What museum would you love to visit but haven't yet?

Hoping that your week is starting out well - all of you.