not bad for mile 25
Rich - We kind of abandoned you toward the end of June. Sorry if it was a lonely week!
az - Your moving plans sure hit a snag. Hope the truck can get fixed without much difficulty and $$. Glad you have the flexibility to do it whenever. Sorry you don't have access to trails, though. Maybe you can simulate them by running on your neighbors' landscaping, steps, etc. and stay off the streets. Hope the monsoons wet down the forests well.
I haven't posted lately because I've had nothing interesting to post. My miles have been minimal. Yesterday, even the dog wouldn't run with me. She got a dental extraction the day before, and she wasn't feeling up to snuff. Better today, and she did a sedate mile, and I did a speedier two miles. Tonight we'll be going to something interesting. The American Ballet Theater has taken to the road for a tour of free concerts, with a portable stage on a truck. They have been set up in our largest park, and they've been trying to rehearse the last two days in this heat. Anyway, we'll set ourselves up with a picnic on the grass and see how it goes (we being DW, DD, SIL, and 2 grandkids). That's what's going on today. This holiday weekend I may be getting in some more running miles.
Happy Independence Day!
HAPPY JULY everyone!!
It rained again this morning, a short downpour, nice!! We'll take anything mother nature can offer in the form of rain.
The gigantic clouds are a blessing too, keeping us all cool. Most of the homes in this part of northern AZ were not built with A/C ...... maybe the last few years are but we don't. When we bought our home over 20 yrs ago, the hot temps of summer only lasted about 2-4 weeks. "hot temps" meaning 60-70 degrees which was tolerable especially with the breeze. We didn't buy our current removable window A/C till about 5 yrs ago. But with climate change (yes, I believe), the temps are hotter and staying longer it seems. Last summer, I had the A/C on for 4-6 weeks, not everyday and not all day either so that's good.. My body doesn't like the A/C (not even in the car) but it's necessary. However, I'm glad we are not experiencing the scorching heat (of the heat dome) like on the east and west coasts, whew!!
Led: yep, you're right, glad we have the flexibility to go with the changes in our travel to MN. I'm certainly not in any hurry, LOL!! But then, the running trails in MN are open, ha! The summer event with the Ballet Theater sounds like a great way to spend the holiday outdoors without driving too far. They gotta be pretty committed to practice in that heat for sure. Our postings doesn't always have to be about running as life happens and there are more fun/important things to talk about. Thanks for sharing your weekend plans. Sorry to hear your running buddy/dog had a post-op day but you had to drag him with you, LOL!! "sedate run" kinda sounds nice, LOL!! Bones only ran with me once and I just couldn't take him with me on my other runs due to the heat. He won't drink water on our runs, weird!!
No run for me today. Gotta go into town for errands, ugh!!
Thursday, 7/1... 5 mile trail run this morning. The heat wasn't quite as bad, but the humidity was. And with so few people using the trail lately because of stifling weather, the deer flies were hungry! The good news is they make you run faster, the bad news is, no matter how fast you run, it's not fast enough....Lol Anyway, a few of 'em left a 20% tip after their meal, so that was nice...
Led... not to worry about lack of posts, it happens. I usually do something for a workout each day, then take a minute most days to post it here. My way of keeping the light on for someone who hasn't posted in a few days, wouldn't want you to find the place empty when you come back! I'm not into ballet, but they're obviously athletes and that's something I can appreciate. Sounds like a fun time for you and your family!
AZ... yeah, all those pictures of me stacking up with no-one else posting, the place was starting to look like a totem pole with a senile medicine man hogging the show! Lol Anyway, good luck getting back on the road headed for MN. Like you said, their trails are open and that's a good thing! And have a safe trip!
I tried some new shoes this morning - racing flats, that I got over a year ago for the mile and T&F events,but never wore (pandemic, you know). Thought I'd better test 'em before I use them. And, yeah, I like them. felt really fast. The shoes are Reebok FloatRide RunFast Pro, if you're curious.
az - Glad you got a bit of rain. I read once that instead of asking a person, Do you believe in climate change?, the question we should be asking is, Do you understand climate change? It's not a matter of believing; it's a matter of being educated. Anyway, it is affecting you and me, and it's worrisome. I agree, A/C is terribly overused by a lot of people, but it sure helps to reduce the humidity and the temp a bit. And our home A/C went out a few days ago. It got a bit oppressive in the house for a day and night, even though we normally keep the A/C set at 78F. Anyway, it was minor. The contactor went out, and it was under warranty, so we just paid for labor. Bones runs with you when it's cooler, doesn't he?
