What I've been up to over the past few weeks:
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| Last week, I visited Cascade Locks Park with a friend to see the Japanese cherry trees. It is located in downtown Akron. Unfortunately, we were about 3 days too late to see them in full bloom. You can see the petals that were already lining the path. |
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| Still pretty though |
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| The path is part of the towpath trail that runs along the old Ohio & Erie Canal. Here are the staircase locks. |
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| On our way home, we stopped at the blue heron rookery where the birds have their nests. It's always a strange sight. If you enlarge the picture, you can see the birds roosting. |
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| We were lucky to have a total solar eclipse in our area. My oldest daughter invited us over for a cookout and to watch the 'show.' Here I am with my grandson and our eclipse glasses. |
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| My son-in-law took these pictures with an actual camera because our cell phones were not cutting it. Here is what the sun looked like right before it was completely covered. |
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| Full eclipse. When it began to get darker, the birds were tweeting loudly and flying about. A lot of outdoor lighting turned on in the neighborhood. The temperature dropped and we were able to see Venus to the right of the moon. I only know this from looking it up online. It looked like a star to me! |
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My son sent me this picture of his 6 month old daughter enjoying the eclipse. She was probably thrilled.  What's your favorite Spring activity? Have you ever seen a solar eclipse? Do you like to get dressed up? |
"we were about 3 days too late to see them in full bloom. You can see the petals that were already lining the path." ---
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the downside to Japanese cherry blossoms? They come and go so fast. But oh....they are gorgeous! My favorite springtime blossom!
You captured some stunning shots! I love that one of the staircase locks and the waterfalls. WOW...that's a lot of nests in those trees! Very cool shot!
We got a total solar eclipse in our area as well. I didn't get a chance to actually look at it directly, but I could tell just from the way it gradually got very dark, then light, that it was present (it started about 3 PM). When I looked out of my apartment window, I could see TONS of people on the street looking up, wearing those glasses.
ADORABLE shot of your granddaughter!
Isn't it nice to get dressed up and go to a special event? I have to get to Cleveland one day because it looks like such a cool city. And your photographs always prove that!
I'm still outside taking pictures of spring. I keep adding more photos to the post I did several weeks ago. LOL!
Thanks for sharing spring in your area. Have a faaaaaabulous weekend, my friend!
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You’re right Ron, the cherry blossoms don’t last long. It’s too bad because they are so beautiful. I had never been to Cascade Locks park, so it was neat to see the waterfalls. The eclipse was surprisingly cool to see. Much more interesting than I thought it would be. I look forward to more of your Spring photos! Have a super weekend!
DeleteWow, how cool that you got to see it in its totality! What a special experience.
ReplyDeleteThose cherry blossoms are still beautiful, even if they are past their prime (this feels like a metaphor! Lol)
I love love love getting dressed up for an event. It doesn't happen often these days but I guess that makes it more special.
We were all sort of stunned by how cool the eclipse was! Isn’t getting dressed up fun? I need to do it more often!
DeleteI love all of your photo's, especially the cute picture of you and your grandson. This was my first total eclipse and I was really surprised at how awesome it was. The birds knew something was going on, it got pretty cool quickly, the street lights turned on and we saw Venus too. I also had to look it up. lol I do love getting dressed up for special events. We need to start back to doing things more often as soon as TBG heals up from his surgery. Have a great Friday!!
ReplyDeleteWe couldn’t believe how awe inspiring the eclipse was for us. A great experience! I hope TBG’s surgery goes well with a speedy recovery.
DeleteThe venue for that charity event looks beautiful. I didn't realize you'd get a full eclipse in Ohio. I saw part of it. The sky barely dimmed. The rookery is so neat! And seeing Japanese cherry blossoms in Japan is something I intend to do before I die. I would've settled for those in Ohio in a pinch, though. :)
ReplyDeleteWe had a partial eclipse here in 2017 and it was a big yawn. I think that’s why I wasn't so enthused when I heard about this one. The rookery is very close to where you used to live, but I only found out about it about 10 years ago. I’m going to do a Japan post sometime because I have a few bloggers who have connections to Japan and my son went last year and enjoyed it.
