The mud in the woods has evolved from chocolate cake batter to bread dough. It feels like kneading to walk.

This morning was the first time this month I completed my habitual 1.25-mile circuit without detouring around Sloughs of Despond or giving up on the third and final loop. Besides, the temptation of photography is strong with spring ephemeral wildflowers in bloom. Taking the good camera guarantees I’ll spend too much time in certain places to walk that far – and tire my hips too much from squatting. Today, wanting exercise, I left the Canon at home.

This is a strange, newfound pleasure for someone who has led too sedentary a life: savouring a vigorous morning walk so much it pulls me out the door in every kind of weather. It feels like yet another gift from Twin Oaks Woods.

I met a solitary white Canada violet, Viola canadensis, on the path. I couldn’t pick up the wildflower and move it as I would a turtle. Even my indifferent camera phone couldn’t help itself from focusing on that perfect face.

The painted turtle I’m referring to we met on a stroll by the Grand River in Kitchener yesterday morning.