Morning Seven

As I sit here relaxing in a quiet house, with Sam sleeping and Ryan out running, having gotten dinner ready for tonight and a few chores done too, I realize I should have waited until now to run! It is perfect out there. Cooler with a wonderful breeze. And it just seems less humid. I must have gotten the last of the humidity this morning during my run, but oh well! I won't complain as long as it feels better out there now! The humidity this summer has been brutal, and I am pining for the crisp, cool fall days I know are on their way.

I hit the powerlines around 7:30 this morning to run the 7 mile "dump loop." I had entertained thoughts of running on the Cathance trails, but honestly, I was feeling a bit low on energy this morning, and wasn't sure I was up for negotiating all the twists and turns, and the wet and slippery rocks and roots after last night's rain. The powerlines are sandy and slow going in spots, but they don't take as much mental energy. I kept the pace pretty mellow (or perhaps the pace found me!), and just enjoyed the morning. It was humid and warm in the sun, but there were plenty of puddles to stomp through to cool me down :-) Some of them must be there pretty much all season long, as I saw more than a few little frogs hiding in the muddy waters along the way. With the rain we've had recently, there are also a lot of mushrooms out there - white, brown, yellow, red and even a few purple - along with some Indian Pipe sprouting up through the leaves. The bunchberries are a brilliant red, and the asters are growing like weeds (well, perhaps they are!). I was surprised to see that some of the white asters were literally my size! Wow. Mix in some goldenrod, Queen Anne's lace, purple asters, and the blushing pink of the berries on the bushes, and things are looking pretty nice out there!

Sam and Ryan were reading books on the couch when I got home, and Sam took one look at my mud-covered legs, and said "Mama tumble." Ha! I didn't, but I guess with all the mud from my puddle jumping it must have looked that way :-)