My View – April 2021

Pandemic or no pandemic, you’ve got to love April—a month that marks the end of winter and the start of spring and summer. For me, there’s never been anything better than getting outdoors and hitting my favorite woodland trail with the sunshine on my shoulders (shout out to John Denver!) I also look forward to digging in the dirt and spending as much time as possible in my vegetable and flower gardens, readying them for planting all things edible.

And speaking of flowers, nothing marks the season like the appearance of Jacksonville’s world-famous flower – the Fritillaria gentneri – which you’ll spot on your favorite hiking trail and on our cover. I’m grateful to our cover artist, Matthias Shields, a budding local artist with fritillaria in his genes, for sharing his work for all to enjoy.

With super-pleasant weather in view and light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, our events calendar is once again getting some overdue ink. For nearly a year since the 3/17/20 state-shutdown of most things fun, the Review’s pages have been light on what to do in Jacksonville—something that’s changing by the day. This April, as it warms up, I urge you to don your mask and then get out there and enjoy life in Our Small Town with Big Atmosphere!

Featured Image – Fritillaria gentneri on Britt Arboretum trail, March 2020 – Photo by Jacque Williams