All the Flowers

Up early on Tuesday and out for a road and powerlines lollypop at 5:40 am. Overcast and windy. One deer. And the back garden is looking lovely 🌸 (6.0 miles)

Wednesday was a morning walk. Lilac is in bloom and smelling lovely (2.0 miles walked)

Thursday was a 4:00 pm run up to the edge of the Heath. Blustery and overcast. (6.0 miles)

Friday was a late morning run on the powerlines. Cold, rainy and very soggy out on the trails. (7.0 miles)

Sam headed to Old Orchard Beach on Friday afternoon with Lauren and her family, so Ryan and I headed to Enoteca for the first time in since our family dinner there is December. We sat in front of the shrine to Henry. We felt his presence, but the new bartender was lovely and the food was delicious as always. 💗

More rain on Saturday so I waited in early afternoon in an attempt to avoid the rain and then got poured on 😂😂 Classic! Air smelled of hay scented ferns, shadbush and chokeberry but breathing was not the best. Ah spring! (8.0 miles)

No rain on Sunday and even a bit of sun at times but overall still a damp, sort of cold/sort of warm, overcast kind of run. Random mellow meander on roads and trails. Ran down to the river and then meandered through the Highland trails and on the Androscoggin River trail (still no bridge) before looping up onto the top of Foreside field. (13.1 miles)

Sunday night, we headed to Portland to meet up with Sarah and Tom for dinner at Crispy Gai, which was delicious, and then ice cream at Beal's and a short walk along Commercial Street. Fun to catch up and hear about Sarah's Kenyan vacation! 

Am I An Afternoon Runner Now? (Or Alternately Titled: All the Magentas You Love)

One of our college friends commented on this past Friday's run, saying "You're an afternoon runner now, welcome to the dark side," and I was like, "Oh shit, is that true?!" Honestly, if you look at my list of activities there are more late afternoon runs than early morning runs these days, so AIE! But I am still an early morning person, I swear! I just don't always get up and out to run 😆  

While we are still continuing to get rain, we have also had some really nice sunny weather, and things are coming to life! The garden out back is in bloom with solomon seal, foam flowers and the wonderully beautiful large bleeding heart plant that just seems to thrive with no help from me 😉😂 I do love it so - so pretty! 😍

Tuesday was a 6:00 am walk around the school block to get in a bit of movement before a long day of work ending with a 5:30 pm meeting. Truly that is just too late 😜😴 (2.0 miles walked)

Wednesday morning, a group of us did a site walk at the new building, walking the perimeter to discuss fencing, plantings and the playground. And of course the plus was getting there and walking around in the building, which now has all the wall frames up so you can see the separate spaces! It is wild to see it come to life after so long of just viewing it on paper in the plans. And then we got to see the first roof truss get put into place. 

Yes, I look incredibly short next to all these tall men working on this project with me 😂😂

Got home and quickly changed and headed out for a run at 11:00 am. Warm and windy, with some beautiful sping ephemerals on display. Star flowers and rhodora are out and in bloom! (6.0 miles)

Thursday was a nice, calm, almost muggy morning for a road run at 5:40 am, followed up by a morning at work and then a training all afternoon. (6.0 miles)

The training continued on Friday morning at 8:00 but I had work to get done so I did that in the early morning hours and then just committed myself to some late afternoon miles, as I had some errands to get done after the training and Sam and I had made plans to head to the bank after school to get a bank set up for her (finally). So, it was a tired, creaky, warm, muggy 4:30 pm wander on the roads and powerlines. But the rhodora is on full display right now and that at least made me smile! (6.0 miles)

Much like the past month+ of weekends, I woke to yet another misty, rainy morning on Saturday. Did some work and then finally headed out the door around 10:00 am. Ran the trails out through the Cathance to the Head of Tides, and then looped back on the roads and powerlines. Very soggy, but the woods are bright with all the new green groundcover and so much is in bloom... rhodora, fringed polygala, starflower, cala lilies, goldthreads, forget me nots, the crab apple trees and jack in the pulpits... with ladyslippers, false lily of the valley and true lily of the valley all showing but not quite in bloom yet. (10.1 miles)

The Heath is awash in magenta...

The ladyslippers are coming!

One of my favorite spring blooms, the one albino rhodora found on one of my regular routes. 

Stomach was off this morning so had a mellow morning and decided to run after dropping Sam off for a friend’s birthday party. Warm. Enjoyed all the flowers and how green things are. 65 Ladyslippers although many not quite fully in flower plus striped trillium! (10.0 miles)