Rich - Good job with your 5 miles, while fending off the deer flies! Most of 'em are bad tippers, I'm afraid! I guess they think they shouldn't have to chase their meals!
My report on the ballet: It was a lovely evening, not hot at all, at least for the audience. There were a bunch of good food trucks there, so we were set in that regard. Some pictures:
The venue
Dancers
DD and GD
Runs in the rain
Been a while since I posted. The beginning of June I was still very busy working on my garden. I was just about finished by my June 18th birthday and I did my first run in five weeks! Since then I have tried to be more consistent with my runs. I thought I would wait until I had some progress to show before posting anything and also I suspect posts placed at the end of a month tend to be ignored, I wrote a long post at the end of May (the 28th) with comments for all of the month and did not get any response, no mention of the minor earthquake I experienced or the minor surgery on my eyelid. A single sentence would let me know that at least you had seen the post. Well, perhaps it was because I had no running news to report. Anyway, although it is July I will catch up with my mid June runs and then with all my comment on your activities. Friday, June 18th - My birthday cake - a carrot cake with cream cheese icing my GF made for me!Had to do a run on my birthday! My intent was to run on a road I had not run on before. I drove to where I would start, however, by mistake I got on the wrong road and this one had a lot of heavy traffic and had mostly woods on either side of the road so there were no distant views over wide open fields and it felt enclosed. It was a cool 73 degrees and partly cloudy. Here is a view of the road: With weeks of not running and only 3 runs in the beginning of May and just 3 in April I was out of shape, basically back to square one. I felt tired right off. Still, I was very happy to be running outdoors again and look at the sky and trees. I saw this historical marker sign, I often pass these and will take photos of them from now on.Shortly after that the trees by the sides of the roads opened up and there was a pond and a big building where Seneca Foods are produced I ran a bit over a mile and turned around at the entrance of Letchworth State Park. Sometime I will run in the park and get some neat photos of the canyon. I passed Seneca Foods again and unfortunately it was at this point I spotted a hypodermic needle by the side of the road. Whenever that happens I will call 911 and a police officer will come to safely dispose of the needle. I did have to interrupt my run and wait 15 minutes for him to arrive. I resumed my run, but found another needle half a mile down the road. So my run had several interruptions, but at least I got to rest a bit each time. I did a bit over two miles total and really felt how out of shape I've become! So my resolve was to run more and get back to where I was. But first rested the weekend, I work mornings Saturday and Sunday so I am usually tired afterwards. My next post will describe how the next week went for my plans for running consistency.
Long distance runner, what you standin' there for?Get up, get out, get out of the door!
Continuing my report: Monday, June 21st, there were thunderstorms during the night and more expected later that day. Mostly sunny and 84 degrees as I started my run. Legs still tired and sore from Friday's run, but I cut back on the distance, just 1.43 miles. A view of a nice field with clouds overhead and those long grasses in the foreground: Wednesday it was sunny and 72 degrees and I did a bit over a mile. Since it was such a short distance I just ran from my house and back. Here is a view of my street:And this historical sign at the end of my street. An Army camp was located here during the Civil War!
Thursday I decided to run on a quiet dirt road. It was sunny and 80 degrees and again I just did a little over a mile. If you look at the sky just to the right of the dead tree you can see a black dot which is one of the turkey vultures circling the field. The thunderstorms were very brief and the field turn brown in the heat Friday there was a hazy sun and it was a humid 84 degrees. This picture shows some bales of grasses and a distant view across the valley. Here among the big oak trees are two bailing machines at work on the tall grasses. To the right is a curve of the road I ran on.Another view showing the wire fence surrounding the fieldSo that was my week of runs, just four totaling only a bit over 4 1/2 miles, but at least I established some consistency! Next post will finish June and have the start of July.
