Normally it would be packed with students and their parents this weekend, as kids would be preparing to graduate. During our rather long walk we saw all of a dozen people.
It was bliss. Divine, safe bliss.
We started our walk going down beside the Red Cedar River where we saw our first goose family. It wouldn't be the last.
We ended up at Beal Botainical gardens. MSU has wonderful gardens. In the Horticultural Gardens you'll find some gorgeous blooms but at Beal, you'll see interesting and unusual plants and even weeds!
Many things had yet to bud and bloom but I learned that these sweet flowers are cowslips.
And I loved these!
The trillium were in full bloom!
And there were both interesting and informative plaques...
...and unique features, such as these decorative plaques on the stairs leading out of the sunken garden.
We had some company during our walk in the garden. These two followed us around for a bit!
The tulips were out and looking good.
These matched my coat!
We left the gardens and continued our campus walk, noting some beautiful lilacs, the first I've seen to begin blooming.
Beaumont Tower, with its bells that chime every fifteen minutes, is a campus landmark. We did see one student here, having her photo taken by the door. In retrospect, I should have said if she stood back much farther from the tower so she was in the foreground, her photo would have both her and the tower featured, rather than the rather boring door.
Most of the flowering trees were on the way out, but a few were still looking pretty glorious!
We ventured into East Lansing. This area is one of the busiest intersections in this college town. Not today!
Moving on, we went back to campus, passing by a couple of lovely red bud trees.
And then, crossing through, we were back at the river. There were five families of geese on the riverbank -- and at least 25 goslings!
The parent geese were remarkably undisturbed by our passing so close. They neither shooed their babies away or honked at us.
These birds are used to people! And darned cute.
Our day out was really one of the nicest I've had in months. True, the weather wasn't great, but it didn't start to sprinkle until we reached the car.
A day to remember.
51 comments:
Such a beautiful campus area to walk in. That's what I love about the university and college towns. There is often a lot of beautiful park like area and gardens to enjoy.
The flowers are lovely, and the plaques are especially nice. I don't see the absence of people as safe or blissful, but that's another issue entirely.I'm sure glad you got out! Kudos to Rick for having such a creative and wonderful idea for celebrating the day!
I am so glad you got out and were able to spend time at that lovely place~
Hello, Jeanie,
What a lovely place for a walk, so many pretty scenes and views. The reflection of the tree is one of my favorites. I love the geese, the flowers and plaques are all beautiful. I am glad you and Rick found a nice spot for your walk. It is always nice to see your pretty smiling face, what a great photo of you! Beautiful collection of photos. Wishing you a happy day and a great weekend ahead.
That is gorgeous! What a pleasant place that campus is, with the gracious bell tower. Must be a wonderful place to study. When you saw somewhere different for the first time in ages, I bet it pleased you to remember there's still a whole world out there, even if it is less busy than usual. I know I felt slightly strange when I ventured in the car one day - suddenly seeing all the places for real that I had been remembering from before the lockdown. Makes me wonder what I'll feel like when I revisit my usual stores again. I would think they'll have reconfigured the inside layout to take account of social distancing recommendations. Oh, and that magnolia is gorgeous. They are so showy but last such a short time, so I'm so glad you got to see this one before it was gone for the rest of the year. The picture of you is heartwarming, you look so happy to be out and about - we must all keep smiling, my friend!
What a wonderful walk you had, everything must have looked even more beautiful without the usual crowds. I discovered a cowslip growing in my rockery shortly after we arrived and it made me smile. Happy strolling.
Great idea to walk elsewhere..so pretty and you both look so well:)
What beauty. Thank you for taking me with you.
The campus is so well landscaped and beautiful! What a wonderful place to walk. Love that the geese let you get so close.
A fantastic place for a walk. I enjoyed tagging along.
Amalia
xo
What a nice outing for you! This is just what I need. The goslings are adorable. And what a rare treat minus all the people!
Great pictures and so very good to see your smile Jeanie. XXOOXX
Gorgeous, and so peaceful! Thanks for taking us along!
One of my favorite places!! Since I can't be there now, sure is wonderful to enjoy it vicariously -- thanks for the beautiful pictures! Maybe special thanks for the redbuds... I am missing them this year.
Jeanie, I know you thoroughly enjoyed yourselves in such a lovely place. I am sure you felt like a different person after your walk.
Stay well.
That's such a pretty place to go walk! I'm glad it worked out for you to be able to go and safely enjoy it. I love all of the flowers, but especially the lilacs. Ours are almost finished for the year, but it makes me so happy to see them.
beautiful campus and I love the gardens
Your photos are a visual delight. Love them all.
How lovely that you had a trip out. Love the photos. The bronze pieces are great, as are the flowers, but the goslings are my faves. Have a great day, hugs, Valerie
What a beautiful campus ~ Great pictures ~ I'm glad you enjoyed your outing.
Joy! What a wonderful outing. The lovely signs of spring, especially the redbud trees and the goslings, make me smile :)
What a beautiful place to walk. I wish we lived close to places like that to walk.
What a beautiful walk.
What an amazing walk you and Rick took. When I saw those decorative plaques, I thought they would make great rubbings. Beautiful photos as usual, dear.
