Monday, March 24, 2008

Kite Flying


"Today is the day when bold kites fly,
When cumulus clouds roar across the sky.
When robins return, when children cheer,
When light rain beckons spring to appear.

Today is the day when daffodils bloom,
Which children pick to fill the room,
Today is the day when grasses green,
When leaves burst forth for spring to be seen."
- Robert McCracken, Spring

This past Friday provided a most typical March day. Full of the kind of sunshine that foreshadows the sweetness of Spring while also staying true to its roots—full of wind. We knew bad weather was coming so we took off for a really neat park less than two miles from my parents’ house. Laumeier Sculpture Park is large with walking trails throughout. The trails lead you to sculptures of varying sizes and styles, all placed in a natural setting. The picture above is one sculpture that I particularly liked. One of the neatest features of the park, in my opinion, is its accessibility. The majority of the trails are paved and all of the sculptures have a miniature version set on a pedestal with Braille descriptions. Aidan thought that was pretty cool, himself.

We went to one of the bigger, open fields and attempted to fly our kites. We found that we have been spoiled over the years by flying kites at the beach. That isn’t work at all. The sea breezes pick up your kite and take over. Our experience here was, despite the gusting March winds, sustained wind is your friend when kite flying. Otherwise, you are running, a lot. Oh, well. We got the kites up for a little bit and then just proceeded to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. And the sculptures.

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