Continuing now with this current week: Monday June 28th, 85 degrees and mostly sunny, just a few breezes. Same 1.43 route I ran on the 21st. Did not take my camera, but there were a few nice looking clouds.
Tuesday was mostly sunny and 86 degrees. Just did a short run a bit over a mile. Here is a barn with the red paint flaking offAnd some nice cloudsOK, now I am into the month of July, Thursday was partly cloudy and 77 degrees. I ran 1.22 miles.Showing the cracks in the mud in a ditch by the side of the road, the brief rain showers still left the ground rather dryThe plowed furrows really give perspective Friday was partly cloudy and much cooler at 66 degrees and some nice breezes. Thunderstorms were expected, but seemed to pass around us. Did get some rain last night. Was tired and sore and intended to just do a mile, but the cooler weather felt so good I did 3.74 miles! I was glad to be back to a decent distance, the training is paying off! These day lilies (or are they called "tiger lilies?) are common this time of year, here are some planted by a culvert. I have none in my yard, although they seem to grow wild by the sides of the road, may have to dig some up to plant! Some houses had nice flowerbeds out frontAnd you can see the stormy clouds over that distant white barnI have today off and so did a rare 6th run for the week. It was 70 degrees mostly sunny and breezy. Legs started out sore and tired, but such a nice day that I did over 2 miles. Scattered thunderstorms are possible and you can see some dark clouds in the left half of this picture
This is part of the road I ran on and above you can see a towering dark mass of cloudsBut quite a lot of clear sky was showing and it was mostly sunny I'll be working from 7 am until 10:30 pm tomorrow, so no more runs this week, get some rest for my legs. So my total miles this week is 11.62, almost 3x last week!
Hi Altair! Thanks for getting us caught up with all of the lovely pictures. The historical marker let me to read up on Mary Jemison. What a life she had! I imagine you Genesee Valley residents already know about her. Also, I found that her book, "A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Mary Jemison" is available free for the Kindle from Amazon, so why not? I'll see if it sustains my interest.
Also, I did read your post at the end of May about the earthquake and your eyelid, etc. You're right, though, I guess we tend to just leave the previous month behind.
I think I wished you a happy birthday earlier, but if not, happy birthday!
Sunday, 7/4... 6 mile trail run this morning after 2 days of rain, and used the latest rebuilt 2 wheeled tractor to mow the neighbor's lot after that. Busy, busy! We'd planned a BBQ for the 4th, but it rained most of this morning as well, so the BBQ's been rescheduled for next week...
Led... I love running in racing flats! It's almost like running barefoot. But not quite. Lol Your granddaughter's got a smile that makes you smile...
Altair5... good to see you running and posting again! Long lay-offs are tough to come back from, but you're well on your way, so congrats. for that! Enjoyed the pictures as usual, you run in beautiful country! Good luck building on your recent mileage!!!
Monday, 7/5... 8 mile trike ride today, temp hovered in the mid 70's all day. Edit: I forgot to add the buck deer I surprised during yesterday's ride. On packed surface, the trike is extremely quiet. So much so, that halfway through one of the long slow turns on the railtrail, I surprised the deer, feeding just off the trail on my left. He took a couple of bounds, stopped to look back, and I proceeded to imitate a sheep, "Baaaaa, baaaaa!" He just stood there in disbelief, watching a sheep on a 3 wheeler go rowing by. The expression on his face was priceless! Lol
Altair5... just read the story of Mary Jemison. Life was pretty tough back then, wasn't it? I wouldn't have made a very good pioneer...Lol
Trails
Altair...have to comment...here in the lower part of MO near the OK border is a town called Seneca. There is a tribe here also called the Seneca's. They neighbor the Wyandotte Tribe that I work for. I've done a 5k and 10k trail race put on by the Seneca's.
Also, here we call them 'ditch lilies" as they grow in the ditches rather wild. Along with purtle coneflowers (echinea).