I think my red bud froze with last weeks snow and freezing rain. The flowers dont look so good anymore. Thank you for the virtual tour of the campuses. Never been to either. Love that one tulip. Very interesting color. Janie
I am very pleased that Dr. Rick knew exactly the right course of treatment for you, to provide maximum benefit, and that in order to make sure that you enjoyed it to the fullest he came along with you. Don't you love a doctor who makes the diagnosis, picks you up at your house and then stays with while the treatment is administered. No doubt the fresh air, the freedom, the exercise, the sheer joy of being outside with someone special were all important but the most important therapeutic tool was the presence of CANADA Geese with their young! Now there's a pick-me-upper that is guaranteed to work every time!
Thank you for treating us to this refreshing virtual walk with Spectacular Spring Blooms and wild life too. I just bet this day time outing was like chicken noodle soup for the soul!
Our beautiful world, I love it so!
Jemma
What a lovely outing! I'm sure it lifted your spirits.
We had to stop on the highway today for a goose crossing. One parent at the front of the parade, the little bits and then the second parent.
Ontario is starting to open up this weekend. Private recreational trailer parks, boat launches, some retail businesses.
Wow, the third picture is outstanding!
As the pic of you with the matching flowers, beautiful!!! I love your smile :-)
Still frickin´ cold here.
Hmmm, lovely blossoms, and the latern matches great again, too!
I´d need a match to light a fire and warm up here...
A walk like that is good for the soul! I’m happy you could be out there and share your walk with us. Those baby geese are so cute!
Oh Jeanie you made me so happy with these photos and memories you shared! I really love the flowers and the MSU views you gave us here. That geese/duck that were following you look super sweet and pretty! We have a wood carving with the same color as the mom :)
Thank you so much for sharing your photo and your matching coat, smiles brighten anybody's day, especially on a gloomy one like this today here on the Philippines (not complaining about the gloomy though, it has been hot and humid and melting us for the past 3 days so a cloudy and rainy one won't hurt, though the typhoon coming is really strong so I hope it weakens as it travels through land and last news I heard it did.
Again, let me greet you a Happy Mother's day and truly, that walk with rick will surely be a memorable day in this pandemic :)
Thank you for taking me on your delightful Mother's Day walk - so serene.
As blossoms bud and days grow longer in the northern hemisphere, we are usually filling open suit cases for our next sojourn chez nous in France in oder to escape the chilly weather in southern Australia. However, our house in Le Grand Est will remain with its shutters closed this summer - lifeless for at least another 12 months due to the covid 19 pandemic. Stay safe a keep smiling.
Thanks for taking us on this walk Jeanie. Wow, it was gorgeous. All the spring blooming trees look wonderful and you got to see some cute little ducklings. Now that was worth a car ride and certainly a wonderful way to spend mother's day. And it gave me someplace different to see from my couch also. Happy Friday. Hugs-Erika
What a lovely outing, full of beautiful flowers and new life!
Jenna
What a nice travelogue of a beautiful campus. I love being on college campuses!! You are yourself a lovely flower, a cheeful blossoming you!
So much beauty. I'm sure it was a wonderful day.
Jeanie, I'm so glad you were able to get "out". What a beautiful place for it. We are going to meet the kids half way to pick up our groceries tomorrow. So we get to get "out" too. Won't be as pretty a place as yours but not complaining, and packing masks and gloves..Stay well..xxoJudy
So good to see YOU amid the other lovely pix.
I envy you the lilacs.
You create so much joy with your postings, Jeanie - thank you!
I really did enjoy my walk with you, simply fabulous photographs.
Yes, that really was "a day to remember".
My good wishes, have a happy weekend.
All the best Jan
Hello Jeanie,
This was a beautiful walk and a lovely way to spend Mother's Day. The flowers are gorgeous and the geese and goslings are so cute. Thanks again for linking up and sharing your post. I wish you a happy weekend!
Those goslings are so cute!! We have not seen babies yet but we might try going to a different lake this weekend where a friend saw baby goslings and ducks. We have mostly seen daddy ducks on our walks so the moms must be elsewhere!
The campus is so pretty! I also found my college campus to be the most beautiful in the late spring and summer when most of the students were gone which is a shame!!! Glad you had a nice walk that day, despite weather that wasn’t ideal!
Amazing walk!Thanks!!!
There IS something magical about having an entire public place to yourself.
It's like being in a dream.
Missing the people but loving the open spaces sometimes.
Thanks for sharing yours,
Jennifer
What a gorgeous campus to stroll in spring! I'm glad you have been able to get out and enjoy it Jeanie.
Tulips look gorgeous!
I also love to take a walk in the Horticultural Garden, a great place to enjoy and learn many plants :)
What a lovely Mother's Day walk. I love that Rick planned this for you.
What a beautiful campus. You saw so many interesting things on your walk. I can't believe how tall Beaumont Tower is. The red bud trees are so pretty. It's nice that you were able to get out and walk and not many people around. Our flowering trees have come and gone here, and Summer is on its way. : )
~Sheri
I am a bit late in catching up on blog reading, but your day outing looked like it was a great one, Jeanie. I liked seeing your smiling face and seeing that you had a scarf and jacket gave me a chill on a rainy day here.
What a beautiful campus and wonderful place to go for a walk.
What a pretty campus! So much to see and so beautifully maintained and it looked like you had it all to yourselves.
I can't think of a better Mothers' Day gift for Rick to have given you.
I'll say one thing for this virus situation: it's really helped us to appreciate the simple things in life, like walks in nature, and time with loved ones.
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