It was a week ago today that I celebrated the fact that I was finally able to get 3 lumbers in a row in my feetz, and I was eyeing up my first full week of outdoor fitness activities this month. Sadly, along with the strange feeling of low-grade happiness, I also felt like I was coming down with a cold, which actually ended up being the flu, which kicked my ass like a football made of fevered, achy, sagging, man-flesh.
Fast forward to today, and I have once again completed three lumbers in a row, and HOPE to to get in a full 25-30 mile week of lumbering. There has been no celebrating, just a longing for normalcy and a blessed routine.
This was also the third day in a row of extending my efforts just a bit further. I started back lumbering on Monday with 3.60 miles, went up to 4.62 on Tuesday, and today, I was back in the 5 Mile Club with 5.11 miles.
I also had another bald eagle sighting today and was actually able to get a photo of it.
About 3 miles into this morning’s lumber, I was on River Trail, with the Chipp to my right and the Wakelin-McNeel preserve on the opposite shore. History has proved that this is a good area to spot birds of prey, and today did not disappoint!
I had almost exhausted my available lines of sight and had already put my camera back on my pack when I saw the large, lumpy outline of a bald eagle through the trees. This is usually about the time that the eagle has already noticed me and takes off, but I remained calm, took my time, made no sudden movements, and was able to get a clear shot before it took off. [If viewing on desktop, click the eagle above to enlarge].
Had the sun actually chose to shine on Michigan today/or ever, I could have got a few better shots, but the dark morning grey skies required me to drop my shutter speed so low that when it did finally take off, all I got was a blur of eagle talons.
1/200 of a second was NOT cutting it. SHIT!!!!
Usually, when an eagle or hawk takes off, they don’t fool around and are well out of sight within seconds. However, today, this eagle merely flew a hundred or so yards upriver and landed on another branch. I was able to get another shot, but the low light and distance were not helping. So, I lumbered on content with a least getting something and, of course, filing away another bald eagle encounter in my brain.
The hike was pretty good, and I felt OK. NOT great, but OK. Still, no hardcore appetite, still coughing here and there, and still occasionally gagging so hard on random hunks of flu phlegm that I almost puke but only dry heave along the trail because there’s nothing in my stomach to expel.
I hope to be back in the woods for more miles tomorrow, but the last few months have taught me to take nothing for granted. Now to get some shit done before my late afternoon with the OG Mindbender, where I hope she can un-fuck my mind a bit, or at the very least do that thing where she assures me that I am not THAT fucked up. No pressure, OG-M, no pressure.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK OF THE POST
As I made my way to the trails today, I listened to Superchunk’s stellar new single, Bruised Lung. Such a perfect bit of modern ‘Chunk!!
And when the new single ended, their 1994 track The First Part came on.
The First Part has been one of my favorite Superchunk songs for 30+ years, and the line “One good minute will last me a whole year” has resonated with me equally as long.
There is reportedly a fall tour happening, and as someone who has seen them 3 or 4 times, I can NOT recommend seeing them live enough! Loud, tight, high-energy stuff that you will not regret paying to see.