The weekend was dark, dank, and raining most of the time, and that made me feel good to already have my 30 miles in, and nothing planned other than 48+ hours of slack, which started at 3:01 PM Friday.

Then, early Monday morning, I was back in the woods, lumbering along in the pitch dark, with my headlamp blazing for the first 2.75 miles of the day’s 6.18-mile loop.

I hardly saw any wildlife today, which is not surprising, because as soon as dawn arrived, I could hear gunshots from the farm fields in the distance. I have to admit that was kind of a drag, knowing that my non-hunting, gun-hating self is out trying to get images of critters and someone else is trying to kill them. I know people dig it, but it’s just not my jam. Oh, whatever.

Side note: This week roughly marks our 15th year of living in Michigan. I really can’t believe we’ve been here this long, but I also can’t imagine us not being here. There’s a lot I don’t like about living here, but the good far outweighs the bad. I mean, once you get used to a drive to the other side of town taking just 10 minutes, and the fact that “rush hour traffic” doesn’t exist, it’s pretty hard to go back.

The photo of B above was taken while he and I explored Deerfield Park about a month after we moved here. B was only 6, and he’s on the very bridge that, unbeknownst to me at the time, I would cross several hundred times in my future.

Later.