Powerline Run

I haven't been out to do the "powerline run" since last fall at some point, so it was fun to do for a change of pace this morning. Neither of us woke up to the alarm, so Snowman got a bit of a late start for his drive over to NH for the day, and I didn't get out running until 7:30am. I was glad to still be able to get out and was once again reminded of how lucky I am that I don't have to be up to work until 10am. Thank goodness my boss is not a morning person and set the gallery hours accordingly!

It was yet another beautiful morning, which is so nice after the dreary weather we had earlier in the month! All the snow is gone from the trails, although there is still a fair amount of hoar frost in the shadows, and with the freezing temps we've had overnight, the mud and sand had taken on some pretty funky textures - half frozen/half mushy and everthing in between. The last mile of the out and back is flat as a pancake, and it is super quiet as the trail winds along a wide expanse of field below the lines. All I could hear was a few sparrows chirping from their perches in the bushes. Very nice.

I was able to keep up a decent pace along the flats, but had to walk a few of the big hills on the way back. This was not because I was tired or needed to walk, but in order to keep my heart rate at a reasonable level and not get too out of breath, running up steep, sandy hills just wasn't in the cards. I find this a bit frustrating, but know that it is necessary to keep the little one safe and healthy. Regardless, it was good run, and I felt good running, so I can't complain too much :-)

Flora and fauna notes: The trails were quieter than I would have expected this morning, but as I said, there were a fair number of sparrows out singing. I could pick out the Song Sparrow and House Sparrow by their songs, at least. Most exciting is that on my way up to work, all four osprey nests that I pass were occupied! Nests #1 and #2 had pairs of birds, while the third and fourth had one bird. Hopefully all, or most, of them will nest this year!