Just another busy day of retirement
Being retired for me does not mean just getting up and doing much of nothing all day.
Most days, I have an idea of what I would like to do with my day and usually plan activities around one or two things I would like to accomplish. The joy is, at the end of the day, looking back and thinking I had a heck of a day.
Today was one of those days. I planned to do a bike ride in Ohiopyle State Park and spread a load of mulch on the gardens that my wife Diane and I have planted at our mountain home.
Morning was a bit foggy, so had time to read the 蘑菇视频’s Progress edition. I always look forward to this special paper. The edition turned into a two cup of coffee morning and by the time I finished the fog was lifting and the promise of a beautiful sunny day was unfolding.
As I turned off the computer and loaded my bike on the car, I thought of my longtime friend Dan who lives in Morgantown and has been seriously ill for some time. We talk on the phone every few days and I had been thinking of driving down to see him. A quick phone call and I was on my way.
The trip is just about an hour and I was pleased to see how much more advanced the spring growth was in Morgantown; even more so than Uniontown. The tree canopy was almost full and consisted of a great mixture of white and pink dogwood, cherry and crab apple and the green budding of the rest of the forest trees.
Outside of the forest areas, Morgantown seems to be doing well from an economic standpoint. Townhouses, apartments shopping area and restaurants seem to be sprouting everywhere. It was good to see the vitality of the area.
Dan and I had a great visit and after a short time I could tell he was tired and needed to rest. My reward was a big smile and an even bigger hug and the realization of how important it is to make these visits.
After leaving Dan, I decided to try the Mon River Bike Trail which runs from Fairmont, West Virginia, northward to the Pennsylvania border, just south of Point Marion.
The trail was awash in sunshine and green along with a nice display of hillside wildflowers and some native dogwood. As along the Great Allegheny Passage Trail the dogwood trees that survive seem to favor open areas that are not part of the immediate under story of the larger tree canopy.
I can remember when the hills of Southwestern Pennsylvania looked like they were covered with snow when the dogwood was in bloom.
The Sheepskin Bike trail, which is currently under construction in our area, will connect with the Mon River Trail and come northward thorough Point Marion, Uniontown and on up to Dunbar. It will connect at Connellsville with the Great Allegheny Passage running from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh.
While driving home, I decided to take the back roads and drove across Chestnut Ridge via Skyline Drive past Laurel Caverns. I was surprised to see so little spring vegetation. Only a few trees had buds and if it were not for the sunshine and 75 degree weather, one would have thought it was still winter.
Once I arrived home, I did get the mulch spread, but it was almost dark when I finished.
So much for retirement.