DeleteI wonder if my family know about the rookery. I'll have to ask!
DeleteLet me know!
DeleteThey do not! Of course, I didn't either, so I'm not surprised. But they know now!
DeleteIt’s really just a pull over to the side of the road thing, but it’s really cool.
DeleteWe have a park about a mile from our house that's a big wetland, with a walk around it. We regularly see herons, cranes, and egrets there, along with lots of ducks and geese. And deer. . .
ReplyDeleteWe were about 100 miles west and south of you for the eclipse. I saw the one in '17 (had to go to Kentucky for that one), and now this one. The sun was more 'active' this time, so we saw some red prominences and such that we didn't see 7 years ago. So cool that it sent right over your place!
That’s nice to have somewhere to walk to and see so much. I’d rather not see more deer, though. They look in my windows at ME! Maybe they blog about me.
DeleteI remember you going to see the eclipse in 2017. I’m glad we didn’t have to drive anywhere to see it in totality.
The blue heron's nesting up like that is bizarre....but also very cool!
ReplyDeleteWe just saw the end of a few cherry tree's in a botanical garden in GA; also missed the millions of daffodils by about a week. Next year!
Love the pic of you and your grandson enjoying the eclipse; making good memories!
The granddaughter with the eclipse glasses: She looks mighty enthused. LOL
Occasionally I do like to dress up. My biggest issue is always my feet; they're persnickety and I can't just throw on any old shoes, so my attire must include comfortable/stylish shoes that I can also stand/walk in for even a short amount of time. That isn't always an easy task to accomplish.
It is always difficult to time trips to gardens, etc. to see things in full bloom. I've never seen tulips anywhere, but my oldest daughter always seems to take her kids to tulip spots when they are in bloom. There is a rose garden in Columbus I want to check out, but I never seem to make it there in June.
DeleteOMG - I TOTALLY understand the shoe issue. On our Florida trip, I was limited on how many pairs of shoes I could bring and I ended up with a cut on my foot from standing too long in a pair of high heeled sandals. I was determined not to have that happen last Saturday night, so I spent weeks ahead of time looking for a new pair of black dress sandals. I scored at Shoe Carnival!!!! Very dressy looking, but a low heel and nothing tight around my bunion. It was a miracle!!!
I love the pictures. The baby with the eclipse glasses it too cute. Love the flowers.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thanks Mary!
DeleteI do like to get dressed up. It doesn’t happen often anymore. I dress down for my babysitting days, so I like to feel more ‘grown up’ when I’m dressed up. That’s so cool that you had a total eclipse. Ours was partial, but still really cool. One of my tot’s moms gave us a few pairs of glasses, so I got to see it. Those are some great nature photos, even if the blooms were mostly on the ground. Those nests so up high. Well that must’ve been a cool place to visit.
ReplyDeleteHi Ernie! I totally get about babysitting. I wear my most comfortable clothes when I babysit my grandkids. The eclipse was so amazing. And I hadn’t been to the heron place in a few years, so it was neat to see again.
DeleteYes, to seeing the eclipse, Bijoux, but no where near totality here in Nashua, NH, although the air did get noticeably chillier as it was in progress. Nice to see that outdoor walks have such nice colors now and they are starting here too. Dressing up is something we do not do very often and that’s OK with us. We prefer neat casual these days.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by how much the temperature dropped. I’m so happy that Spring has been so lovely this year.
DeleteThe photo of the baby wearing the shades to see the eclipse is delightful. I laughed out loud. The thing about cherry blossoms is that seeing them at their height is unpredictable. Obviously. As for dressing up anymore, not if I can help it. I look presentable in a suburban midwest way, but nothing big city stylish about me anymore. If there ever was, I suppose.
ReplyDeleteWasn’t that a funny picture? My son and his wife both have a sense of humor. The cherry blossoms are hit or miss, especially when you get a lot of rain. I do think I’m unusual that I love to get dressed up. I went many, many years without even owning a dress because we didn’t do much during the child years.
