Spring! 🌸

Finally feeling like spring around here! I always say I love fall the best, but there is something about seeing nature come alive each spring that is truly amazing.

However, despite the change in weather, I must admit, it was a bit of a rough start to the week. Sam's ear started hurting and oozing (ewww.....) over the weekend, which was a huge bummer but perhaps not too surprising as her cold was still lingering. So along with being a regular workday, Monday consisted of getting her to the doctor to confirm she did indeed have an ear infection along with picking up medicine to deal with said infection ASAP in the hopes that she would feel better in short order, plus finishing up some shopping and going to the final meeting for her Freedom Tour trip, which after seeming like it was so far away for so long was coming right up on Friday! Eek! 

Didn't sleep well Monday night - hmmm, I wonder why? - so it was a quick run on the cart paths for me at 3:00 pm on Tuesday before hopping back on the computer for a 4:30 work call. 99% of the snow is gone, and the patch of colts foot in bloom has expanded. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday, I actually managed to get up and out early for a run (gasp!). Didn't quite manage 7 miles before 7:00 am but it was close enough! Nice, bright and warm morning with a pretty view crossing the Andro, but quite windy. (7.0 miles) 

Worked from home and wished I was just lounging around in the sunshine like my coworkers 😉😹

Sam, with only a bit of help from me, managed to get the vast majority of her packing done before Mom and Dad came over for dinner. All seemed to be going swimmingly except that right before bedtime, Sam was like, "Mom, I keep having this feeling..." followed up almost immediately with her getting sick to her stomach. 😭😱😬😷 Aie aie aie. This was not how we were wanting things to go 36 hours before we were putting her on a bus for a week-long adventure! GAH. Talk about stress... We pretty much sent her straight to bed and prayed that this would be extremely short-lived and please, whatever it is, just have it be gone by tomorrow!!!!

Thankfully, while she woke up feeling understandably a bit fatigued, she rallied after some breakfast and made it through the school day in good spirits and feeling decent. We finished up the remainder of the packing, had some dinner and went to bed early, as we had to be at school by 6:15 on Friday morning. 😴😴

Of course, then their group's bus (there were three buses) had a flat tire on the way to the school, so instead of leaving at 6:30, they didn't leave until 8:00. Well, after the week we had had, it just sort of figured 😂😜 But the girls were all smiles, and they did eventually get on their way for their week-long tour of NYC, Philly and DC! What an adventure for these kids to have together 💗And so grateful to the Y, the school and all the parents and chaperones for making it happen!

All smiles!

I was quite thankful to have the day off, as honestly, I needed to decompress a bit after the rest of the week. Whew. I decided to head over to the Kate Furbish East Preserve. Set back in the interior of the old base, you drive past and park in front of one of the multiple old, abandoned and now emptied bunkers. It has a sort of eerie, almost post-apocylptic feel out there. Wild. But they've done something lovely with the land in that area of the base, allowing community members access to a nice trail system that starts with an old gravel road and includes a winding, rooty trail along the tidal marsh, plus some newer mountain bike trails. I started on the road and then looped around on the singletrack along the marsh before hitting some of the less traveled side/deer trails and then attempting to find my way around on the mountain bike trails, which had a lot of criss-crossing trails and no signage, making for a rather meandering and semi-lost Sparkplus 😅so a successful attempt of that portion of the trail system will just have to come on another day! 

Still, a whole lot of fun to be had out there and always a joy to run new-to-me trails! A very warm, sunny morning - I was not quite ready for the jump in temps! The car was reading 81 by the time I finished up at 10:30. Holy moly, this is not spring weather, let's tone it down a bit here... So hot!!

Flushed up about a dozen Northern Flickers in a few different spots, digging up worms with the robins in the grasses, saw one bluebird and a yellow warbler, startled up one sunning garter snake and enjoyed the sounds of the calling red-winged blackbirds and chickadees. A few lovely patches of trailing arbutus in full bloom seen as well. And a whole lot of bunkers. (8.0 miles)

So.many.bunkers...

