Lockdown Lite

Corona is such a drag. Things are becoming a bit easier hereabouts regarding getting together and going to restaurants and such. But restrictions still apply.

It is a holiday weekend, so it's hard to notice the change in group activity.  It's Pfingsten, it's Pentacost, it's a Bank Holiday.  Really, most Germans don't celebrate the holidays as religious anymore; it's a federal holiday, (most) everyone gets a day off, and so they are happy with that. The religious aspect has little meaning, but the name remains. 

But one is aware of differences.  Traffic is less than half of normal weekend traffic.  It is q u i e t outside.  We notice the birdies.  

After a leisurely Sunday breakfast (never rushed in our house) we got our stuff together and headed out for a walk.  The weather was predicted to be worse in the afternoon, and if they say it's going to be bad, it often is!

Instead of walking a circle route, we took the bus to Knoops' Park to walk around there and then to home.  We hoped to get back before the rain moved in.

The first thing I noticed were all the little white flowers - the ramps are done and are doing their thing for next season!  I didn't realize how many ramps were along the paths here!  That said, it's not very spring-y in the sense of pleasant aromas. These babies are first cousins to garlic and that's just how the flowers smell.

But there are lots of other bloomers now and one is the only azalea that has a scent, and it is lovely.

Because it has been unusually cool, the azaleas and rhododendrons are a bit slow coming out and so far don't seem to be doing the coordinated show of years past, but still, we have color!

The Friends of the Park do lots of canvassing of the flora and there's a brochure that leads you through the park and identifies many of the trees there.  This one really caught my eye - a weeping beech.

It's HUGE and you can walk through the branches and see it from the inside out. How lovely and private and it's so easy to imagine being a little girl and taking the dolls and some toys and spending hours alone making pretend.

We were there about a year ago and took pictures of steel sculptures that had been placed in the gardens, but we were surprised they were still there.  Maybe they're permanent.  It's hard to see how BIG these are without a little comparison, like Werner!

Then we took a little break, sitting on a bench overlooking a little field full of buttercups.

There were more rhododendrons to admire,

and dog roses.  They're just coming out and their scent can be a bit overwhelming when they are all bunched together.  But the singular blooms are intoxicating! And so brief.

We started in sunshine and ended with clouds but after a nice long walk, we had a nice little nap and the leftovers or our last lilac and lemon cake for a snack.  

Now, please, a bit warmer weather??