Hello,
We are leaving (another try) AZ tonight for MN. The monsoons are greeting us daily with cloudy days and cool breezes, NICE!! I have NOT run in 2 wks. The closures of the National Forests near us have made a huge decline in my motivation. However, I've walked around the neighborhood and daily home workouts, better than nothing. But the trails may open, however temporarily, on Thursday. Great timing, ha!
But like I mentioned, MN trails are open so I will make the effort to get in some miles despite the high temps and humidity combo, ugh!
DH took the truck in and found out that the previous two owners (first owner and his dad) neglected/ignored/overlooked the necessary recalls and updates. So the dealership took care of all that, DH took it for long test drive, and the engine light has not lit up since, YAY!!
The holiday weekend was spent on pulling weeds and cleaning up our yard, planting a couple of trees (which neighbor will water while we are gone), cleaning house and packing. We had DH's friend/colleague (in his late 70s) over for a cookout of burgers for them, black bean/quinoa burgers for me (made myself), corn, and potato salad (which I rarely eat); they had soda but I had cold hard cider, yummy!! It was a beautiful cool cloudy day.
Altair: like Led, I did read your post in May. I'm sorry I didn't mentioned it. I'm assuming all is well from that minor eye surgery or you would have mentioned it again. Wonderful that you are getting in some mileage, however short. You are doing more than I am, LOL!! I do the same when I haven't run in awhile, starting with short miles although I tend to start at 3 miles and slowly work up from there. Starting from square one is always a challenge, finding out how fast you get winded, oh my gosh! But those consistent days really do made a difference. I just assumed the area/region would be/or is getting more moisture than in the west but I guess it's all relative. Your photos show alot of tempting clouds for rain but it must just move somewhere else or drops a few. Beautiful tiger lilies, we have those planted (by previous owner) on one side of our MN house. Didn't know they can just grow 'wild.' Read a few lines about Mary Jemison and the Seneca Nation. I am always intrigued about Indigenous history but I make sure I read from the Indigenous perspective which tends to be ignored.
Led: never have run in racing flats but I'm sure it would be painful for me, LOL!! Hope the new kicks works out for you! Gosh, GD takes after her mom, wow! Looks like a very happy child enjoying time with mom and grand-dad and the ballet. That's quite a set up and what a crowd!
NH: HaHa!! That was a spooky visual of you 'baaing' to communicate with a deer while driving a tractor! Good job on getting a 6 miler on a holiday weekend! Bummer on the rain spoiling your cookout but I'm sure mother nature didn't mean to. Your neighbors are lucky to have you as a willing neighbor to help with their yard work.
Diane: HI!! Always great to have you pop in and post! Hope you are doing well. I've only known them as 'tiger lilies' but I know different regions have other names for many familiar stuff we see in our respective areas. These are the commom wildflowers we have in northern AZ. Some can become a nuisance I hear. But they sure are colorful!
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP._fLVO_DvwO8njH7N9Hf6GgHaFj?w=232&h=180&c=7&o=5&pid=1.7
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.JN7HVGgbP23TMwtkyDdO4AHaEo?w=289&h=187&c=7&o=5&pid=1.7
TGIF 😁
Where’s everyone? We arrived at our MN yesterday, around 7:30 pm. Woke up to a Beautiful morning, nice cool breeze. An easy 3 mile run this morning, about a 1/2 mile run on paved road before getting to the dirt road around county fairground. Took 2 minutes walk break after each mile. A good 20 min post run stretch.
We left AZ at midnight Tuesday night. We took a different route to catch the cooler temperatures at night and early mornings. Long drive but talk news kept us awake. I dozed off and on but couldn’t sleep. Amazing to watch a gorgeous sunrise in Utah. I expressed my concern about deer crossings especially off the interstate. Another reason I wanted to stay awake and alert. As we drove closer to WY, we saw more deer/antelopes on sides of the road, difficult to see among the tall grassy ditches. I saw one dart from behind a huge circular hay bale and onto the road. We are the only one on the road, about 3 pm. We are pulling an almost empty 24 ft box trailer. Going between 45-55 mph on county roads.
