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Daily Archives: March 12, 2011

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A walk in the park

While visiting the vet the other day we learned two very interesting things: One – That our vet lives in generally the same neighborhood as we do and passes our apartment on her way to work every day, And two – That there is a very nice little park and walking trail less than a mile from us that we’ve never even known of.

We spent an hour or so in the afternoon earlier walking along the streets in our neighborhood on the lookout for said park and really enjoyed just taking in the sunshine and all the blooming blossoms around us.

Pretty flowering tree

Street lined with flowering trees

We spotted it down below the street we were on but couldn’t seem to find the entrance.

View of park belowHidden Cove Park sign

There were signs, but we still couldn’t find our way in. I guess they don’t call it Hidden Cove Park for nothing!

We did eventually find a trailhead that we hoped would lead us there.

Trailhead to Hidden Cove ParkHidden Cove Park information sign

There was a nice trickling stream that ran alongside the trail that we got to enjoy the sound of as we walked.

Stream under the bridgeTiny waterfall in the stream

Lots of nice vantage points to take in the scenery.

Water falling into a pond

Oops! Someone lost a bike tire down there!

We sat and gazed at the rippling waves for a while then headed on.

Ripples over a lost bike tire

The trail runs straight into an elementary school playground and the school has definitely made use of the natural setting. We ran into this cute outdoor classroom area. I can imagine being a kid again and eating my little crustless sandwich on spongey white bread while my teacher reads a book aloud to all the sun-drowsy students fidgeting on the warm benches.

Outdoor classroom for elementary

We passed lots of beautiful pieces of nature.

Mushrooms growing on a logEnormous reaching treeJohnny jump-upsTwo pink flowersOne pink flower

I snapped a shot of these pretty little clusters of flowers on a weeping tree just before a gust of wind blew and shook them like bells, ringing out with a small swarm of fuzzy-necked bees!

A tree of bell flowers

We had so much fun on our little walk, even if we never did figure out how to get into that park.

It’s nice to know there’s so much beauty in our own backyard!

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Doing the Java Jive

Ahhh! Weather is back to feeling good, as evidenced by these two blissful sunbathers!

Sunshine babies

This morning Jeff and I got dressed early and headed over to Decatur’s outdoor farmer’s market. There weren’t too many vendors out today since spring hasn’t officially sprung, but we were still able to snag a few special items.

Decatur Farmer's Market bounty

I’ve been wanting to get my hands on some farm fresh eggs for a while now! These were so beautiful in their varying colors and shapes.

Multicolored eggsPinhead egg

You can really feel how much thinner and more delicate the shells are since these chickens haven’t been fed a bunch of crushed oyster shells, bone meal, and calcium tablets like the factory farmed chickens are.

Can’t wait to eat one of those nearly raw tomorrow morning over rice for breakfast!

We also got some awesome granola full of candied ginger. I’m such a huge ginger fan, this is going to make me very happy sprinkled over a bowl of chopped fruit and drizzled with almond milk.

Maple ginger granola

And when we saw a vendor selling fresh tamales, we had to restrain ourselves from buying more than one pack! These will make a delicious dinner for tomorrow night.

Fresh tamales

After we got home and put everything away it was time to meet up with Emily and John for brunch at Java Jive.

Java Jive breakfast menu

Jeff and I had never been here before, but I heard about the charming 50’s diner decor and antique kitchen appliance memorabilia online.

We waited in a cute little area surrounded by old pastel-colored stoves and rusty old oscillating fans.

Java Jive waiting areaOld-timey stovesAntique fans

Everything was so cute! I loved all the silly knick knacks and charming collectibles.

Knick knack shelf Antique tin cans

Silver coffee setOld toasters in glass case

I did quit snapping pictures long enough to eat. I started out with a latte and the garden scramble.

Mmmm latteJava Jive garden scramble

I loved all the fresh veggies, and that biscuit you see there is easily the best I’ve ever had! It was the perfect flavor, texture, doneness, butteryness, flakiness imaginable!

Jeff got the gingerbread waffle with lemon curd. Oh yeah, it was amazing!

Gingerbread waffle with lemon curd

It had a great spicy flavor and was perfectly crispy on the outside while soft on the inside. I kept sneaking little dollops of lemon curd to put on my biscuit, it was delightfully tart and not too sweet.

We loved Java Jive and will definitely be going back. Now what to do with the rest of the day?

Tonight’s my blogger meet-up with other fellow Atlanta bloggers, some that I haven’t had the chance to meet yet, so that should be a good time. Tell you how it went tomorrow!