We went walking yesterday on the north 50, looking for morels but happy enough just to be out hiking on a beautiful, cool and crisp spring day. I've hiked this land three times over the past two years looking for morels with no luck but yesterday we hit the jackpot, finding a huge patch not long after we started looking. We harvested a nice batch and left the rest in hopes of assuring the patch will be there in years to come. As we continued on our way, we were treated to so many wonderful delights. Delicate violets gracing the floor of the wooded areas; the sharp, sweet call of an Oriole (the first we've heard this year!!); a tree frog resting on a branch knee-height; and a grove of pawpaw trees adorned in dangling buds that speak of precious fruits to come. Deer prints along the creek, mossy rocks in clear water, dandelions and redbuds in bloom. What a spring this has been so far! A very tough winter bled into a cold, wet spring last year, obscuring so many of these happy harbingers, making the experience of them all the sweeter this year.