I snuck out around 6:45 am for a run. What a gorgeous morning! I didn't really need many miles as I'm still building up slowly after Grayson Highlands, but it was too nice to cut the run short. I ran up over Mt. A. and had just had the thought that I had yet to see one of my favorite trail sights, the eastern red-spotted newt (eft stage), when what do you know? I saw one - just a little guy, hanging out on the edge of the pavement atop Mt. A. where the road passes between two vernal pools/wet areas! With the rain last night, I guess it was moist/wet enough for them to be out and about. I do so love seeing these little creatures. They bring back fond memories of the AT, when on rainy days, I would count dozens and dozens of them. I believe my record on the AT was 51 on a rainy day in NJ :)
Then later, as I was pondering that I had yet to see any of the lovely magenta fringed polygala, I saw a patch of them along the Heath. Hurray! Down along the river, the mist was rising and the moss was a brilliant green.
It was lovely and quiet out in the woods, with just the sound of the water and the birds flitting about in the woods. I saw a cute little Ovenbird in the undergrowth, pecking at the leaf matter. I stopped long enough to notice the stripe atop its crown, which confirmed the identification. Wish I had been fast and/or close enough to get a photo! Up towards the Quarry, a spot of orange caught my eye and I backtracked a step to find another red eft, this one smaller than the first - smaller than my pinkie!
Got in a great, refreshing, lovely morning 6.7 miles, rounding out the week at 31.1 miles. Tomorrow will be a rest day from running, but we'll be heading up to the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens to explore and hike in the morning so I'll definitely get a bit of movement in - and hopefully a lot of photos of things blooming and Sam out on the trails :)
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