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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Signs Of A Thaw

Bunny here at the keyboard to share a little about our weekend with you.

Since Mom is still fighting her bronchitis we decided to take it easier on her.  That doesn't mean we were willing to give up our family hiking time, though.  We decided to go to one of our favorite local places which is the Riverfront Trail in downtown Peoria.  It's a beautiful place for walking, although it's a pretty quiet place right now.  When the snow melts and things start blooming, I imagine it will be much busier.

During our walk, we spotted a lot more wildlife than we've seen in a long time.  The ducks and Canadian geese have returned and there was a beaver in the river working on his lodge.  We saw a robin, too, but Mom wasn't quick enough to catch his picture.  The beaver was a lot more cooperative.

The plan is that the trail will eventually connect to some Rails to Trails in our area, but the train tracks that are down there are still working tracks.  There is an old train turntable there, too.  When more of the snow melts, Mom said we'd go down and take more pictures of it so you can see it better. 

One of the things that the park has as a feature is the memorial rock gardens.   There is one for Alzheimer's victims and another one for Dan Fogelberg.  Dan Fogelberg is one of the famous people to have come from Peoria, so they have rocks around the park with some of the lyrics from some of his famous songs.

Hawks are pretty popular in our area.  Usually we see them when we can't get a picture of them.  However, this guy seemed to be bringing the warm Spring air in with him.

Morgan can't resist leaping and walking in the snow drifts.  I'm not sure what she's going to do when all the snow melts away.  She'd better enjoy it while she can!

There's a restaurant built in an old train station along the riverfront, too.  Of course they didn't let us dogs in, though.  Mom said that they have really good food.  I wouldn't know since they've never brought any of it home for us.

I have to say, it was a fun way to get out and stretch our legs without overtaxing Mom's lungs.  You should have heard her going on last weekend.  I'll just say that some people should not be making comments about Greyhounds being drama queens.   This was much better and we all had fun enjoying the thaw and the first hints of Spring's approach.  We got in more minutes for our Idita Walk, too.  I'm finally starting to get excited about Spring after this very long Winter.  How about all of you?

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23 comments:

  1. Wouldn't life be different if you could take dogs into restaurants in the States? You rarely, if ever, see a badly behaved dog in a shop or restaurant here in France. Maybe that's because only the friendly, well trained ones go out.

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  2. Oh, I loved Dan Fogelberg! I was so sad when I heard that he had left us, but what a beautiful memorial for him! We used to listen to Captured Angel and Souvenirs when we were courting so the lyrics of those two albums bring back good memories too. He was a true poet, and I loved his voice.

    Looks like you all had a great walk. I do hope your bronchitis clears up soon - I am no stranger to it myself, so I sympathise!

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  3. Oh dat is so cool how they has da lyrics on da rocks!
    Hawks are neat to watch, as long as they is FAR FAR away from me. Don't want them to pick up a little doxie ya knows. Crazy birds.

    Them is some beeeeeautiful fotos.

    Puddles

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  4. Happy Hearts Day, Bunny!

    Love,
    Piappies Fudgie, Princess, Frappie, Mocha, Sugar, Wai-Pai, Wai-Max & Forgie

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  5. I has nefur seened a real live beeber afore, only their clubhouses. How kewl to see him swimming like that. It is supposed to be in the 60 degreeses here on Friday. I think I is going to make mom take a vakashun day from werk coz the weekend be looking kinda nasty. I think, howefur, that our groundhogs woz rite with their predikshuns. It do feel like spring be coming.

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  6. I really love that last picture of Morgan! Such a cool walk for you guys! It as almost 50 degrees here yesterday! Then I woke up to 5 degrees... ugh.
    -Corbin

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  7. Very nice! Glad the snow is at least starting to melt there. Bunny and Morgan are so beautiful!

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  8. Well, if the geeses are there, maybe spring is close behind? Tell Morgan that since I don't have snows here, I cope by digging holes. It works...although the peoples may not like it much!!

    Mom is hoping spring is here to stay too...we don't even get fun snows...just cold. Blah!

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  9. What wonderful pictures, and we are still in love with that pink coat of yours!

    Rudy's Raiser

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  11. Honey Bunny
    I love visiting your blog is full of stories nice, beautiful photos and spectacular tours.
    I would like to live in a place as their town to stroll and can tell many stories and to have so many beautiful photos like yours.

    Kisses

    Rubi ^^

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  12. Great pictures!

    Love the idea of his lyrics on the rocks.

    Yours,

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  13. Oh, I'm glad that things are starting to warm up for you finally! And I think it is Most Thoughtful of you to take it easy on your mom's lungs. Just remember, humans are very much delicate. It's kind of amazing their species has been around for as long as it has, really.

    Oh, and I just luved the picture of Morgan on the snow! She looks so happy!

    Wiggles & wags,
    Mayzie

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  14. That Rock Garden is neato! My mom says she has some "tapes" of Dan Foglberg in the entertainment center. Glad your mom is well enough to take you out for such a nice walk.
    Spring you say? It is 10 degrees out right now and will get down to at least 4 tonight. I would love some Spring about now!

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  15. I miss not being able to see wildlife(except for rats), but I don't think I have ever seen a beaver outside of the zoo. We're lucky that a lot of our snow has melted here, though it's making for some muddy walks. Poor Morgan will have to wait quite awhile to see that much snow again.

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  16. Very nice pictures! I'm glad you guys had a fun time hiking for a bit and I hope your Mom gets better!

    I can't wait for Spring to come! I'm so darned tired of the snow piling up again and again.

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  17. OK, I am a little scared of hawks, but that's a cool picture. Your snow is SO MUCH nicer then our snow - which is pretty much black. Although we want spring to arrive, we dread when the snow melts cause there's always so much trash and other unmentionables buried beneath it. Sorry for the gross comment!

    Your pal, Pip

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  18. Pretty good walk, you guys! We always look for Beavers around here..Oregon is suppose to have a lot of them, but all we ever see is Nutria.
    We only have 180 minutes for Idawalk. We need to get with it!!

    Wyatt and Stanzie

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  19. Finally! For some reason, your blog didn't let me leave a comment earlier! It sounds like a great hike. And, Bunny, no snide comments about your mom and drama queens. She's had bronchitis for a long time so she has every right to go on and on and on about it. I hope that she feels all better soon.

    I think that last photo of Morgan is the best ever!

    And seeing a beaver was very very cool. I've seen them only a handful of times, and they were special times that I'll remember! Thanks for sharing.

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  20. Hi! Bunny! Love your pictures. We thought Spring was on us here in California, but now there is rain and more rain in the forecast and also colder weather. Well, we consider 50s cold!

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  21. Morgan, the next time the Schwann's dude is on your porch - shhhh, be really quiet and sweet and your momma just might get you some ice cream!

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  22. That's a way cool place for a nice, relaxing walk. Fogelberg's songs rock - get it? We think that restaurant should have outdoor dining so dogs can eat, too!

    The Road Dogs

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