Almost Summer

MonkeyBoy and I had rather a hard time dragging ourselves to shul yesterday and sitting through the service given that it was a summery-warm and brilliantly sunny morning. (Beth, I'm keeping my promise!) Those two hours felt like a gentle torture but once liberated we raced home to enjoy the sun briefly before returning to the synagogue for The Princess' Shabbat School class. We got the boys to come along and while she was learning about Passover, The Spouse and I took the boys to a new nearby park.

Tanner Springs Park is a mini-wetland in the middle of an urban neighborhood of new construction and new money. The whole area was once a swampy wetland and this little plot of under an acre is all that remains. It's a bit unsettling, really. There was a surprising amount of birdsong and not a songbird to be seen so I couldn't help but wonder if I was hearing virtual birds. One bird was for real, though-- a huge osprey alternately perched on the roofs of swanky condos and swooped down to look for fish in the dinky little stream. It was truly awesome to see the magnificent bird up close but also a bit sad given its slim chances at finding a meal.

We wandered about in a bit of a sun-induced daze but throughly enjoyed the warm afternoon. There was some great art installed in the park which made interesting photography subjects.

Our lovely afternoon was topped off by a stop for ice cream after picking up The Princess. I'd been curious about Cool Moon Ice Cream ever since last summer's skywriting episode. They have a great selection and everyone enjoyed their choices but I was particularly taken with their "kulfi", a pistachio and cardamom ice cream that lacks the texture of its Indian namesake, but has all the rich, exotic flavor. A perfect dinner for an almost summer evening.