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Monday, December 14, 2020

Snow & Lights

Struggling a bit this week with the variable trail conditions, dreary weather and feeling sad knowing that Irene and Dana are having such a hard time with the realities of a 2020 pandemic Christmas alone without all of us. 😢 However, there have been some glorious sunrises and the drive-through Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was really well done and a fun holiday treat! 🎄

Onto the week... Maybe I should just do some sort of cut & paste about Monday and Tuesday... intentional zero on Monday, no desire to get out of bed on Tuesday. Meh. 😑

Did get up and out on Wednesday. As is the case on many of these shoulder season days, I just went where it seemed like conditions would be best, following the fat tire bike tracks down the powerlines. Enjoyed chasing a glorious sunrise for the first few miles, the sky everchanging and alight with pinks and oranges. Really pretty. A cold, calm morning with crunchy snow and ice underfoot. First run of the season in screwshoes. (6.6 miles)

Later in the day after getting her school work done, Sam went over to Mom and Dad's to bake the first round of Christmas cookies. Yum! 😋🍪🎄

A small amount of snow fell overnight, covering all the ice, and honestly, I just did not want to deal with it. So I went back to sleep instead. 😂😜😴 But I wasn't giving in entirely, I was just procrastinating 😉 Got out around 2:15 for an afternoon run on pretty much the same route as Wednesday. Amazing how 36 hours makes such a difference in conditions. Much softer snow and much more breaking through the ice with the warmer temps! (7.0 miles)

Cool hornets nest

Friday, I decided to hit Target first thing in an attempt to avoid the crowds so after dropping Sam at school I went straight there. And 7:45 am on a Friday morning is apparently the time to go! So quiet. Perfect! Once I got home and everything was put away, I finally headed out for my run. A nice, balmy morning run on the roads around town, with a two eagles in an evergreen tree sighting! Stopped to listen to them calling to each other for a bit. Neat! (7.5 miles)

Although the UXBBA happened what seems like eons ago, I still hadn't picked up my BadAss sweatshirt (oops! 😬), so when Ian put out a call this week saying there were still a few people remaining who he needed to get shirts to, I figured I had better make the effort! He was going to be at Bradbury at 9:00 on Saturday, so it gave me a good excuse to get over there for some miles. I headed up to the summit at 7:00 am in the hopes of catching the sunrise. As I climbed, I could see the sky alight with color and the orangey-pink orb of the sun rising along the horizon. Really lovely.

Conditions were variable with stretches of ice, soft snow, mud, bare ground and water. I meandered around on Tote and Boundary and then across the street, in the hopes that the bikers had been out and had packed down some of the singletrack.

Some decent running and some loose, unpacked, uneven, sketchy stuff too. Pretty much par for the course at this time of year. A lot of debris down as well, along with evidence that the park staff had been out clearing some of the bigger blowdowns. While conditions weren't the best, it was a nice morning to be out in the woods. Wore my Hillsounds and was glad to have them on all the ice, although they were definitely overkill in other spots. Saw a few runners up at the summit and then a number of bikers on Ginn and Lanzo near the end of the run, but otherwise the trails were quiet. (9.0 miles)

Picked up my sweatshirt and chatted with Ian for a bit before heading home to relax and have some lunch. Dad came over to join us for a walk in the early afternoon (Mom had a headache so stayed home 😔) and we looped out and around on the powerlines and through the woods before stopping to cut some winterberry for Mom's outdoor arrangements. Good to get out! (2.5 miles walked)

Rain started in the late afternoon and while it had cleared out by Sunday morning, man was it dreary. I felt pretty much the same mentally to be honest, and procrastinated and hemmed and hawed mightily before finally heading out the door around 8:30 am. Ran the River/White House Crossing/Meadow road loop. Overcast, damp and calm without much excitement to speak of. Glad to have gotten out and gotten it done but the umph sure was lacking today. (10.0 miles)

It stayed dreary, foggy and damp all day long so we decided to skip getting out for a walk, so the rest of the morning and afternoon were spent lazing around and relaxing a bit.

We did finish out the weekend on a fun note though, with the Covid edition drive-through Gardens Aglow up at the Coastal Botanical Gardens on Sunday evening just as it was turning dark. Although it was not the same as taking our time walking around through the gardens beneath the trees and was of course, a much shorter experience, they really did do a great job of creating a unique, interesting light show. Fun to see the animals and other little creations amidst the lit up trees! We were happy to be able to continue our tradition of going up there with Mom and Dad and enjoying the lights. And we followed it up with our traditional pho dinner, as take out of course. Yum!

