Signs of Spring

It's been a long winter.  Kids have been sick, the weather has been yucky, and cabin fever has been rampant.  So when yesterday dawned sunny with a high of 46 (down right tropical I tell ya!) it was something to be celebrated.  Cabin fever manifests itself in my children as an inability to make a decesion without a tantrum and a complete lack of body control in regards to one's brother.  I was tetering on the edge between checking myself into the loony bin or commiting homocide, so I threw the kids in the car and we headed to one of our favorite botanical gardens: Inniswood Gardens.



We began our excursion with the goal of finding signs of spring.  Just the fact that we were outside without our coats and had the sun shining on our heads was a sure sign that spring is on it's way, but it's a fun lesson for the kids to find the little signs that spring is coming, and learn about how nature stirs itself to life again at this time of year.

We found bulbs poking up through the bare dirt.

We found bright green moss growing in the swampy areas.

We heard birds singing in the trees.

We saw a rushing stream, swollen from the recent thunder storms.

We saw budding tree branches.

I got to wear my Vibram Five Finger shoes, that had been packed away for most of the winter.


The boys had a blast running through the mud.

Until Connor fell down.

And got mud on his jeans.

 But mostly, the boys moved...


and moved...

 and moved...

 and moved...

 and moved...

and moved!




Of course, there were several signs that Winter wasn't quite over yet.  The boys found a few patches of snow and played King of the Mountain.

And parts of my favorite knot hedge were covered to protect it from the next inevitable frost that will surely come before the weather warms up for good.

The fresh air and sunshine was better than any medicine.  We returned home in much better spirits.  A good time was had by all.

Inniswood Gardens

Columbus has a wonderful Metro Park system. And Inniswood Gardens is one of my favorites. So when Owen was asking last week if we could go, I was more than happy to say yes! Inniswoods is a botanical gardens. There are no playgrounds, but still plenty for kids to do and see.

The boys ran ahead with Daddy,

while Aria and I came along at our own pace.


The first stop is always the water tower. There is a button on the back side that turns on the water for a couple of minutes. The boys play in the water and use plastic slats to direct the flow.

Another favorite is the tree house. It's insanely cute, and the boys have a great time climbing up in it and running across the rope bridge behind it.Notice the biggest kid is having as much fun as the little ones.

This beautiful garden has a Native American creation story etched into the stone pathway. You follow the numbers around the garden and read the story as you go. It's a beautiful story of how the wife of the Chief of the Skypeople fell through a hole in the sky to the water below, and the water creatures had to swim to the bottom of the ocean to bring up earth for her to stand on. The earth was placed on a turtles back so the woman could have a place to stand, and that became the whole world.

The gardens change with the seasons, so there is always something new to see. Today there were mums all over, and they were the most brilliant colors.

This is the knot hedge in the herb garden.

And there is lots of open space for rolling down hills.

And tons of interesting water features.

As a family, we love spending time with nature, and with each other.