Free to Good Home and the results of a nice day

Cleaned out under the porch yesterday, gaining access to my walk out basement and opening up space for the mower, bicycles and garden supplies to be stored out of the weather. In the process I found a few items that need new owners:

Porch swing, still solid just needs a place to hang.

Edit: swing has gone to a new home

Hand crank ice cream maker, in rough shape, maybe leaks. Off to the dump in two days if not claimed.

Edit: ice cream maker has been disposed of.

Bike rack - works well on the back of sedans and hatchbacks. Can hold two bikes. 

Free to good home - you transport.

The magnolia blossoms really enjoyed the warm temps and opened wide:

 I took a break from cleaning out the area under our porch and mowing the lawn to explore the woods below our house (I had spied something blooming as I drove by and wanted to find out what it was). As I followed deer paths downhill I came across this:

Rope swing

I had completely forgotten our girls had a fort down there when they were little! Next to the swing was an old foot stool/table and an odd shaped bucket we had found somewhere and given to them to use. I put the bucket to good use after stumbling across one of the many dump sites that litter our hillside (there used to be a lot more homes in the area and folks just piled their garbage "out back").

Five unbroken, vintage glass bottles. The tall one on the left has "Duluth Bottling" embossed in the glass.

The white flowers I had seen near an exposed outcrop of rock were a mustard species. There was also evidence of a large area of Lily-of-the-valley (more proof of old home sites). On the way back up the hill I passed through the area that is used for garden/yard waste by our neighborhood and found this in bloom:

Phlox species? 

 In the afternoon I took a break from household chores to go for a nice 12 mile pedal on the Munger Trail. It was warm at our house, tucked into the hillside but very cool down at the Lake. The Munger starts in West Duluth, near the bay and so receives some influence from the winds off of Lake Superior (currently blowing over at least a mile of ice). As we rode inland the temperature kept rising and by the time we reached the Ely's Peak area it was in the upper 70's , maybe even 80 F. It felt nice to drop back down to the cooler temps on the ride back.

The Munger Trail is lined with Large-flowered trillium and Large-flowered bellwort right now (both species easily identified while riding a bike). I regretted not bringing a camera along, although I think Mr. Wildknits was grateful as it meant no stops.

After the ride I switched into running clothes and headed up hill to the Piedmont trailhead for my first run in two weeks (not counting a short excursion last Saturday that was less then a mile and proved I was not ready for running yet). My friend Sam and her dog Cedar came along as well. It was a nice outing on some hilly, technical trail and was proof that the stubborn muscle issue I have been dealing with for the past three weeks is finally on the mend.

I am off to play outdoors again today while the sun is still shining!