Sunday, December 6, 2020

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Crazy that it is now December! The days both fly by and drag on, are the same but different. One of the Oxford Words of the Year for 2020 is Blursday, which just about sums it up. Seems like it has been a whole lot of nothing and a whole lot of everything this year, and now we are in the final month of 2020. I don't expect things to get magically better once we hit January 1st, but it is also hard to acknowledge that the pandemic and the way things have been the past 9 months is going to continue on, despite the change in calendar year. There's no immediate transformation that is going to happen just because we move into a new year, although I am hopeful that 2021 will be a bit brighter. And in the meantime, trying to remember to breathe and enjoy the little things that bring me joy and keep me sane.

Monday was a dreary, rainy day, with temps in the 50s and winds whipping later in the evening. While we only had one very short blip when the lights went out Monday evening, a lot of people lost power overnight. More rain and wind on Tuesday. Power was out at the office until around noon Tuesday, so we all worked at home in the morning and then I went in for a few hours after lunch. No running either day and no walking either. Ugh.

Got up and out Wednesday morning for a rather random run on the cart paths, back dirt road and powerlines. Nice morning with pretty light. Saw a group of 20+ turkeys. Tired. (6.0 miles)

After being inside for two days straight, we rallied and got out for a family walk after lunch. Windy but nice to get out! (2.0 miles walked)

Ronnie was up yowling in the middle of the night Wednesday night and I just could not get myself out of bed Thursday morning, so instead I headed out around 3:00 pm after Sam got home from school. Ran out on the powerlines and enjoyed the mild temps. Outran the darkness, but just barely! It really was a pretty afternoon but I still prefer morning running assuming I can get myself up and out the door first thing 😉😂 (7.0 miles)

Friday, I headed over to Freeport for a run on the Chase and Calderwoods trails. These trails span a beautiful stretch of woods between Flying Point Road and Pleasant Hill, and are rugged and varied. I went further out into the system than I have before and made a nice loop utilizing most of the trails. It was fun, but definitely slow going with mud, slippery bridges, lots of debris and blowdowns from Monday's storm and some hard to follow stretches of trail due to heavy left cover. One of the trails skirts a wide open field in which I saw a flock of at least 40 turkey. Neat. A good and different run on a mild December day. (9.0 miles)

I picked Sam up at school and we went downtown to do some Christmas shopping, then came home for sushi and ghetto pie with Mom and Dad. Yum! Had to do something with all that leftover Thanksgiving Cool Whip! 😂😉 Dana traditionally makes this pie for Christmas dinner, so it had us thinking of him 💗 It is really hard knowing Sam won't be going down there to help decorate their tree and that we won't be able to see them for the holidays. Darn virus. 😢

A storm was on its way Saturday, and I didn't quite escape the start of it on my morning run. Rain and temps in the high 30s. Luckily it wasn't yet pouring or windy, but these conditions are my least favorite to be out in. Well, maybe unless it's low 30s and freezing rain. Stuck to the roads to get it done a bit more quickly and then hopped right into a hot shower to warm up after! (7.2 miles)

Rain and wind and snow for the rest of the day. We did head out to Target to get a bit more Christmas shopping done and then Sam and I picked up Neenie for a quick trip to the winter farmer's market, while Ryan and Dad worked on some networking issues at the new house, but after that, it was inside and happy for it! Spent the rest of the day relaxing, watching TV, and working on Sam's latest puzzle. Gigi thought Sam's lap was a decent spot for a rest, well, at least for a few minutes! 😹

Woke up to wind whipping around the ice and snow-encrusted trees outside in the early Sunday morning darkness. About 2" of wet snow atop a whole lot of water. I knew pretty much immediately that I should just scrap my long run plans. Headed out around 7:45 across the street and looped around on the Cathance trails, where I definitely got first, and likely the only, tracks for the day. The trails were saturated, with many sections flooded and a whole lot of large, deep, cold puddles. Whipping wind and roaring river. Downed trees, debris and bowed ice and snow laden branches. Snow, ice, slush. Wet feet and deer prints. It was ridiculously slow and sloppy out there, but fun to just be out enjoying the wet winter wonderland!

Hopped right in the shower when I got home to warm up, but still wanted to get Sam out to enjoy the first snow! We bundled up and finally headed out around 11:00 for a walk across the street. The sun was shining brightly on the ice-covered trees and bushes and we enjoyed a tromp through the wet snow. Beautiful! (2.4 miles walked)