Athalassa park

We are fortunate to have the Athalassa park close to where we live. It is a national park and my favorite place to go for a run. There are plenty of bike/walking paths and hills that make running a bit challenging. Plus, it is never crowded. While I am running I usually see 20-30 salamanders. They are little, about 4-5 inches. They sun themselves on the path and scurry under a bush when they hear me coming. Once, I also saw a bright green chameleon. It stood along the path with it's back arched keeping an eye on me. As I approached he backed off a bit, but didn't take off like the salamanders. While I'm running, Demetris takes the kids to play in an area by the pond. They keep busy digging in the dirt and pretending to plant trees. A few weeks ago the fields in the park were full of blooming flowers, but things have already dried up as the hot, dry summer begins.

Still flooded from the heavy rains this past winter

Working together to plant a "tree"