Happy Birthday Mom & More Greenfield Lake

     Mom turned ✽✽ a couple of weeks ago (Woo hoo!  Happy Birthday, you spring chicken!) and dad took her birthday off so they could enjoy what turned out to be a fabulously warm, sunny day. 

They had a few things planned, wanting to keep it simple and local, and the day couldn't have been any better.

     They spent several hours at Greenfield Lake Park, a beautiful natural wonder only a couple miles from downtown Wilmington. 

The Birthday Girl up front

They walked the 4 or so mile paved trail that winds its way around the lake, and rented a canoe, lazily paddling around to take in the sights and sounds from a different angle.

     The cypress trees surrounding the lake add dramatic beauty, and the duck, egret and heron population make for some wonderful observation with or without binoculars. 

Looking for his lunch

Dad says he thinks this was where he and mom saw their first alligator when they moved here the first time 8 or so years ago, and this time around they got another view of not only a full-sized adult monster, but at least one "baby" (dad estimates it was 3 to 4 feet long) one as well. 

The adult gator.  Sorry, wouldn't get any closer 

The adult was snoozing in the tall grass along the shore, while the little one was sunning atop one of several floating solar panel platforms in the middle of the lake.

The old guy, steering from the rear

According to one park employee the adult one is somewhere in the 12 foot range, and once they spotted it  mom made sure dad steered their canoe only so close.

The paddleboat & canoe rental dock

     They rounded out the day with a stop at The Harp, an authentic Irish pub right near the lake, where they lounged on the patio in the abundant mid-afternoon sun with a couple of frosty pints.  They returned smelling all outdoorsy and

A beautiful old fountain near the shore

sunblocky (yes, that's a word as far as I'm concerned), and ended the day with a picnic of grilled veggie dogs, corn on the cob, potato salad and pickles, two of mom's best homemade treats.

There were about a gazillion of these guys out in the sun

   Of course, I wasn't too happy that they left me unattentioned (yes, another real word) for so long, but once they fed me I forgot they'd even been gone. 

Quenching their thirst at The Harp with some Waterline Brewing Co. Kolsch