The woods were a welcome 30˚ warmer today than yesterday, which made things much more comfortable. I also felt pretty good, considering that I did 7 miles yesterday. So why not do it again?
I’m really digging the new course that I’ve been doing and happy with the mix that it offers. All but one trail would also make a great mountain bike loop, but that’s for another day.
A chill weekend hanging around the Cul-De-Sac-Shack doing nothing much had me anxious to get back in the woods on Monday morning. And that’s what I did.
Even though the calendar says it’s June now, the temps were in the low 40s when my feet hit the trail at 6:50 this morning. But the sun was shining, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky when I started out, so it was easy enough to deal with some cold digits.
It’s been a chill weekend, and I now find myself here early Sunday morning with no footy to watch, no hike planned, the grass already cut, and a large coffee in hand, so I felt the need to write about a trip to the grocery store the other day. Because isn’t that what people do on a Sunday morning?
Enter the Soiled Wayback Machine, and let’s travel back to a couple of days ago as I blather on about things completely unrelated to cycling, hiking, or photography.
I was pretty beat after yesterday’s 7-mile lumber but was eager to get back out to try to reach my unofficial 30-mile weekly summer goal today.
I hadn’t even walked 20 yards and I had already seen a rabbit, a deer, and a gray catbird high in a tree as the sun was rising. The catbird shot isn’t my normal kind of shot, but it ended up being one of my favorites of the week. I guess there’s something to say about pushing yourself out of your creative comfort zone.
The central Michigan area got some showers overnight into this morning, and I was looking forward to getting in the wet woods to lumber ASAP.
Sadly, the rain had pretty much stopped by the time feet hit dirt at 6:51, so there would be no hike in the rain to provide the mental rub and a tug I crave. But the peacefulness of the bright green wet woods and some luck with my camera proved a worthy surrogate.
Tuesday was one of those days that I woke up at 5:30 AM and pretty much went non-stop until around 1:30 PM.
First, I was in the woods for a 5.59-mile lumber with my camera. A lumber that yielded next to nothing in the way of photos, but it was still nice to get out in the woods.
After the hike, I made breakfast, ate, cleaned up the dishes, and then rinsed my hulking bodice off with a quick shower before heading for the week’s groceries, lawn mowing, trimming, cleaning up, lunch, shower #2, etc.
After last Friday’s lumber, I was at 26.21 miles on the week and could have easily completed my third 30-mile week in a row. I did not.
26+ miles of lumbering, nursing a slight calf issue, Cul-De-Sac-Shack duties, and the emotions of sending B off for six weeks in London really took it out of me, and I thought it best to take a mental and physical break for the weekend. Despite a few moments of boredom when the footy ran out, this proved to be the correct decision.
This morning I was super proud of myself for getting my shit together and starting my lumber at 6:52 AM.
But, as per my usual, that pride was fleeting, for at 6:54 as I walked down the main park path to the trails, I double-checked my setting on the z50, and soon found out that while I did put a newly charged battery in before I left the house, I did NOT put an SD card in. Shit.
As mentioned, I took the day off from lumbering on Wednesday so we could drop B at the airport in Detroit. That was pretty much a 5.5-hour round-trip drive in the rain that included 2 minutes of tearful hugs and goodbyes on the road outside his gate amongst the throngs of air travelers.
I wrote a post and then decided it was too dark and too much about things I promised myself that I wouldn’t write about here anymore.
Let’s just say I’ve been in a deep funk (not the good kind) for about 4 or 5 days, and am struggling to find a good word to say about anything. So, rather than have you think even less of me than you rightfully already do, I’ve shelved it. This makes my second non-published post in the last few days. You’re welcome.
