Cheating in Lesser Park

I’ve been cheating at school lately.

Not with my homework, but with my parking. It’s $50 a term to park in the school’s parking lot. I paid it for my first term because I wanted things to be simple while I learned the campus and the routine.

But it’s my second term, and I am feeling stingy. I am only on campus for a total of 5 hours per week, and I have to pay the same as someone going to class all day every day.

Although there are warnings online and on signs all around the school that say, “Don’t park in neighborhoods! You will be towed and fined!” I have been doing just that. I park at Lesser Park and do not pay a dime. It’s a 6-minute walk uphill to the door of my classroom.

My favourite flowers in the park are the trillium, which begin life bright white, and turn purple as they age.

Adjacent to the school is a small but lovely park called Lesser Park. Probably named for nearby Lesser Road. The park is absolutely lovely and filled with trails.

I discovered two small parking spots for people who use the park. Each one can hold 3 vehicles. I park in both of them (breaking up my vehicle profile so I don’t irritate the neighbors, whom I’m sure have had to deal with students before). I have also purchased a day pass in the parking lot twice. My hope is that I can get through the whole term without buying the $50 parking pass, and without getting in trouble.

My rationale is that the parking areas are made for people going into the park, right? So far I have never seen another vehicle parked there. Yes, I’m cheating.

Spanish Bluebells caught my eye because another blogger posted about this invasive species.

Buds of spring brighten up the trees overhead.

I have loved watching spring happen along the trails in Lesser Park. It’s a beautiful thing to have serendipitously arrived in my life merely because I am a cheapskate.