Some days are meant for Comfort Runs.    A run you can cuddle up to.  Something easy on the eyes, knees and determination.  A macaroni and cheese of a run.

Buffered from street noise by the encircling waters of Stow Lake, Strawberry Hill is a leafy green oasis that combines the steady regularity of a one mile loop with an entertaining variety of seasonal changes.  Perhaps it is the uniform of the loop that highlights the details but I notice them here in a different way~ a drop of heavy mist caught in the twisting branches of a trees, a sudden burst of pink flowers indicating the arrival of spring, five new ducklings following their elders.

My Midwestern heritage finds these gentle reminders of the passing season comforting, like checking in with your partner after a long day.  How did that meeting go?  Did the baby duck live another day? Did the flowers start blooming on the cherry tree?