Celebrating the Last Day of Winter Outdoors

The last day of winter here was happily spring-like! I joined a few brave souls for a mountain hike. I say brave because the number of people who dropped out of the hike was about ten--maybe a little more. I think they got scared off by the black skies and pelting rain the day before.

The trail was soggy here and there, but not a problem, my waterproof boots held up well! We climbed Blood Mountain, the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia and rambled over other trails to give us a good 9+ miles.

The trail was extremely rocky--which I like--managing the puzzle of where to put your foot. It always makes me think of mountain goats, how easily they seem to scramble. But they've got four feet and are lower to the ground, so perhaps it is easier for them to maneuver, eh? Anyway, we crossed little creeks all day, and that is fun to me too. The stones were surprisingly unslippery--or maybe that's down to my good boots again. 

Mountain laurel and rhododendron grew along the paths. In a few weeks they will be blooming! I hope to get back to the mountains when they do. It was great to see the brown woods going green. And of course the views of the surrounding hills were different without all the leaves.

We stopped to eat our lunch at a shelter, but it was too cold to sit at the table in the shade. We chose to sit in the sun on the ground. 

It was just such a 100% great all around day!

At home, the garden is coming to life and I really have to get out there and get to work next weekend--although there is another hike tempting me.

My sweater is finally done and blocking! One hank of yarn was a little off color--had a lot of yellowish streaks in it like it was at the end of the dye lot. I'm not bothered. Chalk it up as looking "distressed." I'm sure not many people will notice. The hank was all one sleeve and the top of the next.

I'm glad I went with the green for the body. It looks good doesn't it? I'm very happy with this end result.