Empty

Pretty views

Did some errands and grocery shopping on the way home, and then just took the time to relax on the couch for a bit in the afternoon and read Des Linden's new book (very good, BTW) while Ryan went out to the driving range. And then we went out to dinner at Athena Enoteca, always a lovely treat and so delish! YUM! A good end to the day 😊

Pistachio olive oil cake. Seriously, so good!

Meanwhile, the Freedom Tour finally made their way into NYC, visiting the UN and the Crystler buildings before walking to Katz's Deli for dinner, and arriving at the hotel after I was already asleep 😂😂

UN Building

Was able to text a bit with Sam in the early morning on Saturday before she headed to breakfast and I headed out for my run. She was feeling good and neither ear or stomach were issues. Phew! 

I headed across the street for some road miles, enjoying the daffodils blooming in the beds in Highland Green, and lamenting the paving of the stretch of the back dirt road that has been developed with homes... (7.0 miles)

Then it was off for a quick trip to the farmer's market before meeting up with Emma at Pineland for a walk. Beautiful morning, with view of Mt. Washington visible above the treeline. We walked the Oak Hill loop, finding the trails quite dried out with the exception of a few small patches of snow still hanging on in the shadows. As always, so good to catch up with Emma 😍 (5.0 miles walked)

Meanwhile, further south, Sam and friends were enjoying a tour of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the 9/11 Memorial, and having dinner in Chinatown. Very neat.

😍😎

Sunday morning, I headed out around 8:00, running the cart paths and out through the Cathance to Head of Tides. Hadn't been out that way in a while. Always nice to run along the river. A lot of beaver activity, a myriad of skunk cabbage, some trailing arbutus and the beginnings of hobblebush in bloom, plus several pairs of mallards, two phoebes and a painted turtle in the vernal pool. Damp, warm but also kind of cool, overcast morning. Didn't feel super energetic, but happy to get the miles in and glad to be able to hit all the trails again now that the snow has melted and things are drying up! (15.2 miles)

Sunday night, we headed to Nomad's, which has moved into the former Frontier space and is cooking up some very yummy wood-fired pizzas, with Mom and Dad for dinner. Nice to have an evening out with them and to catch up before they head off to Charlotte next week for the wedding of my cousin's daughter. A good way to wrap up the weekend!

The Freedom Tour, meanwhile, had traveled to Philadelphia to take in the Constitution Center and the Liberty Bell before driving out to Amish County for a tour and a family-style dinner. 

And just because, here's your dose of "silly Gigi kitty" for the week 😉

Gigi the palendrome... where's her head?!?

Happy Easter!

With work and weather and Ryan still not doing much due to the bursitis on his heel plus who knows what else, I didn't get out to walk this week, breaking my "at least one walk a week" goal. Darn. Oh well. Such is life, I guess. Did manage to have a fairly decent run week, though, so I guess I'll take it.

It was a nice, warm, overcast afternoon when I headed out for a run on Tuesday. Ran some cart paths and looped around the Heath. Two deer, first colts foot of the season and the trailing arbutus has opened up. Snow is melting fast. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was another afternoon run, this time on the cart paths in their entirely. Overcasta, damp and kind of dreary, but nice to be out on the gravel paths again! (6.1 miles)

Friday, I headed out from home for a run along the powerlines. A bright and windy morning. I was overdressed but the air was still cool in the shadwos, and while there was definitely still some snow to contend with, it is disappearing fast and was firm enough that it wasn't a big deal. (10.0 miles)

We headed down to Irene and Dana's once Sam got home from school. We haven't seen them since Christmas and we all have some busy weekends coming up, so we figured we had better make the trip while we could, or else it might be June before we saw them! 

With that, I decided to head over to Bradley Palmer on Saturday morning for my run. The started out on the GAC route, but then meandered off onto some trails I hadn't run before which led me to signs saying I was on the Greenbelt trail and leading to another preserve, Vineyard Hill. I felt a big sluggish, but it was a bright cool morning and fun to do a bit of exploring and find some new-to-me trails! So much skunk cabbage, but not much else, although the trees are definitely budding a bit more than they are up our way. Had a fun meander. (13.1 miles)

Sunday, I got out early so that I would be home in time for Easter morning omelettes and pancakes 😊😋 Ran a nice loop on the quiet roads, enjoying the daffodils blooming roadside. (8. miles)

All in all, a decent running week, and nice to be able to spend some time with Irene and Dana!