Delete89% totality in Madison, so the eclipse wasn't quite as impressive as you experienced, but it was still a pretty incredible event. In 2017, Vancouver, WA had 99% totality. I remember the temperature dropping quite a bit, too. I love the cherry trees...you may have been a few days late, but they're still striking! As much as I prefer fall, I have to admit that spring has its charms, too.
ReplyDeleteI never would have thought the eclipse would be as amazing as it turned out to be. I think a lot of people here were naysayers just because we rarely have full sun days, so most of us assumed it would be a non event. Turned out to be a spectacularly sunny day! We got lucky because it rained so much the rest of the week. I’m enjoying Spring more and more each year!
DeleteThat park is really cool! Looks like a great place to visit! I love dressing up but seldom get the chance anymore! Love the pics of your grandchildren!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeanette. Hope you have a great week!
DeleteThe cherry blossoms are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThe Brooklyn Botanical Gardens have an annual Cherry Blossom event in May and it's always packed. People actually come from Japan to see the cherry blossoms trees in Brooklyn.
I absolutely love that photo of your granddaughter! Thanks for sharing it with us.
I watched the eclipse ever so briefly and it was amazing.
My favorite spring activity is getting out of the damn house! I spend most of the winter indoors looking at Netflix, so when the temperature goes up, I wanna get out!
Well, that festival must be something if the Japanese come to see it! Very cool! I wonder why it’s so late in the season? I’m glad you got to see the eclipse, too. I hear you on getting out of the house. It’s total freedom once the warm weather hits! Have a great week!
DeleteOhhh….are the Chicago trees around the lake? That would be beautiful! I don’t know when the Akron trees were planted, but probably after the towpath trail was paved, so not when we were kids. Painful Ohio drives….every other month, we drove to see my grandparents in Arlington (south of Findlay, not the one near Cbus). You had to take Route 224, which was not a highway. It was very painful.
ReplyDeleteI’m glad you got to see the Ohio eclipse via your friend. Yup, I’m a weirdo with the dress up! Can’t wait to see your garden!
We didn't see the eclipse because it was too cloudy. Rats! But our cherry tree is in full blossom right now and is a wonderful sight. I can't imagine you dressed up, it would be quite a transformation!
ReplyDeleteWe were so sure it would be cloudy here, too! We got very lucky with the weather.
DeleteI wish the blooms stayed forever on the cherry blossoms. They are always gone way too soon. Still pretty though even 3 days late.
ReplyDeleteI was so underwhelmed by the eclipse. We were in 95% totality and it didn't really seem like anything more than a passing cloud in front of the sun.
I do not like to get dressed up. I was working at the hospital for 2 days this month and even putting on business casual clothes irritated me. I do wear dresses all summer long, but nothing fancy.
You are very lucky to live by so much culture and things to do. South Bend sucks. We have a few parks and a zoo and a theater, but nothing wow worthy. I wish I lived closer to Indy or even Ft. Wayne since there seems to be more going on down there than up here.
I would have thought 95% totality would have been really good! But I do remember in 2017 that it was a big nothing here, though I don’t remember the % we had. Would you believe I didn’t own a dress for two decades? We never did anything when we had kids where I needed anything fancy. I finally got invited to a wedding in 2011 and had to go buy something. Now it’s fun for me, plus I like jewelry that only goes with dress up!
DeleteI’ve never been to South Bend. Really, only Indy and the area around Anderson University. My daughter considered going there to play softball, so we did an overnighter.
I love cherry blossoms and that park looks amazing. Happy Spring
ReplyDeleteSame to you!
DeleteEvery time I witness a full eclipse, I'm reminded of how small we are. It never gets old.
ReplyDeleteLong time no see. I hope you're doing fine.
Love these cherry trees!
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Blue!! I’m doing well and hope you are too. Happy Spring!
DeleteHappy Spring, Bijoux!
DeleteI remember not being impressed by the 2017 eclipse. This was so different. The trees are so pretty this year. Yes, I remember not enjoying having to dress up for work. I hope your show in November is really fun.
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