I like to take miles-long walks on weekend afternoons. I have for many years, and in all seasons. Not too long ago, I wrote one of these short posts about taking such a walk in the snow for the first time in a few years. Barring a substantial deviation from current trends, that won’t happen again in this part of North Carolina for a while.

This week, for the first time in months, I took my Sunday afternoon walk comfortably in shorts and a T-shirt. Now, I would not have been able to do the same on Monday or yesterday, but the forecast for the rest of the week suggests that I will be able to do so should I find the time for an afternoon walk (though the temperatures will drop to more normal levels next week). The trail was not as crowded as I expected it to be, but I didn’t start until after 4:00 so perhaps I was just later than most.

There are already a few trees along roadsides in full bloom, which seems premature but I suppose the pollinators are already active and so it won’t be in vain, and several others that are starting to bud. The birdsong is also increasing in the mornings. The only regular wildlife along the trail I was walking on is squirrels, but there was also a hawk perched on a limb over the trail right at the little connector I take to a park where I start and stop by out-and-back stroll. The turf soccer fields in the park were certainly getting some use, but the grass still hasn’t come in on the baseball fields so those are still closed.

Otherwise, it was a very calm weekend and I’ve had little activity during the week that was unplanned. I’ll start to get busier again in the coming weeks, but for now it’s head down to get transactions closed for clients.