Spring Break

I took advantage of one morning the boys and I both had off together, and asked them if they wanted to go for a walk with me.  I tempted them with breakfast out afterwards.  Jason opted to stay home, but Ajax was game.  We hopped in the car and away we went.

It was a colder morning than it looked  We were glad for our knit caps and fleece jackets.  The wind was thrashing across the river, lock and marsh the whole time.  Only when we were on the west side of the island did the trees shelter us a little, but they also blocked us from most of the sunshine!

Right near the footbridge we saw a bald eagle.  What a treat!  I thought those had all gone.  Our mild winter and early spring meant the ice did not last long on the river.  I was delighted to see this remaining eagle, and was glad to share the moment with Ajax.  When I was a girl, seeing a bald eagle in the wild was a rare thing.

This one swept across the marsh and disappeared over the island, but we found him when we got down to that end of the trail.  (We have protected areas for eagles along the river here, but this area is not one of them.)

As we walked, Ajax pointed out a landmark he had nicknamed while working on the trail project last summer - "Triangular Trouble".  It is an exposed section of tree root.  He had to look out for it as he pushed his wheelbarrow full of mulch along the trail.

It was fun learning about this old memory of his on the trail.  It was also fun having him along on the walk.  It's not often that I get a buddy to go with me.  And I was true to my word.  I treated him to breakfast and we even brought home something for his brother.