I was back on the trails at 7:03 AM on Tuesday to lumber out another loop of woodsy walking while doing my best to fill my camera’s SD card with nature nubbins and critter pics.
The morning was damp and humid under a slate grey sky that does its best to monkey with my shots and force me to over-familiarize myself with Lightroom’s shadow slider.
I was feeling a bit tired from yesterday’s six-mile effort, and only eating, er, drinking a half a cup of coffee before leaving the house this morning, but once I got going, it was all good.
And good got even better, when about a mile into the hike, I was just about to enter the covered bridge and the trail that bears its name, when a Barred Owl swooped silently down mere feet above my head and landed on a dead tree just to the left of the bridge. HELL YEAH!!
I patiently waited for the owl to look at me as I attempted to attain focus through the harsh morning shadows and tree cover. Finally, I got one! It seemed pretty intent on scanning the forest floor and river shore below before it took off and entered the woods on the other side of the river.
It was literally my first photo of the day, and all I could think about for the next couple of miles was getting home to review the photos and see if there was anything I could use. As you can see, I was able to get something.
Other than a slug on a leaf and a deer or two, I didn’t see too many other critters the rest of the hike, but the feet were feeling good, and the nature nubbins were cooperating, so I kept on lumbering and finished with 7.04 miles on the day and 13.10 miles in two days. Hoping for another 30-mile week if I can keep from hurting myself in the process.
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I was starving at the end, and once home, I quickly made up my go-to breakfast these days:
• 4 scrambled egg whites
• 1/3 cup of vegetarian refried beans (La Preferida brand)
• 80-gram “homemade” 98% lean turkey sausage patty
• 1/8 cup of fat-free cheddar “cheese.”
As made, with a few grams of spritzed olive oil, according to mynetdiary.com, the breakfast comes in with the following totals:
• Calories: 300
• Carbs: 16g
• Protein: 42g
• Fiber: 3g
While I LOVE making my Big As My Head Breakfast Burritos, they come with a hefty caloric price (700?) that my aging body can’t keep up with without becoming a Tub-O-Goo filled with triggered 80s-era fat-kid trauma and self-loathing.
I really enjoyed today’s lumber and pics, hoping for more luck the rest of the week.
Later.