Sunday, May 22, 2022

All.The.Flowers

Everything is in bloom. It truly is a wonderful time of year. Except for all the pollen and sneezing and itchy eyes πŸ˜‚But seriously, I do so love when the forest floor and gardens comes alive and all of the sudden everywhere you look things are in bloom and greening up. 

Monday was a swim walk. Lots of lilacs in bloom along my route around Bath. So pretty and smelled so sweet. (2.0 miles walked)



Not sleeping great, so Tuesday was an afternoon run. Beautiful and breezy afternoon for a lollygag down to the river and back. The starflowers are in bloom, and the rhodora is a riot of glorious color out in the Heath and the low lying areas along the powerlines. (6.0 miles)






Incredibly blustery on Wednesday morning so I stuck to the trails for a bit more protection. Headed out about 6:10 and ran the standard powerlines lollypop. Many white flowers seen en route today - starflowers, blueberry bells, bluets, bunchberry and whatever the extra species of chokeberry/serviceberry that blooms amongst the blueberry bushes and grasses along the powerlines. Saw four towhees, which is always fun, although this year we've had one pecking away out back at the seed at the edge of the woods! Also, allergies are flaring up with itchy eyes and runny nose. Ah, spring! (7.0 miles)






A rather dreary, overcast, damp, chilly morning on Friday and I realized I was probably going to be kicking myself on Sunday morning for not getting my long run in, I just did not feel like it. So, I didn't πŸ˜‰πŸ˜‚ Instead I headed out through the Commons to enjoy all the flowers. Starflowers, bluets, violets, a few remaining goldthreads, some lovely patches of fringed polygala, rhodora and ladyslippers out in the Commons, plus blooming apple trees, lilacs, rhododendron and some still remaining daffodils out in Coleman Farm. Only one ladyslipper was in full bloom and was truly pink; the rest were whitish-green and much harder to see on the run! Still, I managed to count 57. I'll just have to head back there next weekend to see how many more I can spot! The Bobolink were calling out in the Pennelville fields as were the phoebes and white throated sparrows in the woods, plus had a cute little hooded warbler flit by too! (8.0 miles)









Ryan headed to Chalk Pond on Friday morning for the weekend, to help Neal put in the dock, and as it turns out, put up a big fence on one side of the yard, so I got some things done on the to do list in the afternoon and then ensured that Sam and Lily, who had walked home from school together, got a bit of food into them before getting dressed to head to the 7th grade dance. It was cute to see them together, getting all dressed in their dresses and chucks. Very stylish😍😎 



Mom, will you stop taking photos, please?! πŸ˜‚

πŸ’ƒπŸ˜


It ended up being a late night with the dance ending at 8:00, and then I didn't sleep well, but I did manage to get myself out of bed early on Saturday morning to squeeze in a few miles before picking Mom up at 7:15 to head south to Faith's funeral. A light mist was falling, and I had just enough time for a quick lap around the Highland Green block. (6.0 miles)


I had talked to Andy on Wednesday night and heard the news that his mom had passed the weekend before. She had had a lot of health issues later in life, but I remember enjoying spending time at their house in and after college, eating her yummy Italian food and always marveling at the Christmas village display she set up in the house around the holidays. She was lucky enough to be lucid at the end and be able to spend her last few days in the hospital surrounded by family and friends, but of course, it is still sad, and I knew Andy was hurting. He was one of the first people I met at Bowdoin and remains one of my very best friends. I knew, of course, I had to make it to Faith's funeral. Having always had a soft spot for Andy, Mom decided to accompany me, and with Ryan in NH, Dad agreed to hang with Sam for the day.

Driving through the city is most definitely not one of my favorite things to do, and even on Saturday morning, there was a fair amount of traffic. A stop at DD for another coffee was most definitely needed. 

The service was lovely, and even in the midst of the full Catholic mass, there was some wonderful levity in the remembrances of Faith. Grateful to have been able to be there to see Andy and his family, and to remember Faith along with them. Mom and I stopped in briefly at the reception and then headed back out, but not before a photo! Although it was sad circumstances that brought together our meeting this time around, it was so nice to be able to see Andy and catch up with him for a short bit πŸ’— And many thanks for Mom to joining me!


I was pretty much wiped by the time we got home, and Sam was still tired out too, so it was a dinner of yummy vietnamese take-out and then early to bed for both of us!


My plan was to get up early this morning and head out for my long run, returning in time for Anne to come over at 11:00. However, after getting up to feed the cats at 5:00, I got back into bed for what I intended to be another 30 minutes and then didn't get up until 7:30! Oops. So much for that long run. I guess I needed the sleep though, so I'm not too upset about it. I'll just call it a down week, and get in the 20 miler next weekend πŸ˜‰πŸ˜† And of course, as anyone who has followed along on my running journey knows, I am nothing if not a master at modifying the plan. πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚ Headed out around 8:45 onto the powerlines. Incredibly muggy out with 100% humidity. So sweaty! πŸ’¦ Many dewy spiderwebs seen, a few towhees calling, rhodora and jack in the pulpit too. And looks like it will be a good blueberry year - the blueberry bells are out in full force and looking lovely! (8.1 miles)






After lunch, Anne, Sam and I picked up Abby and walked down to DQ. It was a warm and sunny afternoon - perfect for ice cream! πŸ˜‹πŸ¦ (2.0 miles walked)

And then there was one more short walk for the afternoon. The girls rode their bikes and I walked to get Anne over to her field hockey practice at the new high school track field. And now it is time to relax! (1.6 miles walked)

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