A Spring Break Walk in the Park

Spring break has once again come and gone. It had its ups and its downs. But let’s not focus on the downs, shall we? Let’s just remember the good times!

Jaylin got to come home for most of the week. Last year, his spring break did not line up with Laura’s spring break, so it was nice to have everything in the same week this year. And the Riedel kids all had the same break, too, so we got to spend time with Katie, Zach, and Leah as well. Here is a memory, with the top photo by Karen and the bottom photo by me:

We did all get together one time on the one full day when Jaylin, Katie, Zach, and Leah were all in town at the same time, but no one took a photo of that occasion. Oops.

But then our time together came to an end, and Laura and I took Jaylin to the airport for his flight back to school. After we dropped him off, we decided to go for a walk in the park.

Walking in the Park

Our park of choice was Shelby Farms Park in Tennessee. We had been there before Christmas for the drive-through Starry Nights light display. However, we knew that they also have trails for hiking, so Laura suggested that we give it a try. We were looking for something fun to do close to where we were, and Shelby Farms was not that much out of the way for our trip home. Plus, it was free, so that was in our price range!

It took us a bit to figure out where a trail might be, but we eventually found one. The sign said the trail was 2.75 miles long, and that sounded good to us, so off we went on a small adventure!

As you might guess from our coats, it was rather cold outside. For some reason, spring break never happens in spring. It should more accurately be called late winter break. But that does not sound as exciting and warm as spring break sounds. It had been warm here the week before spring break, but not the week of spring break. Typical.

But the sun was out, so that helped. And when we walked through the trees, the wind was not all that strong, although it was blowing pretty good whenever we walked around the lakes. But it was bearable, so we kept on going.

Seeing the Bison Herd

One of the things Shelby Farms is noted for is a bison herd that lives at the park. They are in a fenced-in area, obviously, but they have a pretty good place to roam. We did not get to see them when we were there for Starry Nights because it was too dark to see them. I guess putting spotlights on the bison habitat is not a good idea.

We caught a glimpse of the bison when we were driving in, but I hoped we could see them from the trail at some point. I was starting to doubt that we would until the trail turned along a large fence that was obviously for protecting the bison. After walking a little farther along, we found them.

I think it is a little funny that the scientific name for a bison is bison bison. That makes me glad that my name isn’t Steve Steve. Or maybe Burns Burns. But I get the impression that the bison do not mind too much. And actually, the bison in this herd are plains bison, whose scientific trinomial is bison bison bison. Seriously.

Yes, the correct plural of bison is bison. And yes, these are bison and not buffalo. Even though the signs on the fence said, “Buffalo enclosure,” and even though the park’s website says that the park likes the term “buffalo” because it recalls the bison’s role in American history, these are bison. Not buffalo.

As you can see, it was bison napping time while we were there. Not that there is anything wrong with that. A good afternoon nap after lunch sounds nice sometimes. Besides, these guys and girls are big enough that I wouldn’t want to argue with them!

We enjoyed seeing the bison (bison bison). And we enjoyed the rest of our walk through the park, too. It was a great way to begin winding down spring break.

Now, we are looking forward to actual spring-like weather, whenever it might arrive!

So let us search for him! Let us seek to know the Lord! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land. - Hosea 6:3

About the Photos

All photos in this post were taken with my iPhone, except for the top photo in the family photo collage, which was taken with Karen’s iPhone.

I had put my camera in the car on the morning that we took Jaylin to the airport. But when we got to the park, I decided to just leave it in the car instead of carrying it on our walk. And for what I wanted on that day, the iPhone photos turned out to be just fine. Sometimes, less is more.

And these photos received no post processing, either. Unusual for me, yes, but they looked just fine without any extra work.

Photo: Each photo is a single JPG exposure from my iPhone. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: iPhone 14 Pro
Date: March 17, 2023
Location: Memphis, Tennessee