Rediscovering Cherry Park

If I remember correctly Cherry Park didn't even exist when we first moved here. Perhaps it was finished shortly after we arrived because I remember taking the girls there as toddlers. It was fairly barren with only newly planted trees and bushes. In the summer it was quite hot because the trees were too small to provide shade. Over twenty five years have passed and it has turned into a very nice park.

Last week when it was 100 degrees in the shade at noon, we decided to have a genuinely southern summer experience and take a picnic lunch to Cherry Park. For us a picnic lunch often means a veggieburger sub from Substation II. The sign may look bad but the sandwiches there are oh so yummy.

Good eatin' awaits us inside that bag.

We chose a nice picnic table in the shade and dove in.

For some reason the fork in Saeed's pocket made me laugh.

For Martha: a picture of her sister.
(This time Saeed, not the fork, was making me laugh.)

We checked out the playground area where I plan to
spend some time with my grandchildren.

Hmmm... fortunately Cyrus is a big boy. Hopefully he can pass for a two-year old next year and we can take him here even if he's not.

Not far from the playground stands Casey At The Bat. Why this statue? Cherry Park has many baseball diamonds for local and national games.

It's a really beautiful statue. For those of you who don't know, Casey is a fictional character in a poem by Ernest Thayer.

This week we went to Cherry Park again but because the weather was so cool. I was actually cold in my shorts and T-shirt. Walking around warmed me up enough to be comfortable.

The bike path is the sidewalk on the left; the walkers' is on the right. Unfortunately the bike path isn't enough of a route to really get a good ride, but the surroundings are beautiful.

This flower attracted my attention; it looked very exotic and tropical.

Another beautiful flowering plant along our path.

No, this is not a tombstone. Throughout the park are labels identifying the trees. Crape Myrtles are beautiful flowering trees that bloom for about two months in the summer. They come in several colors, primarily white, light pink and dark pink.

At this time, mid-August, they are throwing down their flowers.

How surreal - pink snow.

Cherry Park has many very nice baseball diamonds and soccer fields. The National Women's Softball Championships have been here the last three years in a row. Notice the moon in the sky.

Are thou pale for weariness
Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
Wandering companionless
Among the stars that have a different birth,
And ever changing, like a joyless eye
That finds no object worth its constancy?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822)

With the moon out and the golden sun sinking...
it was time to go home.