Spring!

Definitely feeling like spring now. So much is blooming, and oh yes, those spring allergies too. Achoo! 

Started the week out on Monday with a walk during swim practice around the Bath block. Windy! The lilacs are starting to bloom 😍 (2.0 miles walked)

Then since Ryan was away for a conference, Sam and I stopped for DQ on our way home. Nothing better than dessert before dinner 😋😊😂

Got out for a run Tuesday afternoon down to the river and back. Breezy and bright out. The river has receded, leaving behind a lot of debris, mud and some very high water marks. First fringed polygala of the season! (6.5 miles)

Fringed polygala - love the magenta!😍

Didn't manage to get out the door on Wednesday morning or in the afternoon, which meant an early morning run on Thursday was on the schedule, as had meetings pretty much all day until 5:30 pm. And so it was that I was out the door at 5:17 am for a run on the cart paths. Nice morning. Hobblebush, blueberry bells and fringed polygala in bloom. The sun was a neat orange orb above the trees but the photo doesn’t do it justice. (6.0 miles)

Hopefully this means a good blueberry season! 😋

Decided to head to Bradbury on Friday morning for a change of pace. Which meant another flower tour! 🌸 So much in bloom or very close - false Lily of the valley, Lily of the valley, starflower, wild oat, wild Indian cucumber, fringed polygala, dwarf ginseng, painted trillium, purple trillium, goldthread, and oh the lady slippers are getting ready! 🤩 It’s a joy to run in the woods this time of year. There is just so much beauty. ❤️ Of course also very sniffly. (8.2 miles)

Lily of the valley getting ready to bloom

So many wild indian cucumber plants!

Ladyslipper getting close!

Dwarf ginseng

Stopped at Tammy's SipHouse in Freeport after the run to say hello and get a coffee and a yummy treat, and then got all the standard errands done - recycling, library, cat food, Target and grocery shopping - before taking Sam up to the Y later in the afternoon for swimming. It was too nice to sit inside the whole time, so I did a loop around the block. The air smelled sweet with all the flowering trees starting to bloom. (1.8 miles walked)

Saturday morning, I headed out from home to do a larger version of the road & trail loop I've done in the past. I think I hit portions of all the trails nearby - trail behind Mom and Dad's, Town Landing Trail along the Andro, Highlands, top of Foreside Field and down along the river again, powerlines, Gone Fishing, Roberts Property/extended Cathance, Cathance, one hole on the cart paths and finally the Mt. Ararat trails to home. Kind of fun. Can definitely add a few miles to make it an even longer loop by adding more miles on the Gone Fishing trail and heading out to the Head of Tides park but still keep the loop nature. Next time. Got warm out there and I should have had a flask of Summit Tea but just took all the gels in my pack and hoped that would provide enough electrolytes. So salty! Took a slide down an embankment that had flooded during the earlier rains out in the Cathance. So much mud on my hands, I picked up a worm too 😂😂 and of course then in the last few miles, I passed a number of people out walking and about 15 ATVs with a wicked muddy butt 🤦🏼‍♀️🤷‍♀️😬🤪 Rhodora is in bloom! And saw a pair of bluebirds, and a momma duck with babies in the Heath 😍(17.2 miles)

Dwarf ginseng

I think this is cuckoo flower, blooming along the Town Landing trail

Chokecherry?

Momma duck and her babies - so cute!

Rhodora in bloom!

Headed out on Sunday morning to loop up and over Mt. A and then along the powerlines. Bright but very windy morning. Legs felt a bit creaky but not too bad. Happy to finish up with a solid 3 days of running and a good week. (9.4 miles)

Came home to Sam cooking up waffles on her mini waffle maker and Ryan making bacon. Yum!

Then later in the afternoon, we headed over to Mom and Dad's for dinner and wrapped up the weekend with ice cream at Fielder's Choice. A solid Mother's Day! 💗And a Happy Mother's Day to all my favorite moms out there 😊

Early May

The start of this week was a wash. And I mean that both literally and figuratively. We probably got between 4" and 5" of rain over the course of several days. It was nuts, we had a huge pond out back with ducks swimming in it, I mean, there was water everywhere. Combine the weather with work being busy and it meant another Wednesday start to the run week. 😜Swim started up this week too but the air handling system in the pool had to be fixed on Monday so there was no practice, and then Sam's stomach wasn't feeling great on Tuesday, so Wednesday was the start of swim too! Guess, we just decided mid-week would be a good time to get going this week 😂😉 

Couldn't resist running down to the river midmorning on Wednesday to check out the water levels. There was water everywhere. Trails were flooding, the riverbanks were overflowing and it was just plain damp out. First towhee and catbirds of the season seen! (6.4 miles)

Thursday afternoon was another run down to the river. Ran a bit further out into the Cathance. Still a fair amount of flooding but things were receding in spots as evidenced by the water lines. Four deer seen. (7.0 miles)

Friday morning I headed over to the field house and ran a nice loop out on the Commons, Coleman Farm and the Landing trails. It was really more like a flower tour with some running thrown in 😂, but the start of the spring ephemeral season just means lots of photos! Gold thread, trillium, wild oats, trailing arbutus, wood anemone, trout lilies, and violets galore. Breezy but nice out. (10.0 miles)

Took Sam up to early swim in the afternoon and took advantage of the nice weather to get in a walk around the Bath walk. Lovely out, and the neighborhood magnolia smelled so sweet! (2.0 miles walked)

Ryan finally had the procedure for his bursitis on Friday afternoon, so that meant he stayed on the couch to let things rest on Saturday, but I was headed up to Riverlands for the day to captain the start/finish aid station. My shift started at 8:00, which meant leaving the house at 7:00, which meant getting up early to get in a few miles before I headed out. Beautiful morning for a road run over the river. There is still a whole lot of water out there! (6.6 miles)

As always, it was great to be up at the race, catching up with friends, and helping and cheering on runners. It ended up getting pretty warm out there with temps in the 70s, and the blackflies had come out, but as long as the breeze was blowing it wasn't too bad. Came home tired from both standing all day and being social, but a lot of fun and I wouldn't miss it! 

Went to bed early night, and then got a late start for my run today, heading out around 9:00. Beautiful morning to be out, warm, bright and windy, with a lot of people, dogs and bikers out enjoying the day. Ran the powerlines and a bit in the Gone Fishing system. Starflower and false Lily of the valley leaves galore, plus trailing arbutus, false ginseng, shadbush, wood anemone in bloom and blueberry bells making an appearance. Had originally intended to go longer, but this ended up being the right distance for the day, as I was still feeling a bit tired from Saturday. Also I really should have brought some water with me, as it had warmed up into the low 70s by the time I was finished, and I was so thirsty! (10.5 miles)