Listicle April 17, 2025
Outdoors, outdoors, outdoors.
Fave time of year: now. Spring in all her finest, with the magnolias, daffodils, tulips, forsythias, dandelions, violets, cherry trees and FINALLY it stays light past 7 pm. Hallelujah.
Fave ephemeral wildflower: trillium. For some reason, I've read a lot about this wildflower but have never seen it myself UNTIL this past weekend on a short backpacking trip along the Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail (LHHT) in SW Pennsylvania. Very excited to finally see some with my own two eyes:
Trillium in SW PA. Credit: A O'Brien Fave April accomplishment: 50 mile equine endurance ride. Maple and I rode the distance two weeks ago and successfully completed. This ride was held at Fair Hill International, a huge equestrian park near Elkton, MD with massive rolling hills and views for miles. Great venue, great ride, great pony, sore body.
Between two ears: miles and miles and miles of green grass. Credit: A O'Brien Fave hiking shelter: Adirondack-style with fireplace. These are the huts used along the LHHT. They fit 5 to 6 people but more importantly, each has its own fireplace. Very handy when the temps dip overnight. The only debate: who tends the fire between1 and 5 am?
Adirondack style shelter Credit: A O'Brien Fave insects in the sunshine: honeybees. April is a very busy time in the Maryland beekeeper's calendar. Queens are hatching, bees are swarming, nectar is starting to flow and honey is in the making. We had a good bee sesh a few weeks ago. Confirmed all queens from last year are still alive and doing well.
A queen bee marked with green. Credit: A O'Brien
Ceiling stains can be an early sign that water has entered an area above the finished surface. Information about ceiling repair water damage Fairfax, VA is helpful because repairing the visible damage alone may not address the source of the moisture.