For the sake of not forcing my daily micro-adventures down the throats of the world, I have limited my posting this week. [insert ironic crowd cheers here]
The reason being that while the week has offered me my normal allotment of miles, it’s been more “samey” than usual.
I wake early, drink some coffee, drive to the trails in the dark, hike 6+ miles, and hardly see any critters because the sun has only been fully up for about 30 minutes by the time I finish.
Hiking in the dark and pre-dawn autumn mornings has been pretty fun, but I am eager to get back to somewhat normal lumbering next week when the sun will rise an hour earlier due to the time change.
The dark mornings have been interesting to see how the wildlife acts as well. In the dark, all I can see is the trail in front of me, and every so often, I see the glimmer of eyes in the woods from deer. Just two to six dots of blue light. Some lying, some standing, but nearly always just watching with little to no movement as I pass by. Often, I let out a “good morning” or “you’re good, be safe,” as I lumber by.
Then, with the woods dark at ground level, a look above shows the blue hour dawn light appearing. Still, the woods remain dark and silent for the most part, with only the sounds of my sniffling from the cold morning air and the crunch of leaves as I lumber along. Finally, the occasional squawks from the Blue Jays finally commence and start to bring the forest to life.
Not long after those first calls from the Jays, the squirrels start to scurry, the crows crow, the occasional flight of geese can be heard honking, and the deer are now up on all fours and looking for a morning snack.
Today, just after mile 3, just after I turned my headlamp off, a large four to six-point buck and his lady love appeared to my right. In normal light, I would have been able to get a shot, but it was still WAY too dark. So, I watched him for a bit, and then continued, hoping to see him again in the weeks to come.
I finished the week with 30.34 miles in my feetz, and got a shot of a Mallard Duck swimming solo just as I finished. The weekend is now open for slack, photo-creepin’, music on the hi-fi, beers, and footy. With a generous amount of leaf mulching thrown in.
Later.
THE SOILED SOUNDS TRACK(S) OF THE POST:
The past few weeks have been good for my ear-holes, and there are a few songs and bands that I can’t stop listening to.
ONE
The first track is from the Bay Area band Slumped (led by Nate Punty, the guitarist from Spiritual Cramp. The track Enough from the 2024 album Last Day on Earth is one of my faves.
The whole album is glorious, Weezer-esque garage pop with tons of harmonies and fuzz. That’s all I really need in life is harmonies and fuzz.
TWO
Call Me Silent, is from the band CIEL out of Brighton, England (UP THE SEAGULLS!). CIEL brings together a mix of new wave, synth pop, indie post-punk, and shoegaze to create an excellent album of blissful melodies.
Call Me Silent, is one of my faves on the album due to its New Order-like bass line. Also check out the track, Stay Along/Sail On— so good!
THREE
Gas Hands and the album from which it comes, American Muscle, from the band Worlds Worst, have been playing at unfathomable volumes in my car lately.