Snow & Lights

Struggling a bit this week with the variable trail conditions, dreary weather and feeling sad knowing that Irene and Dana are having such a hard time with the realities of a 2020 pandemic Christmas alone without all of us. 😢 However, there have been some glorious sunrises and the drive-through Gardens Aglow at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens was really well done and a fun holiday treat! 🎄

Onto the week... Maybe I should just do some sort of cut & paste about Monday and Tuesday... intentional zero on Monday, no desire to get out of bed on Tuesday. Meh. 😑

Did get up and out on Wednesday. As is the case on many of these shoulder season days, I just went where it seemed like conditions would be best, following the fat tire bike tracks down the powerlines. Enjoyed chasing a glorious sunrise for the first few miles, the sky everchanging and alight with pinks and oranges. Really pretty. A cold, calm morning with crunchy snow and ice underfoot. First run of the season in screwshoes. (6.6 miles)

Later in the day after getting her school work done, Sam went over to Mom and Dad's to bake the first round of Christmas cookies. Yum! 😋🍪🎄

A small amount of snow fell overnight, covering all the ice, and honestly, I just did not want to deal with it. So I went back to sleep instead. 😂😜😴 But I wasn't giving in entirely, I was just procrastinating 😉 Got out around 2:15 for an afternoon run on pretty much the same route as Wednesday. Amazing how 36 hours makes such a difference in conditions. Much softer snow and much more breaking through the ice with the warmer temps! (7.0 miles)

Cool hornets nest

Friday, I decided to hit Target first thing in an attempt to avoid the crowds so after dropping Sam at school I went straight there. And 7:45 am on a Friday morning is apparently the time to go! So quiet. Perfect! Once I got home and everything was put away, I finally headed out for my run. A nice, balmy morning run on the roads around town, with a two eagles in an evergreen tree sighting! Stopped to listen to them calling to each other for a bit. Neat! (7.5 miles)

Although the UXBBA happened what seems like eons ago, I still hadn't picked up my BadAss sweatshirt (oops! 😬), so when Ian put out a call this week saying there were still a few people remaining who he needed to get shirts to, I figured I had better make the effort! He was going to be at Bradbury at 9:00 on Saturday, so it gave me a good excuse to get over there for some miles. I headed up to the summit at 7:00 am in the hopes of catching the sunrise. As I climbed, I could see the sky alight with color and the orangey-pink orb of the sun rising along the horizon. Really lovely. 

Conditions were variable with stretches of ice, soft snow, mud, bare ground and water. I meandered around on Tote and Boundary and then across the street, in the hopes that the bikers had been out and had packed down some of the singletrack. 

Some decent running and some loose, unpacked, uneven, sketchy stuff too. Pretty much par for the course at this time of year. A lot of debris down as well, along with evidence that the park staff had been out clearing some of the bigger blowdowns. While conditions weren't the best, it was a nice morning to be out in the woods. Wore my Hillsounds and was glad to have them on all the ice, although they were definitely overkill in other spots. Saw a few runners up at the summit and then a number of bikers on Ginn and Lanzo near the end of the run, but otherwise the trails were quiet. (9.0 miles)

Picked up my sweatshirt and chatted with Ian for a bit before heading home to relax and have some lunch. Dad came over to join us for a walk in the early afternoon (Mom had a headache so stayed home 😔) and we looped out and around on the powerlines and through the woods before stopping to cut some winterberry for Mom's outdoor arrangements. Good to get out! (2.5 miles walked)

Rain started in the late afternoon and while it had cleared out by Sunday morning, man was it dreary. I felt pretty much the same mentally to be honest, and procrastinated and hemmed and hawed mightily before finally heading out the door around 8:30 am. Ran the River/White House Crossing/Meadow road loop. Overcast, damp and calm without much excitement to speak of. Glad to have gotten out and gotten it done but the umph sure was lacking today. (10.0 miles)

It stayed dreary, foggy and damp all day long so we decided to skip getting out for a walk, so the rest of the morning and afternoon were spent lazing around and relaxing a bit. 

We did finish out the weekend on a fun note though, with the Covid edition drive-through Gardens Aglow up at the Coastal Botanical Gardens on Sunday evening just as it was turning dark. Although it was not the same as taking our time walking around through the gardens beneath the trees and was of course, a much shorter experience, they really did do a great job of creating a unique, interesting light show. Fun to see the animals and other little creations amidst the lit up trees! We were happy to be able to continue our tradition of going up there with Mom and Dad and enjoying the lights. And we followed it up with our traditional pho dinner, as take out of course. Yum!