Vacation Week

Not a lot accomplished off the to-do list on Monday other than a load of laundry, an emptying of the dishwasher and looking in on our friend's cats while they were away on vacation, but a great vacation day! Headed over to the field house around 9:30 for a run out through the Commons and Coleman Farm, looping back through on the Landing singletrack. A crisp bright breezy morning, with pussywillows blooming roadside, trout lily leaves coming up in the sunlight along the Coleman Farm singletrack, two painted turtled sunning themselves in one of the ponds, a few phoebes flitting about and a lot of birdsong. Just sort of lollygagged along. (8.35 miles)

Then for the afternoon, it was off on an exploration with Mom and Dad, down to Scarborough Marsh to see if we could find the glossy ibis. We walked out and back on the Eastern Trail, with one loon, a pair of common mergansers, numerous egrets, both Snowy and Great, and a few flocks of ibis further out in the marsh grasses. It was high tide. I wonder if there would have been better viewing at low tide? It would have been cool to see the ibis up close but either way, it was a nice, if breezy, afternoon to be outside. (2.5 miles walked)

The glossy ibis look like little dots out amidst the brown marsh grasses

Of course, on the way home, we stopped at The Dairy Corner, because, well, duh, ice cream! Plus the logo looked like it had been created in the 70s, and the sign boasted 70 flavors, so of course we had to stop 😂😉😋 Definitely more reasonably sized portions, and not quite as rich and creamy as the Fielder's Choice ice cream, but always fun to try out a new ice cream spot! A fun way to wrap up the afternoon. 

Work days on Tuesday and Wednesday, so not much of excitement. Did get out for an afternoon walk out on the powerlines and over Mt. A. on Wednesday with Ryan. The sun is warm, but as I feel like has been the theme these past few months, man, that breeze is strong and chilly! Sam was at Mom and Dad's for the afternoon and had walked downtown for gelato. I guess it is turning into a rather ice-creamy vacation😂 😋🍦(2.5 miles walked)

Off from work on Thursday, but also trying to get some things crossed off the to-do list before we headed south for a visit with Irene and Dana, so headed out reasonably early for a run on the powerlines. Nice morning. (7.0 miles)

A rather leisurely almost 10 am start on Friday, out on the roads in Georgetown with Ryan. Not quite sure how it was possible, but it was windy in literally every direction on the loop we ran. What is up with that?! Definitely very spring-like down in MA, with magnolia, azaleas and what I think were black cherry all in bloom, with that vibrant bright early spring green emerging throughout the landscape. (5.0 miles)

Once we got showered up after our run, we headed over to Newburyport for a delicious fried food and beer lunch along the water before heading out for a walk. The wind was whipping quite strongly and so we aborted our plan to walk along the river and instead took an off-shoot of the riverwalk on a neat little stretch of rail trail. Although just over a mile in distance, the path offered up some neat gardens and sculptures as well as the chance to stop and have a beer at the Riverwalk Brewery en-route. I mean, go out for a walk, end up at a brewery, sounds about right, right?! 😂🍻 (2.6 miles walked)

Beer stop!

And of course, before heading home, we stopped for ice cream. Because, vacation, people! 😉😆😎 Turned into a really fun afternoon out and about!

Saturday morning, I headed out onto the roads for a solo run. Not quite as windy as Friday, thank goodness! Cool, with bright sunshine and lots of birdsong. (8.0 miles)

Then after helping Irene and Dana get their outside patio furniture out and setting up some shelves that had been delivered for Dana's lego collection, we had a yummy lunch of eggs, pancakes and bacon before heading home. It was a fun visit and really nice to see Irene and Dana!

