Spring musings and more progress

With temps in the 50's, sunny weather, and the realization that Spring officially starts tonight at 8:07; frustration was ramped up just a bit. I decided to walk along the trail by our house, which is actually part of the Potomac Heritage Trail. I completed a 1.24 mile loop (according to my GPS) and seemed to manage OK. I also walked along the road later to pick up Mason at the bus stop. Total outing of 2 miles. My knee is sore,no doubt, but I at least feel it is now just a matter of strengthening as apposed to duration. No, I do not intend on seeing how far I can go.
With the warmer weather comes the inevitable increase in outdoor activities. I am determined to get Mason and Matthew out more this year. I purchased a smaller tent for the 3 of us to use when Mari is unable to join us. We used it once before colder weather set in. It will be time to start checking out the camp boxes and making sure they are ready to go for the year and air out the tents and sleeping bags that have been stored since our last family outing last October. I had used the family tent earlier last Summer on an outing to West Virginia with my neighbor Jay. We were under a huge tree by a little river. Not sure of the name of the tree, but the sap, which dripped on the tent during the night, had the distinct odor of horse manure. Took awhile to get that out. I had not noticed it the night before while polishing off a bottle of wine and some beers after a long day of hiking. Go figure.
The calendar is starting to pop up with the numerous offerings of the coming warm seasons. Re-enactments, festivals, outdoor concerts, winery events, family and friends' gatherings and so on and so forth. It is always a matter of triaging to decide what to do. What a wonderful dilemma!
National Trail Days is coming, and I hope to celebrate it by volunteering on a trail crew or a clean up of some local area. With our schedule, that may not be feasible on the actual day, but I will complete the commitment at the earliest convenience. I hope you will all consider a similar investment.