The school's also indicated that there will be no going back to the classroom for the remainder of this school year, which again is not a surprise, we were just waiting for them to make it official. The last regular school day will be May 29th with two weeks of additional/optional work provided through June 12. The sad part about all of this is that Sam and her 5th grade classmates won't have the chance to participate in some of the fun end of elementary school activities like other 5th grade classes, nor will they have a step-up day to the middle school. Honestly, that pretty much stinks, and we feel for her. I know they were all looking forward to their class trip and the extra stuff that makes graduating from Woodside so special.
In that vein, we received our first communication from the middle school, regarding some of these missed activities and with some descriptions of the school and the set-up of the classes, as well as a parent welcome video that Ryan and I need to sit down and watch. I hope that Sam and the kiddos have a chance to get into the school before the school year starts up in September, but it sounds like they are going to at least attempt to do some virtual orientation. Can't believe she will be in middle school next year!! 😳
Monday: Rainy and yucky. No walk, no run, just work and school. Sam did a good job getting back into things after a week off, and I may have done a bit of moaning and groaning about taking time off and then coming back to a relative mountain of work 😉
Tuesday: Up and out for a run on the cart paths. Although the original forecast had been for Monday's rain to turn into snow overnight, thankfully that did not happen except for the snow flurries that fell during my run! What?!? I guess at least none of it stuck to the ground! Windy too, of course, because why wouldn't it be?! (6.0 miles)
Went into work for the day and came home at 3:00 so that I could get a walk in and a bit of time with Sam before I had to go up into the loft to tune in to the evening's board meeting. Beautiful afternoon out and it was nice to walk and talk with the kiddo and catch up on the day! There was a bit of sand dune running fun too 😃 (1.8 miles walked)
Wednesday: Finally, a springlike morning! Lovely 😎 Bright and sunny, with no wind and moderate temperatures. Ran the cart paths again and added on a loop around the Heath. Four deer seen. (7.0 miles)
Worked from home with a lot of conference calls, and attempted to assist Sam in between with her schoolwork. Thankfully, she is mostly self directed and self sufficient once she gets settled in and gets going on whatever subject she is working on. Then later in the afternoon while I was attempting to wrap up work to no avail so we could go for a walk, she decided to work on bag #1 of the Harry Potter Hogwarts Castle lego set that Grammie and Grampie sent her now that she has gotten into the Harry Potter series. Such fun and what a great gift, even more so during these Covid-19 times! What a lucky girl!
When Sam and I finally got out for a walk, I was excited to see that the azalea bush by the front door had started to bloom! 💗🌸
We had a nice walk out on the powerlines, just chatting away. The sun felt good but the wind is still cool. Seriously, April, it's time for some warmth here! (1.7 miles walked)
Thursday: I intended to get up for a run but it was just too nice in bed, so that is where I remained until Ronnie kept bothering me enough over and over again that it just wasn't worth staying under the covers 😜 That's OK, got in a little quiet time in the morning before the rest of the house woke up, which is good for the soul too, and there's always tomorrow morning for a run!
Went into work for a few hours before lunchtime, stopped at one of the local farm stands on my way home to pick up veggies, apples and eggs, and then finished up the afternoon working at home. It was kind of a gross, damp, yucky day out so we did not get out for a walk.
Friday: The reason for originally wanting to run on Thursday was because of the weather I woke up to on Friday. It was warm at least - mid 40s - but drizzly and dreary. Ah well, nothing to do but don the rain coat and head out anyway! Ran the shortest route out to hole #7 and then headed into the woods to run the Blueberry Loop. Some lovely trail views, two turkeys and one belted kingfisher seen, plus some false hellebore, trailing arbutus, horsetail, a lot of trout lily leaves coming up through the leaf litter and one miniature white swamp violet seen en route. The overcast, grey, dreary mornings do enhance the colors, and the new spring greens are looking lovely and neon right now! (7.0 miles)
False hellebore
Trailing arbutus
Lovely stretch of trail
Tranquil, overcast Heath
Swamp violet
Horsetail
Headed out for my errands after my run. Raining harder, which definitely was not ideal for the first day of the regular farmer's market season! Of course, this is no regular season, so perhaps it was fitting... Most of the farmers are offering either online ordering or simple Facebook order requests in an attempt to ensure proper social distancing, although everyone has indicated they will also have fare on hand so that you can look around and purchase even if you hadn't decided on things in advance. Saw that one of my favorite farmers had rhubarb for sale, so I put in an order for a 1 lb of rhubarb and some biscuits (strawberry rhubarb pie and strawberry shortcake, coming right up! 💗🍓😋), and then stopped at one of the other farms and picked up a bag of beets while I was there too. Then it was off to Target and Hannaford. Fairly easy shopping with no waiting in either location, but definitely still some empty shelves... and still no Bisquik!
