365 Things to do in Memphis: Saturday at Shelby farms: #010 and #200

Despite the morning rain, the tornadoes of the past couple weeks, and the rising rivers, the afternoon turned out to be warm and sunny- a nice change after all the miserable weather we had been having. I decided it was a perfect day to re-visit the best dog park at Shelby Farms. (Though parts of the park have been closed due to flooding, it seems that in the areas I saw, most of the extra water had disappeared.) My dog prefers to stay away from the off-leash area. She is intimidated by the bigger dogs that roam free. I took her to this area once before and she insisted on being picked up for most of the walk. So this time I took her for a walk around Patriot Lake. On the way we stopped by to see the buffalo. Many of them had wound and chunks of missing hair, possibly from illnesses from which they are currently recovering (http://www.shelbyfarmspark.org/sfpc/shelby-farms-park-buffalo-herd-update).

Buffalo

Buffalo in a new 'pond' created by flooding

Then we continued and made our way around Patriot Lake. The weather was warm and windy. The walk was nice, and if you get tired, there are places to rest along the way. There are walkers, joggers, skaters, and bikers out.

Geese protecting their young.

Goose telling me to back off when I got too close

Goose eggs next to the lake

There were a number of dead fish.

Patriot Lake

Gazebo

After I left Patriot Lake, I drove to Gate 8. I started walking in that area, and not too long after, I began to hear the joyful screams of kids. A few minutes later I found the best playground in Memphis, the newest addition to Shelby Farms, the Woodland Discovery Playground (#200). This playground, just opened last month, is different from any other playground I have seen before. It is a project by the Sustainable Sites Initiative. Unfortunately for me one of the rules clearly states is no one over the age of 12 allowed (unless with children), and while I might look young, saying I am under 12 is probably a stretch.