SPRING IS HERE IN CENTRAL KENTUCKY ~ NO FOOLING!

A pale pink weeping cherry tree in bloom at The Lexington Cemetery.

It's April Fool's Day and Mother Nature is having a chuckle. Instead of our typical spring time average temperatures we're in the low 40s with frost warnings tonight and snow flurries have been sighted around town. But make no mistake - spring is here! And here's how I know ...

1) Tomorrow the 85th spring race meet will kickoff at Keeneland

2 )It's 30 days and counting to the 147th run of the roses aka The Kentucky Derby

3) The fields are populated with beautiful little Thoroughbred foals and their mommies (live foals born in Kentucky account for about 35% of the North American Thoroughbred foal crop)

4) The Spring Flowers are in full bloom at The Lexington Cemetery, an 170 acre national arboretum (March 28 -May 3)

The Lexington Cemetery is one of our favorite places to go to celebrate spring in general and Earth Month in particular.

It celebrates life and community in all its stages. The park-like setting, in spring, offers an avenue of dogwoods, color crab apples, ornamental magnolias and pink weeping cherries which lead to 16,000 blooming tulips and fields of spring beauties. This national arboretum has more than 200 species of trees and is a mecca for birds, the Audubon Society has identified 179 species on the grounds.

The grounds are open daily 8a.m. to 5:00p.m. It is located at 833 West Main Street, Lexington, Kentucky, 40508 (It's about a 20-25 minute drive from Charred Oaks Inn). A virtual tour is also available at https://www.lexcem.org/360-tour/