Wish I had a clever quote, I'll insert it if anyone has one. I had a funny one to my warped sense of humor but it didn't really relate to running. I did 11 miles this morn against the wind from the farm to town the long way plus a little loop in town. Pace was very slow hopefully attributed to the 25 mph wind but still a mileage record for me. I was pretty whacked out tired after and napped quite abit between checking irrigation but don't feel any injuries coming on. Probably will start to ease up a little later in the week, going to do a 5k in North Platte (Lynda's town) sat. Cindy, wow what a mess back there, losing family pets so hard but you did what you could do. Looks like a long battle doing cleanup to get back to normal. Joe you might get an interesting clientel billing as Joe's escort Service , glad u are getting out on the trails. Leslie, re: the Farmer's Wife, yes we have it on tape. Its a little hard for me to watch, a little too close to home at times. I've heard but don't know if its true, that she left him. I just wish they are still farming and can catch a little of the good times we have now as they will probably be short lived. What were your impressions? Kelly tell Jack as per his 50th birthday run, we did a "nekud" raindance one time during a drought, we didn't get rain but my best friend and his wife got rain, and no they wouldn't reciprocate. Tell him Happy Bday. Jewels hope the heat and humidity are letting you run. Suppose you are busy winding down the school yr also. Carol hope your base building runs are progressing. Arla if ya got access to some good trails give it a shot. I ran some in Rocky Mtn Natnl Park last summer and it was a blast. I did have to put away any preconceived notions on pace, etc and just enjoy the ride. Jim

Thanks for starting us off Jim....aw, you should have posted your warped sense of humor quote. We're all pretty warped around here one way or another. Great job on your LR against the wind. Woot! Yep, I'm still getting in about 3 days a week of running. I'm an a.m. runner now. Don't have a choice! Mmmmm Leslie, your menu for the day sounded great. Sounds like your hubby loves his new "bullet". You had a busy day with the painting and all! Cindy, glad you got to chat with your sister without any big issues. Continued prayers going her way as well as everyone who were effected by the floods. Had a big graduation party Sat. for my daughter here at the house. Had about 25 people over for the day. It was a great time. I think she got enough moula to buy herself a laptop! Have a great week everyone......Jewels

Cindy - that footage is just heartbreaking! So sad. I hope the insurance company gets back to your sister, I'm sure they're overwhelmed right now. r2 - way to go on your long run! Sounds like you've got those old injuries under control. Next week I start summer school...I've never taught summer school but know the students find 18 weeks of material crammed into 6 weeks to be a bear. I always tell people not to take math or science classes in the summer, but they do it anyway and always regret it...oh well... One more question about trail running - we have bear and cougar in the local mountains - don't you guys worry about wildlife? I guess it's bigfoot up in Leslie's neck of the woods Arla

One more question about trail running - we have bear and cougar in the local mountains - don't you guys worry about wildlife? I guess it's bigfoot up in Leslie's neck of the woods Arla

The Bigfoot sightings have been few and far between. He pretty much keeps to himself (herself? theirselves?) We have bear and mountain lions with which to contend. Both are fairly scarce in the Arcata Forest trail system. It might be too busy, although last year locally a man was attacked by a mountain lion and his wife fended it off by sticking it in the eye with a pen. He was injured pretty severely, but is recovering quite well. Anywhere else but Arcata, we go in pairs or my Hub would have a fit. With bears, you're suppose to wear a bell to help make noise. They will almost always run away, so if they hear you first, you probably won't see them. With regard to mountain lions/cougars - well, you're more likely to get injured in a car accident (or in your case, a motorcycle accident ), than attacked by a mountain lion/cougar. I go with the credo, "If it's my time, it's not going to matter if I'm running through the woods, driving, flying, whatever, so I may as well be enjoying myself!" It's more a matter of being smart about where you are, letting someone know when you're going and when you expect to return, take a cell phone. We each purchased one of those solar blankets that come in a small package. If we're running someplace new and expect to be gone more than 3 hours, I take that, a small knife, and matches in little ziploc with me - just in case. The benefits and enjoyment of trail running by and far outweigh any possible dangers. Last year when we were driving up the last 8 miles to the trail head of the Trinity Alps, we were favored with a brown bear sighting. He was gone in a flash. Those suckers can move! It was pretty cool. Carol - 100 - yuck! Congrats on the 17 miles! Jim - Good job on the running. Knocking on wood for you that the hip stays happy. Another comment re "The Farmer's Wife" - I really liked the documentary. I thought it helped put into perspective the hardships you guys have to endure. I also think it would be very hard to put your whole life on display in that way, so openly and honestly (I don't put all these stupid reality shows on the same level as a PBS documentary).

We're all pretty warped around here one way or another. ......Jewels

Hey, I resemble that remark! I agree with you jewels....r2farm go ahead with the warped sense of humor. It's never stopped me....oh, maybe that explains a few things! Good runs to all....I hope to get back to it tomorrow. No runs for me for the last 2 weeks.

I second the opinion that all and all we're a pretty warped group. So bring on the quotes! Warped or unwarped - it don't matter!

Black bear scat consists mostly of berries and roots. Grizzly bear scat has little bells and smells like pepper.

See, now this is why you will always find me toward the back of the pack. The front runners run into the danger first, thereby satisfying the hunger of any wild animal well before I come up the same spot. There is a method to my madness. I'm not slow, just preserving my own life.

Ok this conversation leads me to discuss the why drinking beer makes you smarter. (I know it seems a stretch, but hang with me on this one.) As mtnck points out, predators get their prey from the back of the pack where the slower animals are. Now since the pack as a whole is only as fast as the slowest animal, as the slower animals get picked off, the pack actually becomes faster. The same is true with the brain. We all know alcohol kills brain cells and the brain is only as smart as the dumbest cells. So as the alcohol kills off the dumbest cells first, the brain actually becomes smarter. My apologies to Cliff at Cheers!