Then it was home to do laundry and cleaning and bills, and assist Sam with her schoolwork before finally cozying up on the couch to read in the late afternoon since it continued to rain and we decided against a walk. Still, Strava told me that I completed the April Walk Challenge (walk 15 hours during the month) the other day, so I think we are doing OK!
Saturday: Ronnie woke me up before my 5:00 am alarm and had woken Sam up too, so I headed downstairs in an attempt to keep him happy and everyone else asleep! My stomach was feeling a bit funky so it took a while to get to get out the door, although we had no big plans for the day so it didn't matter much. Mid-40s again and windy, but at least nice and sunny! Headed out backwards on the cart paths and onto the Ravine Trail to run out to Head of Tides. Ran into Greg Emerson and his wife out there on a walk and stopped to chat for a bit before continuing on. Always lovely to run out on this thin ribbon of singletrack out through the woods towards Cathance Road. Saw some nice signs of early spring - a lot of blooming trailing arbutus, skunk cabbage, a patch of bluets in the sun, three pair of phoebes, one red eft along the cart path and four cormorants sunning themselves out at Head of Tides. Felt good, and just wandering along enjoying the morning and my podcasts. The Rambling Runner with Des Linden with a recap/rerun of her 2018 Boston Marathon win was fun. (10.0 miles)
After Ryan got in his run and we had lunch, we set off to West Bath for another exploration of a new trail network. This time, Hamilton Audubon Sanctuary, which I never even knew existed, out at the end of Foster's Point. The parking lot was pretty full, but there were a few spots left so we pulled in. The trail cut through a field and then out into pine forest along the shores of the inlet running on the left side of Foster's Point Road. There were two main loops and we took the high route out through the woods to the farthest loop where the trail began to meander along the edge of the waterway. The woods were lovely and filled with pine trees, the forest floor carpeted in thick moss. Benches were positioned in strategic spots at scenic overlooks, and we were able to get out onto the rocks and the mud flats a few times to explore and take in the views. Truly a beautiful piece of land, and a really fun place to explore on such a gloriously truly springlike Saturday afternoon! (2.7 miles walked)
💗💗
Pretty spot, pretty girl 😍
Crazy hair, don't care 😆 Actually it really was just super windy and my bangs kept getting blown around 😃😂
Glorious moss and pine forest
Azalea about to blossom out at the edge of a pond in the midst of the property
Two garter snakes seen today
A bunch of blooming trout lilies along the edge of the field at the start/end of the hike
We finished up the day making a strawberry rhubarb pie with the rhubarb I purchased yesterday at the farmer's market and enjoying it after a nice dinner of salmon, asparagus and rice pilaf. Yum! 💗😋
Smile 😃
Sunday: Woke up feeling kind of dreary. It was dreary out too, which never helps. I feel like I am a pretty optimistic, happy person but sometimes it is hard to fend off the feelings of sadness and anxiety that this time is producing. Yes, we are so lucky and I am insanely grateful but that doesn't meant it's all easy. This morning it all just seemed to be weighing heavily. So instead of going out for a run, I sat on the couch with my coffee and read for two hours in the quiet instead. And then finally dragged myself out the door around 9:20 am. By then the sky had started to lighten slightly, and I tried to just clear my mind and enjoy the world around me. Ran the cart paths and looped around the Heath and yes, in the end, definitely felt better for going for a run. (7.0 miles)
High bush blueberry blossoms starting to emerge
Wild calla lilies coming up through the water at the edge of the Heath
Ryan suggested that we head out for our hike before lunch, as he wasn't feeling super motivated to run either. Sam wanted Ryan to join us out at the Long Reach Preserve, which the two of us had hiked last Wednesday, so that is where we headed. A much nicer, warmer day for a walk out through the woods and along Long Reach! And amazing how much greener the forest floor was, carpeted with emerging false lily of the valley leaves and star flower greens, a nice patch of bluebead lily coming up, many more unfurling ferns and a lot more blooming trailing arbutus!
We hit the water's edge and were happy to find the tide much lower than last week so that we were able to wander out along the shale rock cliffs, get squirted by clam water volcanoes and take in the views up and down the reach. Lovely.
Once we had come up from the shore, we took the Bog Trail, which cut through the middle of the preserve instead of making the full loop like we did last week. It was a lovely addition and the color of the bog was so cool with the spring greens and the deep reds of what I can only assume were bog cranberry bushes.
This is truly a lovely little preserve, and such fun to explore again! (2.5 miles walked)
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