I’ve always preferred a picnic rather than going out to eat on Mother’s day…I don’t like the crowds. This year Mother’s Day was colder than usual so we ate at home but went to Nerstrand-Big Woods State Park to hike and look at the wildflowers, which I always love to do in the spring.
We were surprised when we arrived mid-afternoon at Nerstrand. The cars were packed in, and overflow parking meant cars were parked outside the park! This is good…I love seeing families getting out to enjoy the outdoors and discover Minnesota’s beautiful state parks.
We walked a familiar trail and did find the spot where the unique-to-the-Nerstrand-area dwarf trout lily blooms, but they were not blooming yet. There were lots of other wild flowers in bloom though: bellworts, Dutchman’s breeches, spring beauty, anemones, trout lilies everywhere and marsh marigold, to name a few I recognized. It was beautiful, and the trees were budding out in spring greens.
Additional bonuses: I saw my first hummingbird at our feeder on our deck today.
Our mourning dove continues to sit in her nest on her eggs, and near Pond #2 in our neighborhood are several Canadian Geese and their goslings.
I do love nature.