Last weekend was swell, even though there was no lumbering and no photo creeping.
Saturday was spent watching footy from the time I woke up until late in the afternoon. As a bonus, Spurs won 3-0 over West Ham, and sit 3rd in the table after 4 games. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s super early, but after finishing 17th last year, it’s nice to imagine a top-four finish.
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.
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.
After I hit “Publish” on the last post, my Friday was just about finished, and I had nothing but afternoon footy (evening footy if you live in London) and finishing the laundry on my mind.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Monday night, I kind of found myself in a foul mood (shock!) and stayed up a little too far past my 9 PM bedtime.
The next thing I knew, it was 4:30 AM, and Wifey was getting ready to head to the airport to fly to Baltimore for a weeklong meeting. I kissed her goodbye, looked at the weather, and saw that severe storms were due in the area by 11 AM. Shit.