After getting things unpacked, we headed over to the Heath for a short walk. Nice to get out and stretch the legs after the drive. (1.0 miles walked)

Then Sunday morning, it was time to get the long run done! Headed out around 8:00 and ran a mix of cart paths, Cathance and powerlines. Cool and bright. Woods were fairly quiet, with only a pair of bluebirds seen and a multitude of swallows flitting about the birdhouses along the dump ponds, and still not a whole lot of greenery yet, although some early leaves from the false lily of the valley are beginning to poke up on the forest floor. Felt decent and happy to wrap up the week with a good run. (16.0 miles)

Happy Easter!

Monday, the three of us got out for a late afternoon walk. It was beautiful and bright out, and we walked over to the small pond along the cart path along hole #1 for a golf ball collecting mission. He was happy to collect about a dozen golf balls and I was happy to see some wood frog eggs in the pond 😂 (2.5 miles walked)

I really should just stop setting my alarm for early Tuesday morning. So far this year, it is just not happening 😴😴 But the upside of not getting out in the morning darkness is that I got in my first run of the season in shorts when I got home from work 😂😂 Yes, truly, I do not like to run in shorts until it is at the very least 45 degrees!! Legs felt a bit clunky, but it was a nice afternoon for a cart path run. The peepers were calling in the Heath and two mourning cloak butterflies were flitting about atop Mt. A. 🦋(6.0 miles)

Wednesday, I headed out around 6:15 and while I didn't catch the sunrise over the Androscoggin, the clouds and color sure were pretty. Lots of people out walking and even a few runners. I guess everyone is coming out of hibernation now that it is nicer out and sunrise is getting earlier! (7.0 miles)

Friday was the start of school vacation, so my plan was to run and get a few things done around the house in the morning so that Sam and I could join my parents for a trip to Popham Beach after lunch. Headed out onto the powerlines around 7:30. A rather foggy start but once the sun broke through the clouds, it warmed up quickly. Trails are drying up nicely, and while it is still mostly brown in the woods, I did see some nice patches of bright skunk cabbage, catkins beginning to hang from branches and trailing arbutus in bloom in several spots. (9.0 miles)

Down at Popham in the early afternoon, the sun was bright but the wind was still pretty cold! And we were definitely not brave enough to wade through the one channel of water that was separating us from Fox Island 😉 Instead, we had a nice walk down the wide sandy beach, with one sand dollar and a number of sea gooseberries found on the sand, and several bald eagles and ospreys flying overhead. A beautiful day for a beach walk! (2.3 miles walked) 

Sea gooseberry

And of course, we stopped for ice cream at Fielder's Choice before heading back home! Yum! 😋🍦

A kind of dreary, kind of warm, definitely windy morning on Saturday. Ran the cart paths and down to the river and back. Ferns and false hellebore coming up along the riverbank and one great blue heron scared up along the Heath. Too cold for the peepers. (8.4 miles)

After lunch, Sam and I made the most of the rainy afternoon with some pretzel making! Yum! Always a fun treat 😊🥨

Up and out the door early on Easter Sunday to get in my long run. Cool and a bit damp. Did a nice loop around town with a mix of roads and trails. Legs definitely a bit tight by the end, gotta work on loosening up those hip flexors, but glad to be able to get in the miles. (14.5 miles)

Then it was home for a big yummy brunch of pancakes, bacon, tater tot casserole and fruit salad, and an easter egg hunt for Sam. No pictures, but we all enjoyed the food and had a few good laughs during the easter egg hunt. We only hid a few eggs but we definitely made Sam work to find them!

Later in the day, we headed over to Mom and Dad's for yet another easter egg hunt and then a walk down to the river, during which it snowed (!!) Silly Maine weather! (1.5 miles walked)

Snow!

Mom made carrot cake for dessert and she and Sam put the finishing touches on the decoration before dinner. So cute! And delish! The perfect way to wrap up a nice Easter!

I wrapped up the running week with this... it just seems so egregious... although at least to my credit, I did not go back out and log another 0.01 to make it a nice round 45...😂😂

And I have finally caught up to the goal mileage for the year... it sure has taken a while, but there is something satisfying about seeing "ahead of goal" instead of "behind," even if I know it is all rather arbitrary!