Monday: Another subpar weekend is in the books. Why so subpar, emo kid? Not sure, but I do know that while I am feeling WAY better than I was a couple weeks ago, physically, I STILL don’t feel 100%, and resting and not “doing stuff” actually makes me feel worse, which is a bit screwed up.
With that said, on Monday, I was happy to be back to my weekday routine of early morning lumbers, even if it does still feel like winter, and the 5.80-mile hike ended with large snowflakes blowing around, making it seem like I’m living the same sickly and wintry mindfuck every gahdamn day; dealing with low-grade illness while enduring a frozen hell on earth (IF you don’t mind me getting a tad hyperbolic).
The woods also continue to have a very UN-spring-like feel to them, with very few plants even thinking about blossoming. The critters are lying low, and the pre-spring colors are a pallet of brown, tan, and grey. If it were a Crayon color, it would be Sock Covered in Cat Puke or Dead Wet Rat.
Tuesday: After seeing Wifey off to work, I loaded the washing machine and then headed out for lumber as the sun rose.
I didn’t eat well on Monday night, meaning that I didn’t eat, and I was in no mood for breakfast this morning, so a giant mug of coffee would be my primary fuel for the hike, and to be honest, it wasn’t really doing its job, and I felt tired before I even took a step onto the trails. Note to self: Eat.
Thankfully, once I started out, the brisk air and sunshine did wonders to wake me up and get me in the mood for lumbering, as did finally seeing some critters out and about.
About a mile and a half into the hike, I was walking through a sunless section of tall trees and windfall when I heard a rustling in the trees above. Then another, and then a few more; it was a group of wild turkeys up in the trees doing their best imitation of graceful flying. Which is to say it was like watching multiple turkeys fall like sacks of wet cement from the trees to the earth and then take off running. I didn’t know whether to laugh or shit myself. I always wonder why Wild Turkeys don’t fly more. Then I see them flying and know why.
Not long after that, I saw a lone deer standing in the tall, frosty grass as the sun was rising. It was one of the “fuzziest” deer I’ve ever seen, and the morning light helped me get a nice shot of it before it took off into the woods.
As I continued on, about 4 miles in, I was on a section of trail near the river and was casing the trees for birds of prey when I saw a family of Wood Ducks high above the water below.
I’ve had a mild obsession with Wood Ducks since I saw some videos that world-renowned wildlife photographer Doug Gardner made a while back. I’ve seen a few here and there over the years, but most often come up short (literally) with the ducks too far away for a good shot, until today.
This was the first time I actually saw the ducks up in the trees rather than on the water, and I was surprised at how high up from the river they were!
The shot is not great, but it is probably the best shot of Wood Ducks I’ve ever got, so I take some satisfaction in that. The male Wood Duck always cracks me up; it has so much “flare” that it becomes almost TOO much. The colors, the hairstyle, the bright red eyes, we get it, you’re trying to score.
I ended the lumber with 5.23 miles and a couple good shots, which is more than I can say for my last few hikes. Hoping that my system, running at 85%, can make it to 100% soon.
Later.