Saturday got in 4.2 miles as usual. Cloudy and windy.

Sunday morning did 4.2 miles again with exercises. Sunny with a slight breeze.

Monday morning did 4.5 miles around the neighborhood walking around the different streets. Clear skies with clouds coming from the East. The sun was just behind the edge but never got past it.

It's been in the mid 30s in the morning here the past few days. Cars and roofs have been covered in frost. But tonight they are predicting a low of 28 degrees before morning. So I covered the tomato plants and hope it protects them. Hopefully they can handle this cold weather.

Di - Not in my area have there been any javelina. It's usually in the farther areas out. I think it was the Northern Phoenix area that had some kind of wild cat. A bobcat I think. Things like this pop up every once in a while. Makes for interesting news and videos.

Altair - The weather here has been strange and unusually colder than normal lately. Eventually you'll get to the point of doing more longer runs and can take an extra rest day during the week.

AZ - Weather mentioned Flagstaff snow total for January is 4th on the list with another week to go. At least it will help with the drought conditions some.

Tuesday morning was another 4.2 miles with exercises. It was 29 degrees when I went out. Weather said it felt like 23 degrees. But the sun was out so that made it better. Tomatoes plants look OK so far. Suppose to be above freezing tonight.

Di - When I did construction and was in the outlying areas we would see coyotes, javelina, and other small critters from time to time. Hiking in the mountains we see big horn sheep, and I think it was a mountain lion once. It was on the ridge over and looking at us. Then there are the rattle snakes, gila monsters, big spiders, and occasionally hawks and red-headed vultures. It does get interesting sometimes when hiking. Closer to home I mainly see ducks and rabbits.

Art - Good neighborhood walks. When you say you listened to music do you use earbuds? What type of music do you like? Tomatoes can survive a frost, but not a deep freeze. You get different animals in those AZ mountains! Would like to see a Gila monster, the only poisonous lizard! I used to have a pet horned toad as a kid, do you ever see those?

Di - I have a friend here in upstate NY who says he tracked a cougar to it's den. One time my neighbor emptied his barbeque grease onto the ground and the lady across the street said she saw a cougar there during the night! I looked online and officially there are no cougars native to NY state, but one had wandered here from South Dakota! That's halfway across the country! Anyway, I sometimes worry what I'd do if I spotted a bear or encountered a rattlesnake on my run. I've never seen either one, but know they are in nearby areas.

Yesterday I saw a large bird sitting on a branch in the woods behind my house. It was all puffed up and raggedy looking, maybe because of the cold. Looking in my binoculars I saw it was some sort of hawk. It had some black on the sides of it's tail and dark streaks on it's breast. I took a picture through my window and then went outside to see if I could get a better one, but just got one of it flying off. It had a light color on the undersides of the wings. Here are the pictures, I had to enlarge the part with the hawk quite a bit and they came out blurry. Led was interested if I had photographed a hawk so I am posting this. I still see them often, but they fly off almost as soon as I see them and can't get a good picture. Need like a telephoto lens!

I looked in my bird books. Because of the streaks on the breast I thought it might be a rough-legged hawk, but those are rare this far south. More likely it was this one, the Northern Harrier, rather common around here! Picture is not mine, found it online.

Art said he likes to hear of alternate interests. I just finished listening to a collection of remixed John Lennon songs called "Gimme Some Truth." I have long been a Lennon fan, but have not listened to his music for a few years. What amazed me was how he exposes such deep, personal feelings. I know contemporary artists sing about sensitive things, but these were raw emotions! Perhaps that is why I have not listened to his music too much lately, since I feel similar elements in my own life that can be hard to face. He has great music and lyrics, my favorite line: "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans!"

Tuesday I had a 7 mile run planned, but while looking for a place to park I backed up to close to a drainage ditch and had to call AAA to get me out! Not the first time I've made this stupid move and I was trying hard to be careful! Had to wait an hour for the truck to arrive and it only took a minute to hook up a chain to haul me out! By then I was in no mood for a run.

This morning it was snowing heavy, I'd say we got two inches. Shoveled my driveway, but did not brave the snowstorm for a run. I think I could use the rest, but may not reach my 35 mile goal this week unless I really step it up!

Di - I'm glad you never saw a rattler on your trail runs and I hope that indicates I won't either! I see a lot of raptors and have seen a bald eagle from a distance. I saw a lot of different owls when I lived on Long Island, but not here. There is a raptor observation center on the shores of Lake Ontario, just West of Rochester. The Cooper's Hawk is smaller than a Harrier and I estimate the bird I saw was large and had over a 3 foot wingspan.

