March 20th was the first day of spring and it felt like a day to be outside. 

I woke up early to go for a haircut and run a few errands, including picking up lunch for my wife who was at home participating in an all day zoom conference. I think seeing her sitting in front of her laptop inspired me to make the most of the afternoon and headed out for a walk.

I parked off of 14th Street close to Broadway and headed towards the Broadway Bridge. I knew I wanted to end at the Remai Modern and enjoy the Meewasin Trail and River Landing, but as I approached the Broadway Bridge, I wanted to get away from the sound of cars. So I veered left towards the Traffic Bridge.

I haven't walked that bridge in months and you'll hear more people and bikes in this part. I forgot how great the views are of the river on the Traffic Bridge. I also saw lots of lovely puppy dogs and it took all my strength not to walk up to them and say hello...Social distancing played a role in that decision as well!

Once I hit the Meewasin Trail, I headed west towards River Landing and the Remai Modern. You'll hear snippets of conversations from people walking by and one very excited kid who couldn't throw enough rocks in the river. 

The end was my favourite part of the walk. The birds were really singing near the Remai and you can hear a bit of the echo coming off the building. You will also hear a group of eight young adults who belonged to a church youth group and were handing out free lunches to members of our community. 

One of the members had an acoustic guitar so I motioned for him to strum as I approached them. What I didn't expect was for the group to burst out into song but they sounded wonderful and I appreciate them playing music for an absolute stranger holding a microphone. I've been listening to a podcast called Field Recordings which features sound from audio-makers from around the world. I just think it's so neat to hear real life in your headphones and so I wanted to capture a little bit of that in this bonus episode.  

I hope you all are doing well and staying healthy and safe these days. A brand new episode drops on April 8th featuring the team at the Ronald McDonald House in Saskatoon. I think you'll really enjoy it!Thank you for listening and supporting a local, independent podcast. I really do appreciate it.Cheers...Eric 

• Host, Producer, Editor: Eric Anderson
• Theme Music: Andrew Dickson
• Website: https://www.yxeunderground.com
• Recorded: On Treaty 6 Territory and the traditional homeland of the Metis