Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty.
– Derek Zoolander
As predicted, the week has been a busy one, but that hasn’t stopped me from getting on the trails. I just couldn’t go as far as I may have wanted to.
Wednesday, I got to the trails just after 7 AM and did a quick 4.39-mile loop. A loop that was only “quick” because I saw virtually nothing that I wanted to photograph, and the shots I did take were complete shit. Not one keeper!!
Once home, I vacuumed and washed the downstairs floors, cleaned two bathrooms, mowed the grass of the Cul-De-Sac-Shack’s vast (not really) estate, took the grass clipping to the recycling center, and then went for some groceries. Finally, at 3 PM, I sat my ass in my comfy chair and watched the first leg of the Barça vs. Inter Champions League Semi-final. What a game!
Since I knocked out a bunch of my pre father-in-law visit cleaning on Wednesday, that left Thursday morning pretty open for lumbering, and part of me wanted to do another 6 to 7 miles. Sadly, another part of me was pretty tired from prior lumbers and domestic duties, so 5 miles was all I had in me.
BUT! It was raining, and the parking lot told me that I had the whole woods to myself. I love, love, LOVE hiking in the rain, and a hike in spring or summer rain is even better. It could have been a little warmer, but the peacefulness of the wet woods had me caring little what the temps were.
Due to the rain, I took a compact setup of my z50 with a 28mm f /2.8 lens (42mm on the APSC body) so that I could easily stash it in my rain jacket pocket. Taking a small prime lens would also ensure that I saw something good to photograph and be unable to. And I was right, seeing my friend the broadwing hawk perching on a branch along the Two Oaks Crossover trail. All I could do was watch from a distance until it took off.
But I did manage a few environmental shots of the ever-blooming woods bathed in the essence of wetness, which we all know is the essence of beauty.
Time for more pre-visit “redding up” and preparing myself mentally to watch Spurs in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final with Norwegian footballing powerhouse Bodø/Glimt. This is a game they 100% should win, but 2024/25 Tottenham is a whole new level of Spursy-ness, and I am prepared for the worst.
Later.