Got out at 11:30 am for an 8.9 mile run. It was overcast, 29 degrees with some gusts of wind and a few snowflakes. The roads were clear, but had to be careful of icy surfaces when I went on sidewalks or by the side of the road. I did see a Harrier flying off, but it is too hard to get near an alert raptor to get a good picture and it was gone before I could even think about my camera.

Thursday morning did the usual 4.2 miles. Sunny and cool out so was a nice walk.

Friday morning did 4.2 miles with exercises. Did some work in the morning and finished up around 1:00. Since I had to go to the bank, decided a bike ride was in order. So got in a 14.2 mile bike ride also today. Sunny with clear skies. Saw a lot of other bike riders out also. Everyone must have thought it a good idea also. Saw something new on my walk. A chicken was walking buy the canal. First thing I thought was dinner and then figured it got loose from someone's yard.

Altair - I have a wrap around the head set of earphones. It doesn't pop out if I get sweaty and bounce around too much. I have tried a few regular ear buds but none of them would stay in place all the time. I'm a rock n roll type of guy. I like most music but when I'm out running or walking I want something upbeat with a good tempo. It's stil a little cool for the snakes and gila monster to come out. When I do see them they are in a sunny spot soaking up the rays. Trying to mind their own business. I don't think I have seen a horned toad around here. Most of the time I see something and think cool and move on. When I see the big birds, it's usually on the top of the high tension electric towers looking around or just floating along with the wind currents.

Nothing like a small mistake to ruin your plans. Good that it wasn't worse. Fresh snow on the ground does look nice and can be a serene feeling.

AZ - Flag is really getting snow this month. But it can be a bit of an inconvenience also. Nice that the place was opened so you could some running in. Good luck this weekend. The weather in Tucson should be to your liking for your race. Enjoy time with your running buddies.

A mix of morning temps - a couple of mornings 11F and 14F, but most in the 20s in the past week. A few patches of ice to be wary of. Tonight it's supposed to snow, then rain, then snow again, temp staying around 32F. Sage & I will probably run to and through the dog run in tomorrow morning's precipitation. That said, we're WAY below our normal winter snowfall amounts.

A couple of mountain lions have been caught on people's security cams passing through Lincoln. One had a tracking collar, so they know that he eventually ended up in Springfield, Illinois. There, the wildlife officers decided that it was a threat to people and their pets, so it was captured and taken to a wildlife sanctuary. Coyotes and foxes are common sights in town. No javalinas or gila monsters around here, but they say armadillos are working their way into Nebraska. Back where we used to live in Colorado, we coexisted with rattlesnakes - they were quite common. My philosophy was generally live and let live, but I did kill one that had taken up residence under the greenhouse floor. With young children playing about, coexisting with that one wasn't a good option. We had bull snakes, too, that liked to steal our chicken's eggs. I didn't kill them, but I would catch them with my snake pole and relocate them.  Horned toads were pretty common, too. We considered it good luck to spot one of them.

Altair - Congrats on 100 miles! I'm not quite there yet. Good job on your weekly miles, and all those hilly miles! Nice winter pictures, and you caught the hawk pretty well, considering. I saw a heron flying overhead this evening (I was just in a parking lot, on my way to do some shopping).

AZ - Crazy weather you're getting! You've got to have a lot of flexibility in where and how you train. I'll be cheering for you too!  Good luck at Oracle!

Art - Hey, a chicken can go out for a stroll, too!  Of course, it might want to consider how tasty it looks to those hawks perched high above.

None of the precipitation that was forecast materialized, nor did the 32F predicted temps,  Instead, I got to run at 3F with a north breeze this morning. 1.6 miles for the doggie and me was sufficient. This afternoon it has warmed all the way up to 8F. Yesterday was better; 2.3 miles with the dog and 4.1 solo, and it was 23F. Prediction for tomorrow is 3F again. Oh boy.

Altair - I think the belief that horned toads are lucky goes back to the native Americans.  I also think praying mantises are good luck. My dad had a story from when he was in the Army, stationed in the Philippines, of a large praying mantis that took up residence in his tent on a pole situated under a light, which of course attracted other insects as dinner. The mantis was something of a pet for him.  Yes, I picked up that the hawk picture was a stock photo, but your hawk in flight gives a sense of the motion of flight, similar to what we might catch out of the corner of our eye.  Hawks can be tricky to identify. The one I'm most confident of is the red-tailed hawk. Does it have a red tail? Then it's probably a red tailed hawk.   Nice oak tree pics.

AZ - Waiting for what I know will be an interesting report!