Let the Summer Shine

I love summer. 

To be more specific, I love summer in Minnesota. Maybe it's nature trying to compensate for the less habitable (but still gorgeous) times of the year, but in the summer, this state THRIVES. 

Now that we've been on our continuing mission for a while (translation: we've been in our house for over a year), I've managed to finally get outdoors and discover the wonderful things about our newish home city. 

I managed to stumble across some wonderful walking trails in the heart of our suburb. All around this park and garden area are the signs of suburbia - subdivisions, apartments, and sprawling commercial areas - but here it looks as though there's no one else around. 

Some of it is pretty landscaped, but it's still peaceful and green. It's a great place for a morning walk after I drop Miss Mads off at school. Before everything heats up for the day, it's nice to find a moment of peace. In the gardens above the tiny waterfall there are often a few people doing tai chi. Often, I encounter the same woman. She's in a different spot each time, but she's always reading. 

But most wonderfully of all, it all smells alive. When you're surrounded by so much green, so many things that are alive, you can't help but feel alive, too.