As I folded clothes on Tuesday afternoon, I got a message from my friend Steve. He and I worked at the bike shop together a few years ago. He lives about 20 minutes south, and said he had an appointment in town on Wednesday mid-morning and wanted to know if he could tag along for a bit on my lumber before.
Steve is a great guy, and of course, my first reaction was 100% yes. But then I had to think for a minute.
The week has been less than stellar for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I only have a hair over 20 miles in my feetz thus far.
This is about all I feel like writing, so I’ll just post a few pics from the last few days, including a few from Friday’s 6.50-mile lumber that felt like I had been through multiple different seasons in two hours: snow, slush, ice, rain, fog, mud, and sunshine.
Well, the Weather Mongers were not wrong, and I woke up to snow and high winds this morning. There were only a few inches at the time, but it was still coming down, and after four days of snowless hiking, I was not in the mood.
Not to beat a spent lingam, but I haven’t been on trails using just my trail runners since sometime in mid-November. Until today.
After five days of waking up not sick, but still with some sort of allergy or slight head cold, I woke up on Saturday not sick and without some sort of allergy or head cold. There was much rejoicing.
Today was Day 5 of waking up not sick, but still with some sort of allergy or slight head cold. But since I feel good regardless of the drip, I did that thing where I go walking at pace in the woods with my camera looking for critters. So stupid.
I was intent on getting my 2026 fit and fat lifestyle back on track with a 30 in 5 Days week for only the second time since mid-January, and you know I went ahead and did it. Just barely, at 30.05 miles, but shit got done, and it felt great to be back on track, even if I wasn’t feeling 100%.
I was also intent on not taking any photos of squirrels, but since nothing else was cooperating, I went ahead and took one. And I’m glad I did, ’cause I dig the pic and can’t stop thinking that when a squirrel goes house (tree) hunting, they are looking for a tree with a good perch to eat breakfast on. Sort of like a patio breakfast spot for rodents. I digress.
I also got my first Turd photo (see intro) of the almost-spring, just as I was finishing up. I thought I saw one yesterday, but the trees were dark, and the sky was too grey to get a proper sighting or pic, so it didn’t count. THIS ONE counts. Sadly, whereas the dull grey sky ruined yesterday’s pic, today the bright 9 AM sun and blue sky made for too much harsh light and saturation. I did what I could to make it look a little less “meh,” but in the end, it’s just a good snapshot of a robin.
Not sure what my plan is for the weekend, but I know I need to do something in order to stop being not sick, but still with some sort of allergy or slight head cold. I hear that rest, beer, and endless footy watching are key, so I’ll see what I can do.
I’m also including a close-up photo I took of Lola T. Dog yawning, because I can.
Later.
As with most of 2026, last week was pretty crap for lumbering, with only 3 lumbers and a mere 13.78 miles in my feetz. I was pretty down about it, but there were some signs to be positive about.
Real flowers, sun, and green grass type spring is about 7 or more weeks away for mid-Michigan, but there has been a real uptick in critter activity, and many birds are returning to breed. While 23˚ and 13 MPH winds are not my type of breeding weather (I tend to catch a chill when breeding outdoors), the birds don’t seem to mind, and it really is a sign that the critters are just as ready for spring as I am.
As seems to be the case over the past couple of months, the week was not the greatest for lumbering, but I made the most of my three hikes, enjoyed time outside, and played with my camera along the way.
Sometimes you miss a goal, and sometimes that is just fine. Such is the case this week. I missed my “normal” weather goal of 30 miles of lumbering in 5 days. I also missed my 20-mile Winter Contingency Act goal, coming in at 18.88 miles in 4 days. But as I said, I’m fine with it.
For roughly the 10th time in the past 3+ months, I let Winter beat me down. And for roughly the 10th time in the past 3+ months, I have bounced back like a body tossed from the top of the Empire State Building.