My grand babies are all the wild life I need:)

                    

     If you remember, last week I blogged about all of the wild life I saw at Wildwood park while I was on my bike ride.  But I discovered that my favorite wild life can't be found on a bike ride;  It's my cute little grand babies:)

     Play grounds sure have come a long way from those metal framed swing sets from my childhood, a million years ago.  William had no idea what those days were like, but he was definitely having a good time on  this modern day wonderland at Wildwood park.

     Of course, then there's Conner, who seems to be quite content to kick back while his mom runs in a circle in the attempt to make this manual merry-go-round put a smile on his face.

          The picture below will tell you William was in no way anxious to leave.

     Remember the old tire swing??

     I'm sure someone got paid a hefty fee for designing this contraption, while there are perfectly good tires sitting in some land fill, somewhere:)

     And that chill time, however relaxing, was short lived, when Conner realized there was a lot more area to explore, and it certainly wasn't coming to him.

     As happy as William is to hang out at home in his underpants, going to the park is one time he'll actually make the effort to suit up:)

     I'm not sure if Conner was posing for the photo, or trying to figure out what to do now that he finally made his way to the top of this jungle gym.

     And tell me there isn't some brilliant person sitting somewhere saying "I can't believe I got rich off of inventing a mom and baby swing"; but I sure wish they came up with it when my kids were little.

        I won't lie, I love riding my bike through this park, but then again, I'll take these little cuties over a bike ride any day!!

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

Bike trails are for bikes; but the parks are owned by wild life.

          I love a good "rail trail", aka trails created from former railroad tracks, but for some reason, as high as the deer population has become, I never see any on the bike trails.  And while most people view deer as being a nuisance, I get as giddy as a 6 year old every time I see one.

     Several of my riding buddies and I went on an early morning bike ride to the University Parks trail, and though this trail is only 14 miles there and back, it's one of the smoothest trails in the area.

       By this point in time in the biking season, the trees have certainly turned the trails into a forest.  It's hard to believe we're actually riding through towns; with houses and traffic all around us.

     But it soon becomes apparent that we're sharing the space with urbanization.

     However, as we took a brief side trip through Wildwood park, we saw this cute little bunny waiting to greet us (that or he was trying to figure out how to make his fast get away...).

        I'm torn between which I enjoy more; the straight shot of a bike trail, or the beauty inside a park.  This day we got to experience both.

          This is a far cry from a bike trail; and look closely...
                                              
        Yes!! Bambi is out for an early morning walk.

                                                    
     This may look like a deer in the headlights, but this deer owned this place, and we were only visitors.

     He had no problem posing for me to take his picture, before he gracefully wandered off.

     So the next time you get irritated by the over population of these beautiful creatures, just remember, we're in their home too:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

I've fallen, but I CAN get up... again!!

     I'm sure we've all heard the expression "get up one more time than you've fallen"; And for most people it's merely a metaphor. However, for someone like me who has MS, this actually means wipe the blood from your wound and move on.

     I've had MS for so long that I know all too well that while I want to make you think I'm wonder woman,  I'm absolutely not.  Things most people take for granted require immense thought if I want to land on two feet.

     It's true, my days of running are over, but that doesn't stop me from trying to take any short cut I can, just to save a step.

     How many times have we carried ten plastic grocery bags inside, while our fingers turn blue, just so we don't have to make two trips??  I do that all the time, and unfortunately, for me, the word "trip" has a whole different meaning. 

     This particular day, I strapped on my "Wonder Woman cape" and planned to conquer the world (or at least pick up a few things from Costco...)  Of course, Costco doesn't use plastic bags; I'm guessing it's just a way to save cost and the environment...  

     So I have this cute pink Victoria Secret Tote, my friend Maryann gave me, which is the best thing since sliced bread for carrying my Costco things inside.  But this day I decided to save just one more step, and juggle several items in my arms, while fumbling with the key to unlock my front door.  

     This was where I did my all too familiar "swan dive", when my right foot (the one that doesn't like to listen to me) decided to hit the step.  Oh yeah, I went flying!  And my "Wonder Woman Cape" was no help at all!  Of course, as anyone in my position knows, the first thing I always do (scary to think I actually have a routine for this...) before checking for broken bones or a broken brace, or even checking to see if my astronomically costly nerve zapper is still working, is to look for that freakishly scary audience.  When there are no signs of a witness, then I can continue on to assess the damage.

