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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Rain

The theme of this spring has been rain, and this week was no exception.

Tuesday was a misty, rainy, tired afternoon walk around the block. (2.0 miles walked)

Wednesday, I was out around 6:15 am for a run on the cart paths. Damp and misty but the first fringed polygala of the season was on display as were the hobblebush blooms! (6.0 miles)

Then after work, it was over to the Orion for Sam's spring chorus concert. And the last chorus concert of her high school career! Kind of bittersweet, although I am super excited for the courses that she's chosen for herself next year and know that they will be a better fit for her than chorus.

Thursday was an afternoon road/powerline loop. Warm! Blueberry bells are in bloom along the powerlines and the first towhee sighting too! (6.0 miles)

Friday I headed out around 10:00 am for a mellow meander on the powerlines. Overcast and muggy. Many photo stops and one very friendly black cat that really did not want me to stop petting them 😹 Also the Jack in the pulpits are up 🤩 (10.0 miles)

Saturday was Riverlands 100. Woke up to a hard rain, and headed out at 5:30 for a quick out and back on Highland Green Road. Cold, dark and very very soggy with some seriously deep puddles. And this was on the road! I could only imagine what the trails were going to look like for the runners... (6.0 miles)

Spent the day hanging out at the start/finish aid station, hiding under the slightly leaking tent as much as we could, cheering on runners, giving them encouragement and helping them as much as we could, all while chatting away with each other and having as goood a time as one can have in a muddy wet parking lot for 8 hours on a cold Saturday 😉😆 Thankfully the rain stopped shortly before my shift was over, but I know the trail conditions were rought out there even once the weather improved. Super proud of Emma and Billy for being the badasses they are and finishing the race. Only 17 of 60 finished. Definitely a rough one!!!

Ryan headed down to Boston later in the afternoon for his trip down to Florida for a work conference, so I picked up sushi for Sam and I on the way home.

Then on Sunday, I had a quiet morning on the couch reading and getting a bit of work done before Sam and I headed to Target to get a bit of driving in for her, and to pick up a Starbucks treat as well as get one of my errands done on my to-do list. Yup, nothing like wandering around Target on Mother's Day with a coffee in hand 😂 I feel like that was just a classic Mom meme 😁😂

Then after lunch, I headed out for a run, looping past the Heath and out onto the powerlines. Bright and windy, and many many puddles. (12.0 miles)

Then it was off to Mom and Dad's for a yummy grilled salmon and shrimp dinner, followed by a trip to Gelato Fiasco for gelato. Delish! 🍧😋

In other news, Gigi is just an adorable silly kitty, and we have had to protect the Bird Buddy like the feeder is Fort Knox 😂 Unfortunately, the squirrels are sneaky critters and a few of them have managed to get through. Little buggers!!!

Monday, May 5, 2025

May Flowers

Tuesday was a quick 6:00 am walk around the school block before a long day at work. (2.0 miles walked)

Wednesday was late start, meaning I had time enough for a quick run on the roads at 6:00 am. Warm and breezy. (6.0 miles)

Nice bright breezy afternoon on Wednesday for a run down to the river and back. Forest floor is now littered with false lily of the valley leaves and starflower leaves. Also some lovely pink trailing arbutus and a few wild ginseng in bloom. False hellebore has come up a lot along the river since last week! (6.0 miles)

Dropped Sam off at school on Friday and then headed out for a rainy out and back in Highland Green before getting a lovely massage with Lauren and crossing things off my to-do list. (6.0 miles)

Saturday morning was the first time in what seemed like forever that the sun was shining! Sam went into school for an AP study session before her exam next week, and after I dropped her off I headed over to Pennelville to loop through Coleman Farm, the Landing and Commons. So much was in bloom, so I pretty much just spent the vast majority of the run squealing out loud with joy at all the ephemerals in bloom 😂🤷‍♀️🌸 It was a squishy, sloppy, muddy, photo-filled, took all the random side trails, wander. Wood anemone, wild oats, trillium, so many trout lilies and goldthread, fiddleheads, trailing arbutus and the forest floor littered with false lily of the valley and starflowers leaves coming up. Glorious. (10.0 miles)

Of course, the rain started later in the afternoon and continued through the morning on Sunday, so I wasn't feeling super inspired to head out early. After dropping Sam off for AP study session #2, instead of heading out on a run, I headed home to do some work and get some cleaning done around the house. Finally headed out around 1:00 pm. Misty, damp and humid, and I was definitely feeling the allergies, so not super peppy. Wild strawberries, trailing arbutus, wild oats, wood anemone, wild ginseng, goldthread and white violets seen. (12.0 miles)