The Great Outdoors

The South's long season of warmth has returned. The woods are turning greener and more shaded by the day, while spring wildflowers are in their final throes.  Its the time of year where I feel a quickening, too. All I want to do this time of year is be outside doing anything, or nothing. It's a time for me to stretch my winter legs on the trail, get a bit of kayaking in, and spend a lot of time sitting in the yard watching birds, bees, and butterflies in addition to the usual pups.

I've been thinking a lot about a National Geographic Article from last year about the stress relieving benefits of time in nature. Mostly I've been thinking about this because reading through the Pray portion of Eat, Pray, Love (which I did in March) mostly made me think this was just a person who had not spent enough time in the the Great Outdoors. And it's made me more aware through this season just what nature really does for me. And it is a lot. I grew up in the country, and I've spent more waking hours outdoors than in, excluding the burden of education and an office job, of course.

So if you are reading this today, I suggest you get out there and find a trail this weekend; it will be Earth Day after all. This season doesn't last long. If you are in Middle Tennessee or Northern Alabama, I'll even make a suggestion. The Perimeter Trail at Sewanee, especially the section known as Shakerag Hollow, makes for some great spring hiking, with lots of wildflowers, birds, and little creeks and cascades.  

The Italian Art of Steel and Glass

The 1955 Chrysler Ghia Gilda

There's a new exhibit at the Frist in Nashville: Bellissima! The Italian Automotive Renaissance, 1945–1975. It features a lot of fantastic vehicles, some with notable names like Ducati, Ferrari and Maserati attached, but even people who aren't into automotive pedigrees will love this exhibit. Simply put, these cars are cool. They're colorful; they're weird. From the sleek burnt orange of the bat mobile turned Hot Wheels 1970 Lancia Stratos HF Zero, to the curling blue sting ray fins of the 1954 Alfa Romeo BAT 7 the cars are just fascinating to look at. The BATs in particular struck my fancy, concept cars with a zeal for aerodynamics that makes them look like they belong to some still distant future, rather than over 60 years in the past. I can guarantee you will find a car in this exhibit to make you grin. The show runs until October 9, so don't miss out.

P.S. Even fast and fancy Italian sports cars have their push, pull, or drag it in moments. Check out how they got these sleek rides into the exhibit here 

Cruising

One of my favorite things to do, and, as a not quite lunatic fringe environmentalist, one of my guilty pleasures, is taking a long drive. It's a part of why I love the American West, where there is so much road and great wide vistas. I also adore my home state, the rolling hills of Tennessee. Here's a little video of some things we saw one day last fall, on the hunt for some truly red leaves on a blue sky day. And they were beautiful.