Out Like A Lion

March has not played nice this year, and is definitely not going out like a lamb... more like a lion! Cold and windy all this week and honestly, leaving me feeling a bit blah when it comes to running. I really am looking forward to clear trails and some nicer weather. I know it is coming, but what can I say, I'd prefer it now not 3 weeks from now!?! HA! 

Monday, I got out in the afternoon for a walk on the powerlines. The high route is clear as it gets the most sun, but there is definitely still a fair bit of snow in the shadows and in the woods. (2.0 miles walked)

Tuesday, I got out for a run at 3:00 before having to sit back down at my computer for a 5:00 meeting. Breezy and definitely not a warm 47 degrees on my loop around Highland Green. (6.0 miles)

While I was on my work call, Sam and Ryan headed up to the Y for the swim team end of the season banquet. Sam came home with the Coach's Award for her hard work, good attitude and always smiling. Proud of this kiddo!😍

Wednesday, I needed the early morning quiet on a late start day to get a project done for work, so I planned to run in the afternoon. But, I ended up staying at work later than planned, and then Mom and Dad invited us to join them at Flight Deck for one of their Brews for a Cause, so it ended up being a zero day. This is why I really should run in the morning, people! Sigh. But in any event, it was a fun evening with yummy pizza and beer and time spent together, and there is always another day for a run!

And so it was that Thursday I was out running another Highland Green loop at 3:00 pm on a cold, feels like 25 degree, very windy afternoon. Brrr! And then it was back on the computer for another 5:00 work meeting... (6.0 miles)

Friday, I really just did not want to run roads again, so I decided to park over at the dump after doing some morning errands and check out the Gone Fishing trails and the powerlines. A cold but bright morning, with only a bit of wind. I ended up heading out on the powerlines first and then running a loop out on the Foreside trails before finishing up with some of the Gone Fishing singletrack. Definitely some bare ground, but also definitely still some snow and ice which required a bit of tiptoeing, and with the cold temps things were reasonably solid. Saw an eagle soaring overhead, one bluebird on one of the boxes out at the edge of the dump fields and several pairs of Hooded Mergansers in the Lover's Lane pond. Also a lot of skunk cabbage emerging in the wet spots, always a treat to see as the first plant to emerge in the spring! So, spring is indeed coming, it is just taking it's sweet time... (8.0 miles)

Sam went to Anne's for a sleepover on Friday evening and to be Anne's helper at her booth at the Woodside craft fair, so Ryan and I decided to head down to our "regular" spot at the bar at Enoteca. Always a treat to get to eat there, and it was a new spring menu - yum! 

Snow and rain fell overnight, and was just plain yucky out when I woke up on Saturday - rainy and 35 degrees - pretty close to my least favorite running conditions, which meant I chose to delay my run in the hopes that the radar would be right and the rain would ease up later in the afternoon. I finally headed out around 1:30. Still misty out but at least temps had hit 40, so it was a bit warmer and less wet than the morning hours 😂 I decided to check out the cart paths and run down to the river, and while it was squishy, wet, sloppy and soggy out there with some flooded spots and definitely still some snow and ice to contend with, it was nice to be able to run one of my 'typical' trail routes now that the snow is melting, even if slowly! Saw two deer and the first of the season trailing arbutus in the south facing sunny spot where I always look early in spring. 💗💮(8.0 miles)

Sam came home in the afternoon feeling a bit under the weather. Just a cold, but still... sigh... and when I woke up this morning, it was 35 degrees, feels like 27, and windy as all get out. Blerg. I was just not feeling it. I finally headed out mid-morning, rather unenthusiastically, onto the powerlines. It was bright and sunny, but with the wind and conditions, which were variable as anticipated, it was not the most pleasant run. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day, and I'll try to adjust my attitude!! 😬😑 At least I found some lovely skunk cabbage out there... (8.1 miles)

March wrap-up:

Miles run: 170.25

Miles walked: 11.48

Miles XC skiied: 11.22

4 zero days

YTD:

Miles run: 511.9

Miles walked: 50.7

Miles XC skiied: 18.1

16 full zero days