I yelled at DH who slowed down as much as he could and swayed slowly to the left, hoping the antelope stay put or turn around. Nope! Damn thing hit passenger side and under the truck. Takes awhile for DH to find space on the already narrow shoulder. Walked back but no antelope!! 😳 Some damage on lower part of door 😟
Stayed the night in Gillette WY. Slept soundly for 5 hrs. We left around 1am. Oh my gosh, THICK FOG and rain for about an hour on interstate 90!! 😱 scary!!
Stayed on interstate 90 till Spearfish SD. Then we head north towards ND. Many sightings of deer/antelopes. Just before Bowmen SD, another deer surprised us as it leaped from the tall grasses. Holy moly!! It hit the lower part of the front grill, under the truck and hobbled to the other side … somewhere. We stopped, couldn’t find the deer. Surveyed the damage. 😱 Truck stinks 😷 DH washed the truck at car wash in Bowman. We reached & stayed on interstate 94 in ND till Fargo. Then we drove the usual NE route on busy county road to our MN home. Due to change in sleep pattern, I finally fell asleep around 3am 🥱Just spending most of today doing laundry, wrapping small items to pack for AZ trip, and setting aside other items for donations and/or yard sale with neighbor at her convenience. The more I donate, the less I have to sell for yard sale, right? I’m not a yard sale person. We will put house on market next month.
My RB from the cities will be visiting for the weekend. Woohoo!! She’ll be here later today.
TGIF 😁 Where’s everyone?
Where’s everyone?
So we just go into hibernation when you're traveling and offline!
Gosh, hitting both an antelope AND a deer! Glad it wasn't any worse for you, but sorry your truck was damaged. The only time I hit a deer, it took off the driver's side mirror with its antler. I think his ears were ringing after that! Oh year, the car was about 2 weeks old at the time.
Moving's a lot of work. Good thing you're brimming with energy! Hope everything goes smoothly from here on.
I use the terms tiger lilies and day lilies interchangeably. I don't know if that's correct. We have a patch in the front yard. Last summer I spent several days digging about half of them out - they were starting to get out of hand.
As for my running, nothing too exciting. I didn't do as many miles over the 4th weekend as I thought I might. Saturday I did almost 7 miles, then Sunday about 5. Monday morning was hot, so I took the dog to the Wilderness Park trail, which is shady, and dirt under her feet. We both enjoyed that. It was only 2.5 miles, but I was done for the day. Went to a nice party on the 4th at DD's inlaws' farm. Eight rugrats to wrangle as they played in the little pool and drove the mini-Gator (electric) around the farm, and visited the horses. Good food and conversation, and some fireworks.
Since then, my usual morning runs, with a bit more speedwork, with the mile race coming up Sunday.
Got up this morning and we had no water! A main had burst down the street. It flooded a few neighbors' basements. Lucky that we are at the top of a hill. DW said it was fixed around noon, but there was a fair amount of mud flowing out of our taps.
So we just go into hibernation when you're traveling and offline! Gosh, hitting both an antelope AND a deer! Glad it wasn't any worse for you, but sorry your truck was damaged. The only time I hit a deer, it took off the driver's side mirror with its antler. I think his ears were ringing after that! Oh year, the car was about 2 weeks old at the time. Moving's a lot of work. Good thing you're brimming with energy! Hope everything goes smoothly from here on. Got up this morning and we had no water! A main had burst down the street. It flooded a few neighbors' basements. Lucky that we are at the top of a hill. DW said it was fixed around noon, but there was a fair amount of mud flowing out of our taps.
HAHA 😂 NH is the one that keeps us going 😉
Oh no!! Glad you got the water issue under control. Hope it’s cleared up by now and doesn’t cause any problems health wise. Hitting a deer with a brand new car isn’t too different from an old car other than what insurance thinks is worth saving. Deer/antelope/bear hits are pretty common in this area although we get them in northern AZ too. It’s thought that more will be around due to drought areas and they seek water/food in the ditches. Yes, the trip back with a full load in the trailer will be interesting. DH is checking out a different route, mostly staying on interstates. DH’s truck is a 3500 dually Ram, has taken quite a beating but thank goodness ithe trailer didn’t tip over. Yikes! Good luck on Sunday. 👍🏼