Sunday morning, I slept in until almost 7 AM before getting up to feed Lola and let her poop the yard. Soon after, she panted and rumbled her way back up the stairs and jumped back up into bed with Wifey. She’s my dog twice a day.
Posts Tagged → unfunny commentary
Fall-ish Mid-Week Lumbering
Four weeks ago, as I drove to the trails, I bemoaned the fact that it was 77˚ with 85% humidity at 6:30 AM. Well, this morning as I drove to the trails at the same time it was 45˚ and I debated whether to start the lumber with gloves1.
I guess that was my feeble-minded way of saying that fall is in the air. Also known as the “Sunday of Seasons.” Well, at least until mid-November when all the leaves are down and everything is dark and dank. Then it becomes the “Hospice of Seasons.”
Don’t get me wrong, my hulking, bloated body is not made for high heat and humidity, and I love that the cooler fall temps make for more miles and fewer bugs, it’s just that knowing there are 6 months of cold and darkness ahead makes me want to start gobbling antidepressants like they’re candy as I swig from a bottle of Jack with my trousers down and my aged, flaccid white ass pointed in the direction of Ma Nature as she flips the lever to Winter.
For the love of Pete, please digress!!
OK, OK… To the lumbering!
The week’s mornings have been cold and dark, with full sunshine not arriving until I’m at least 2 miles into my lumber. However, as always, it’s awesome to be in the woods as the sun creeps up over the horizon and shoots beams of orange light through the trees.
I bounced back from the weekend on Monday with a hike just over 5 miles, but then on Tuesday and today I was back to my 6+ mile loop, and after 3 days of lumbering have 17.37 miles in my feetz.
Over the past two days, the only photos of any worth were of a deer that I saw as I came around the corner on a section of trail. It stood looking at me about 70 feet away, and then eventually took off into the woods, where it poorly hid from me with some friends as I lumbered by. I had to bust out some manual focus skills to get the shot of it in the brush.
I also took a few shots of another Great Blue Heron, but it was right as I crossed the bridge near the end, and the sun was so bright that it blew out the highlights, and I couldn’t recover them in Lightroom. Oh well, I waited all summer to get some shots of a GBH, and then once I did, I was less than impressed with the large birds. They’re not that attractive, they don’t do much except stand around, and if you move an inch, they awkwardly fly away. They’re not exactly bald eagles, but I admit I do like seeing them around.
Thursday’s lumber looks to be a rainy one, and I’m looking forward to it. Also hoping for some better luck with the critters.
Later.
Goal Met and More Deer
Literally no one said it couldn’t be done, and I did it. Because it’s really not that hard—I got my 30 miles of lumbering in for the week in 5 days. Now I have the weekend to goof off, watch footy, and go photo creeping.
Like Yesterday In Reverse
My mood and energy levels were boosted after getting some pics late in yesterday’s lumber, so I was eager to get back in the woods today for more miles, and hopefully some more critters to photograph.
Finishing Strong
Wednesday’s lumber was not one of my best, but it also wasn’t my worst.
I’m not sure if it’s the return of the dark mornings, or what, but this week I’ve struggled to get my mojo, jo-ing. Don’t get me wrong, I have a little bit over 12 miles in my legs after two days, and that’s pretty standard, but as I started this morning’s lumber, there were times that I debated whether I should just lie down in the grass for a bit and take a nap. But I didn’t, mostly because of bugs, poison, and shit like that.
As I lumbered along, I thought I was going to come home yet again with an empty SD card, but as luck would have it, in my last mile or so, I saw a Dagger Moth (caterpillar), a deer, a Pale Tiger Moth (caterpillar), and a juvenile Cedar Wax Wing as I walked over the suspension bridge.
I don’t always wait until the last mile to get all my photos for the day, but when I do, I finish feeling stronger than when I started. AND, I post a little gallery in case you feel like enlarging. Just don’t touch the caterpillars.
As of now, I have 17.32 miles in this week, hoping for more tomorrow, and more luck with the critters.
Side Note: I’m pretty sure The Man My Imagination Thought Might Be Living In The Park is back! I saw what I THINK was his care backed into his normal spot when I finished today. He’s going to have a lot of explaining to do.
Later.
Promises Broke
I woke up on Tuesday to promises of rain from the weather goofs. So, with hopes of a hike in the wet woods, I had a little spring in my step as I readied my gear and waited for a glimmer of daylight to appear.
A Six Mile Start
I made zero effort to get out for a lumber this weekend, and was content to end my week with 22.93 miles and the knowledge that I also completed some long-needed upgrades to the Cul-De-Sac-Shack’s outdoor lighting. And by upgrade, I mean that the lights are no longer hunks of rust with a lightbulb attached.
Getting Giddy With It
The week of lumbering ended with just 22.93 miles in my feetz. To be honest, nothing was really stopping me from getting 25 or even 30 in this week, but Tuesday’s “mental health” rest day didn’t help, nor does having my weekend mornings now being distracted by Spurs, the return of the Premier League, and proper European football.
Shine a Little Light
Some weeks, I struggle to find the time to blather about anything here, and then when I do find the time, I kinda don’t want to. This has been one of those weeks.
Catching Up With Nothing Again
It seems that I have a whole lot of catching up to do about nothing. So, here it goes.
After 26+ miles in my feetz, I really didn’t feel like lumbering on Saturday morning. So, I gathered my macro gear and headed to Sylvan for another photo creep amongst the bugs and the bees.
As you can see from the gallery, I got some photos that I really dig. Sure, I wish I could have got more of the spider in focus, and a flash could have really helped bring out the amazing face of the cicada, but for handheld macro with no flash, I’ll take what I can get. Note: Don’t forget to click on the gallery image to enlarge and navigate.
Sunday
Knowing that I was less than four miles away from another 30-mile week had me up at 5:25 AM on Saturday and on the trails at 6:35 to beat the weekenders and bust out a 4.46-mile loop and finish the week with 30.63 miles of lumbering. I’m still old, fat, ugly, and a confirmed slacker, but I like getting 30 miles in; it makes me feel good about myself for roughly the 10 minutes it takes to drive home.
Due to the early morning start in the dark, dawn woods, there were no photos to be had.
Monday
Monday, I was back on the trails at 6:40 AM to start another week of lumbering and hopefully more luck photographing woodsy critters.
I was briefly stoked when I ran into a couple of nice-sized deer about a mile into the hike, but as with the previous morning, the sunrise continues to lag behind me, and the noise from shooting at 5000 ISO was way too heavy to be saved. All I ended up with on the day was a trail shot of the sun breaking through the woods.
Despite the lack of photos, it was nice to start the week with 5+ miles in my legs, and I’m looking forward to more time outside in the coming days.
Later.