Sunlight, chirping birds, the greening earth and the new spring air. The outside suddenly seemsparticularly delicious when we lose the freedom to it. Fortunately, the Arb is still providing thelocals and remaining students with a safe and convenient access to enjoy the delightful (well,most of the time) Minnesota spring.
And people are no doubt taking full advantage of it—joggers, families, dogs and dog owners arealways on the trails; regular fishing spots along the Cannon River in the Lower Arb are hardlyever vacant; in the best afternoons, hammocks are out in the Upper Arb, barbecues happening onMai Fête. Even those students who have almost never set foot in the Arb since New StudentWeek start to try and realize its many charms, taking out their phones and cameras, in awe of thevast stagnated withered-ness masking that imminent blossoming of lives promised by the warmsunshine, soaring birds, and calling frogs.
The spring is too exciting for us to get bored in our rooms. Before the weather turn hot andmuggy, before mosquitoes gather their armies, and before the ubiquity of lives renders themunimpressive, it’s the best time to go take a walk around. Maybe you will see an albino squirrel,maybe spot a bald eagle, maybe some beavers, or even one or two otters. Find yourselves somewonders.
In the end, remember the rules if you are to use the Arb: no fire, no camping, no littering, nodogs unleashed, no collection of animals or plants; and no biking except on specificallydesignated trails in the Upper Arb. May the epidemic soon end with us all observing socialdistancing.