      The good news is, I was still able to walk (although, I was limping... wait... I already had that!)  But there were no broken bones.  My zapper and brace appeared to be in tact, so I actually dodged this bullet entirely.  No one would ever be the wiser... But then I noticed blood seeping out from underneath the cuff of my nerve zapper. 
Now, anyone who knows me will tell you, I would rather cut off my right arm than see blood.

     Yep, I was a big old baby!  But I eventually took off my drama queen crown, wiped the blood off with my "wonder woman cape"  and realized I had survived getting up one more time than I've fallen... again!  

     So the next time you hear that very familiar metaphor, just remember... some people take it literally:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)



     

Sunrises are like snowflakes; no two are the same.

          There's nothing more thrilling than watching the sun rise over the Maumee River; but you have to get up with the chickens to catch it.  That was no problem for me. I'm the one who usually wakes the chickens:)

     I remember the last time we went on a very early bike ride and I saw the most beautiful sunrise from The Craig Street Bridge.  I could have stared at that forever.  
                 
     A couple of my riding buddies and I decided to ride on the Green Belt Parkway trail, and catch the sunrise again.  I remembered all too well how the sun totally illuminated the sky, and I couldn't wait to recreate that memory.

          As you can see, the entire city of Toledo was still sleeping...  but not us!

     My favorite view is from the Craig street bridge; but it was quite a hike to get there.  Under the High Level Bridge...

     

     Then down the bike path...

     At this point I could see the Craig Street bridge off in the distance, but for some reason this trail had to zig zag back and forth, making the anticipation (and hard work) all the more worth it.

     Soon were were riding under Interstate 280;  and I could see that bridge just waiting for us...

     We finally made it to the Craig Street Bridge, and though the picture was not exactly the same as I remembered, it was still beautiful!

     Honestly, it could have been the worst sunrise I've ever seen, and in my mind it would be beautiful, just for the fact I was there to witness it. 

          By the time we got back to our cars, day light had set in.  But I had one thing all of those people cozily tucked in their beds didn't have, and that was the visions in my head of that amazing sun rise!

      The good news is, no matter how hard the day is, you can always have comfort in knowing that while every sunrise may not be exactly the same, there is a promise that every morning there WILL be one!

Have a great day!!

Christine:)

No swans at Swan Creek, but there were a ton of Pokemon!!

    Some days it's like pulling teeth just to find a riding buddy.  This particular Friday I had two possible chances for a bike ride, and both fell through.  Riding in one of the parks by myself was always an option, but not my first choice.

     However, my son, Matt, had just mentioned he had been roller blading  at Swan Creek Park recently, and it was heavily populated with those crazy Pokemon creatures.  I would have thought that fad would have died down by now, but I only saw this as an opportunity to snag a riding buddy, so I didn't ask questions.  We were soon on our way.

     Again, just like my last rollerblade/bike ride, this one also included a lot of starts and stops, after all, we were on a mission.  Truth be told, I love an excuse to stop and check out the scenery.  My buddies on bikes don't usually stop to sight see; we're there to "ride!"  

       Those little critters were going down, for sure!

     Remember as kids, our parents preached to us that they walked five miles to school, in five feet of snow, uphill both ways... Well this ride kind of felt like that.  There were a lot of steep hills and it sure felt like we were climbing more than coasting.  I know the laws of gravity would say I was wrong, but maybe we were defying the laws of gravity.

     I told you I absolutely hate gravel trails, but wooden trails!?!?!  No thanks!!  However, Matt knew there was a Pokemon stop at the end so he and his Rollerblades ventured on.  I stayed back and waited; I'm not crazy!!  We'll, not about this:)

     It's hard to tell by the photo whether this was up hill or down, but it had to be down hill; if I had stopped to take a photo going up hill I would have never had enough steam to make it up.  However, barreling down a hill and making a sharp turn at the bottom is a real challenge in itself.

     I know this park is named Swan Creek, but I'm really not sure why; I never see any swans in it.

     But then again, we were supposedly catching Pokemon, and I never once saw one of those either...

     So we're back at our car, and I soon learned that this ride wasn't over until we caught that last mischievous little Varmet. 

         We sat there and waited patiently for several minutes before Matt finally caught him, and I decided I may need to schedule an appointment with my eye doctor, because I didn't see it at all... Do you think we were also surrounded by swans and I just couldn't see them either?!?!  I guess we'll never know:)

Have a great day!!

Christine:)