Much Better

We awoke to a light frost coating the golf course out back. The thermometer read 33 degrees as the sun began to light up the sky a few minutes before 7am. Ryan and Dad decided it was just a bit too cold to play golf this morning, so we had a leisurely morning instead, and around 9:30, Ryan and I headed out for a run while Mom, Dad and Sam suited up in their sneakers to head out for a short walk. It was still cool out, but the sun was bright and warm. I was still feeling fatigued, but my legs had a bit more spring. All in all, a much better day to be out and a much better run than yesterday, with the 3 miles coming much more easily.

We ran down to the mail boxes to drop off a letter for Dad, and then meandered back to their house on the dirt/gravel path along the edge of the River Landing property. The path winds through some trees and then along some of the man-made ponds at the edge of the golf course, and today, the route made for some excellent birding.

We saw a group of around two dozen cormorants and two Great Blue Herons in one pond, and scared up a beautiful Great Heron from the edge of another pond, where he stood silently stalking fish. Groups of swallows swarmed and dove above us, and a few red-winged blackbirds chattered amongst the shrubs, along with the resident robins, mockingbirds and brown thrashers. A pair of turkey vultures rode the air currents high above, and we flushed a pair of Bald Eagles up into the trees and then back out over the fields as we ran along. The Eagles soared and swooped, making their way over towards my parent's house, where Mom, Dad, Sam and a few neighbors stood in the backyard watching the mighty birds flying over as the bluebirds flitted in and out of the bird house. I guess everyone had decided it was a better day indeed and was out to enjoy it :-)