Fickle February

---

February may be the shortest month of the year, but it makes an impression. Here in Wisconsin, it is a month of snowfalls, spring-like thaws, more snow, bitter cold, and more spring-like thaws.  This year, on Valentine's Day, they predicted possible thunderstorms overnight, followed by crazy winds, a cold front and more snow.  Predictably unpredictable, I guess. 

There's a lack of continuity in the nature photos I've taken lately. One day I go out and hike through six inches of snow, the next day the sun is shining and there is green in the landscape. This weather pattern seems more akin to March or April.

​I know weather is a small-talk subject, except when it isn't. I mean, it affects all of us, in one way or another. It can throw a wrench in a world of plans. It can conjure a blissful mood change, when the sun peeks out, finally, after too many gray days in a row. It can make you want to hide under the covers all day.  For a week.

There was plenty of snow on the ground at Riverside Park in Watertown.

The volleyball court at Froemming Park on a sunny, unseasonably warm February day.

---

Even so...the 9th Anniversary of The Park Next Door is coming up in March. Last year in March there were 180 listings on the website. Presently, there are just over 240. 

​My goal is to reach 250 before the March anniversary, and, weather be damned, I intend to get there.  So close...

---

---

In recent weeks, I've walked the trails at Stony Ridge Nature Trail in the Kettle Moraine Southern Unit, Oerding Park in Oconomowoc, and Riverside Park in Watertown.

Last weekend we took a walk on the Oak Leaf Trail in Franklin, beginning at Froemming Park, and I drove out to Palmyra to hike the trails at Carlin-Weld County Park. Each space a little different, but all displaying the beauty that is Wisconsin.

​One day there was a thick blanket of snow on the ground, next the snow was gone and it was near to 50 degrees. Dress in layers, they say. And they're right.

The groundhog may have predicted six more weeks of winter, but in Wisconsin I think that's a given. At least daylight is hanging on a little longer each day.

​Whatever happens, don't let it keep you from enjoying the beauty out there at The Park Next Door. 🍃​

Warmer days = Open water on the Oconomowoc River at Oerding Park in Oconomowoc.