It's May!! One more month until Summer is upon us. Spring has really taken off this week here in eastern New York. It's been just lovely. A bit of rain and clouds, sunshine and temps in the low 60s. I'm thankful we've made it to May.
And to continue to give thanks for blessings, I'm posting FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the week. There's quite a few of us who participate in this gratitude meme hosted by Susanne. Head on over to her site to see the guidelines and join in!
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| Trail in to Clear Pond Indian Lake, NY Central Adirondacks 25 April |
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| Clear Pond (about a 1.3 mile hike in from trailhead) |
- DEEP WOODS HIKE! Oh my. It's exactly what my body, mind, and soul needed. An Adirondack deep woods hike. My first time in the ADKS since November. It's exactly what I needed. Met two hiking friends there (Anette and Cheryl B) and we all stayed 6-10 feet from each other on the trail. We did come to the pond and couldn't sit on our fave rock (Cheryl and I've been there before) as 2 local fishermen were there first but they were ok with us sharing the far right edge of it. I forgot to snap a pic of that large rock....but trust me....it's like a huge stone floor). We ate our lunch there and spent about an hour just relaxing and hiking slowly back to the cars. Then we headed over to one of my fave lakes....it's a town beach for locals but no one really uses it!
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| Central Adirondack Region |
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| Happy Feet |
- ALL NATURAL 3 INGREDIENT COOKIES: Sunday was rainy and damp so I decided after we watched church online to make some cookies. I have a vegan dessert cookbook that I received for free after doing some webinar that I can't even remember the name of, but the recipes are so easy! This one is 3-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies. They are so simple. Flourless so perfect for people with gluten issues. The ingredients are peanut butter (i doubled the recipe so used pb and coconut-almond butter), pure maple syrup, and white sesame seeds. That is it!! (because we don't own a food processor, I did have to stir in about 1/8 of a cup of whole wheat flour in order for the dough to form into balls). They are the best. Not overly sweet like regular pb cookies. I'm thankful for simple, nutritious sweets made with all natural ingredients.
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| spring blossoms popping up under the cherry tree |
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| Tulips in the front flower bed |
- FLOWERS! My tulips are opened now (I didn't get any good photos....I have yellow and red...the pink ones disappeared in bunny's mouth) and more of my spring flowers under the cherry tree are up. Soon my grape hyacinths will be larger too. They are slower this year to burst open....maybe because April was a bit rainy and cold. I'm thankful for spots of flowers around my yard.
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| Bridge across Ann Lee Pond Albany, NY 28 April |
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| Ann Lee Pond |
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| part of the red trail at Ann Lee Pond and Woods |
- MID-DAY LOCAL HIKE! Tuesday was absolutely gorgeous here in the eastern part of New York. Because my work day has been shortened due to the pandemic, I only go into the classroom for about 3-5 hours each day. Tuesday I was finished by 12:30 so I headed over to this pond by the Albany airport. The Preserve is actually on the National and State Historic Lists (you can read about the history of the Shakers and the pond here.) Dave and I used to ride our bikes here before the trail was extended, and we took the girls to see the ducks when they were much younger. This is only about 6 miles from my house! It's smack dab in urban setting but once you're on the path leading to the bridge over the pond, it's like a different world although you can still hear some of the traffic. I hadn't ever walked the entire trail system and even Tuesday I didn't as I was there to video tape part of my Pond unit lesson for my language group. I hiked about half the trail and turned around. I do plan on going back this weekend with Dave to hike the entire trail. Another hiker I spoke with there said she walks it all the time and it's just under 2 miles. I'm thankful for these beautiful nature preserves in our wonderful Capital Region.
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| Pear tree in bloom with chickadees nesting in the birdhouse! 28 April photo courtesy of Claire R T |
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| pear tree blooms! Photo courtesy of Claire R T |
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| backyard beauty photo courtesy of Claire R T |
- BACKYARD BEAUTY: the pear tree Claire (our youngest) bought me for Mother's Day 5 years ago is blooming so nicely this spring! We don't care for the scent of the blossoms but they're just beautiful to look at. Claire took her camera (not a phone one...a real camera!) outdoors and snapped a few pics. These were my faves. I'm thankful for her eye and for these beautiful blooms.
That wraps up my faves for the week.
I hope you have some wonderful Spring weather wherever you are and that you enjoy a relaxing weekend doing something you love.
HAPPY WEEKEND!
6 comments:
I love the flowers and pear tree your daughter gave you. What a thoughtful mother's day gift. I also like a little bird house. So glad you could get out and hike this week. As you know, I also love hiking. I think that being on a dirt trail in a beautiful natural setting is my happy place. :-) Those cookies look good. Will have to give them a try. Have a great weekend!
Oh my, that pear tree looks gorgeous! I don't think I've ever smelt a pear tree. The hike sounds like it was just what you needed. So good to get out in nature and just leave all the craziness behind. I love seeing the spring flowers popping up. It really is a symbol of hope to me. The cookies sound yummy. Have a great weekend.
How lovely to be get out and walking in the spring weather and to see how things are blooming. Claire's photos are great.
Pear trees are so pretty in bloom. It's encouraging to see spring flowers. My daffodils have bloomed and gone, and somehow only one tulip came up. The cookies look good. Glad you got some nice hikes in.
Oh my, Faith, your photos are gorgeous! I especially love the Clear Pond and Ann Lee Pond photos.
We live in such a beautiful world!
All your faves are so great.
The hikes, the flowers, the blooming pear tree!
I hope you are staying well!
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