End of May

Monday was a holiday, so I headed out a little before 9:00 for a run. Can't not run on a weekday day off from work! The rain had stopped before I headed out, but it was still misty and very damp out. Looped out into the Cathance. The river is still flowing nicely but much lower than it was earlier this spring, and everything is very green. The older, upper part of the loop out in the preserve is becoming less and less viable, with a lot of blowdowns and things getting overgrown and I wish it was still an official option as I always like a loop. (7.0 miles)

Ribbit

Bunchberry in bloom

Wednesday, I got out on the powerlines a little after 6:00 am. Nice morning and everything is very green. I am also very sniffly 😆 Achoo! First trailside iris of the season 😍(6.6 miles)

Love the smell of the hay scented ferns along this stretch

And in the back garden, the dark red columbine is now in bloom, with the iris beginning to bloom out front. So pretty!

Thursday, got out for a late afternoon walk around the school block after work and grocery shopping and before getting dinner made. Nice afternoon, and the smell of honeysuckle in the air is lovely. (1.8 miles walked)

Friday, I had some work to do along with the myriad typical Friday things on my to do list, so I didn't get out for a run until around 11:00 am. By then, it was warm and very windy. Did a road run to keep it nice and simple. Lots of pretty blue eyed grass blooming road and sidewalk-side. (6.4 miles)

Tested the leg this weekend with two 10-mile runs. Headed over to Pennelville on Saturday morning for a bit of exploration on the Landing side with some new trails discovered, ladyslipper counting in the Commons and some bird watching in the Pennelville fields. 184 ladyslippers, bluebirds, swallows, redwinged blackbirds and bobolinks in the fields, plus other wildflowers seen. Beautiful morning with bright blue sky above. (10.0 miles)

Coleman Farm Rhodendron 

Indian cucumber in bloom out in the Landing

Ladyslippers are out!

Still a whole lot of starflower

Iris in the marshy area out in Pennelville

Love the green fields and the flitting, chattering birds

Sunday was another lovely morning. Ran out on the powerlines. Leg held up well to the test of two 10s in a row although left hip/glute still is tight. Sheep Laurel is out, chokeberry and blackberry brambles smell divine, and the blueberries are growing! We have fully transitioned to the summer season with all the green and the spring emphemals have passed. (10.0 miles)

Then after lunch, we picked up Mom and Dad and headed over to the Commons for our annual ladyslipper count. This year's total was 739 😍 and just as many pesky mosquitos! 😑😫 (1.93 miles walked) And of course, followed up by ice cream at Fielder's Choice - yum! 🍨

And for fun, some photos of Sam's time with Lauren at Old Orchard Beach. I don't think they were having any fun, do you?! Ha! 😉😆😊

And because it is the end of yet another month, here is the May wrap-up:

May Miles:

71.51 run miles (aie!)
27.24 walk miles
0.0 XC miles

YTD:
706.81 run miles
89.44 walk miles
0.0 XC miles

Back?

The left leg felt much better this week. Not quite 100% as there is definitely some tightness remaining in the glutes and up near the hamstring insertion point, so I was mindful and did not push it, but doing my stretches and excercises, and at least I am feeling like I am headed in the right direction and am back on track after this set-back. Definitely not where I would like to be mileage-wise but not wanting to be totally stupid and jump right back to 50 mile weeks. This was a good step-up with 31 running miles plus almost 9 walking miles though. 

Got out Monday for a late afternoon walk around the school block in between meetings. So nice out! (1.75 miles walked)

Tuesday, I was out a little after 5:30 am for a run around Highland Green. Misty, foggy morning with three deer seen. (6.0 miles)

Wednesday, I was working from home so after dropping Sam off at school, I headed over to run a loop through the Commons to see how the ladyslippers were coming along. Not quite time yet, though, as there were only about a dozen fully out. But lots of other spring flora 🌸 - starflower, fringed polygala, gold thread, wood anemone, painted trillium, rhodora, wild cucumber - and a whole horde of hungry mosquitos too😬🦟, plus bobolinks chattering in the Pennelville fields, which is always so fun to hear! Found a new stretch of Landing trails. Will have to go back out and explore a bit more, but didn't have the time nor want to push it with the mileage. Warm and very muggy. (6.0 miles)

In other flora news, the columbine is blooming out back 😍😍

Had to get some work done on Friday morning and wanted to get the grocery shopping and other errands out of the way early before the long weekend, so I didn't get out for a my run until around 10:15. The sun was warm, temps were in the low 70s and it felt pretty roasty toasty out there!! Lots in bloom - bunchberry, chokeberry, Ladyslippers, false lily of the valley, rhodora, star flower, jack in the pulpit and some little baby green blueberry berries! - and the air smelled sweet with all the flowering bushes and brambles. (6.0 miles)

New section of trail going around the clearcut

Baby blueberries starting to form!

I picked Sam up at school and we headed over to Mom and Dad's to join Mom for a walk down to get gelato. The perfect treat on a warm afternoon, but even with the breeze it was almost too hot! Good to see Mom and have a chance to catch up now that she's recovered from her nasty cold, although Dad finally succombed and so did not join us. (2.5 miles walked)

Sam headed down to Old Orchard Beach with Lauren and family on Friday evening after dinner, so it was just Ryan and I for the weekend. I got up early on Saturday and got in a road run around town (6.4 miles) and then we headed to Dutchman's for delicous breakfast sandwiches. Yum!

It was such a beautiful day, we headed out for a long walk later in the morning. Knowing it was a holiday weekend and that there was likely to be a fair amount of traffic plus people at the usual haunts, we chose a spot a bit off the beaten path down in Arrowsic, taking the trail out to Bald Head and Squirrel Point Light. We took the trail out to Bald Head first, which was narrow singletrack ending in a viewpoint atop some granite rocks overlooking the river. Then we backtracked and took the shorter, must wider, more well-used trail out to Squirrel Point Light, which was really pretty neat. It was a beautiful day for a walk in the woods on quiet trails with some pretty river views and the 1898 lighthouse along the Kennebec. Woods were awash in starflowers and fringed polygala with one patch of a dozen ladyslippers, some false lily of the valley and dwarf ginseng. Also an insane amount of inchworms hanging everywhere. We kept picking them off ourselves, probably two dozen at least off each of us, and we could hear them crunching on leaves off in the woods. (4.5 miles walked)

Finished up the day with a yummy Danielle-version "cobb" salad and Lord of the Rings.

Sunday, I headed out on the powerlines around 8:30. Another nice morning, and relatively cool. Felt tired though. (6.1 miles)

Got the house cleaned, relaxed on the couch for Lord of the Rings movie #2 and then headed downtown around 4:00 for a drink at Moderation and early dinner at Nomad. Their pizza really is delish, and oh my, the cannolis! Yum! Candied orange and dotted with little bits of chocolate - they were so good! And because Monday was a holiday, we turned on Lord of the Rings #3 when we got home too and I even stayed awake through the end 😂😂