After 2 short weeks, today feels like it should be Friday already, but it's not.

Unseasonably warn weather continues, so I have shorts and a vest for my lunchtime run.  Seems odd to be running wearing such light clothing in January.  Sorry Warden, wish you could get some of our warmth. Should be able to hit the trails tomorrow and slog through some mud.

QOTD:  Do you ever do any trial maintenance while out for a run or just step over/around things?  I move branches quite often.  Many of them I could just step over, but since I use some trails that get a lot of MTB usage, I move what things I can.  If I see a big tree, I'll stop in at the forest office or SP office and let them know.  I'm sure tomorrow I'll see a lot of branches down since we had 2 days of rain and wind.

I'd like to get out for some miles but will likely be limited to road miles at lunchtime and after a week of running trails last week in GA not too excited about that prospect. Welcome back to the new year and reality. So hopefully that, and some planet of fitness action this evening.

We had a nice visit down in GA with my sister and BIL, though the weather was mostly grey and drizzly. Pretty nice for running though and did manage to run every day down there on the various trails I have scouted out in prior visits. Sweetwater Creek Park is still my favorite as it's full of huge hills rising and rolling out of the river valley. A few sets of rapids there add some ambience to the woods in several places. The Lady and I had 2 nice mid distance runs out there and found a new loop they had blazed since our last visit on the eastern (more quiet) side of the park.

QOTD: Yes, but nothing formal. Mostly just moving large fallen branches and sometimes smaller trees and saplings if I can get leverage to roll them off the trail.

We only got down to -8, I guess that's better than -18. Calling for a high of 2, so will hit the treadmill again this evening.

qotd: last winter we had a bad wind storm that knocked a bunch of trees over, I cleared a 6 mile stretch out with a saw and axe, was actually pretty fun and a good workout     They have volunteer work days in the spring and summer, I need to participate in a couple 

Hi  trailers. Did not run yesterday as planned, but did get in some yoga. Doing a yoga challenge with one of my favorite online teachers for the month of January. I need to build strength and flexibility in the under-used, supporting muscles. That's my plan, anyways, with hopes to start out spring strong and injury free.

I will run during swim practice tonight. I think deer management starts later this week so this might be one of my last chances to run in this park, in the dark for a while. I need to check their schedule. If I remember correctly, if I time it right, I might get out before they officially start hunting each day.

LB- was reading this week about a 'game exchange' between LA and MN in the 50-60's.  MN got LA turkeys to repopulate the state and LA got MN black bears. Know anything about this? I do know the turkeys around my mom's house are huge-- much larger than what we see out east and the northeast. Of course, her neighbors feed them and there are also lots of oaks around.

Queen-- got the Peregrines. Test run felt good. Almost gave in and got the new Cascadias since they felt better than the last few models, then tried on the Peregrines. Immediately fell in love.

qotd: No. probably should do more than jump over the logs in my way, but unless it's obviously unsafe and I can do something about it, I pass by.

 

LB- was reading this week about a 'game exchange' between LA and MN in the 50-60's.  MN got LA turkeys to repopulate the state and LA got MN black bears. Know anything about this? I do know the turkeys around my mom's house are huge-- much larger than what we see out east and the northeast. Of course, her neighbors feed them and there are also lots of oaks around.

 

A guy I know was the state turkey and small game biologist for Louisiana. He recently retired, and he wrote a book. I read it before Christmas, and I am pretty sure he mentioned that in the book. I believe most of the turkeys that were trapped and sent to other states came from Livingston Parish (County), which is just south of me. This area is one of the few areas in the US that has always had wild turkeys. Our black bear population is coming back, slowly but surely. I spend a lot of time in the woods, and I have only seen two black bears down here. On one sighting, I listed the folks I was with and was accused of being drunk. However, I can assure you that we were not drunk, at least not when we saw the bear. Hahaha. No. We really were not drunk at all. As far as the size goes, I think that is probably going to be an environmental factor more than anything else, more to eat. Typically, we have gobblers that are considered on the heavy side at 18 pounds. Most of the turkeys I kill are 16 to 18 pounds. I did call one up for a friend that weighed 24 pounds, which is really odd. I normally don't weigh them, but I am sure I have killed one or two that pushed 20. Most of our birds are scratching out a living in pine plantations and small food plots.

Also, there was a push, early on, to release wild turkeys that were pen raised. This effort was a miserable failure. But trapping wild birds with a cannon net and placing them in suitable habitat has really saved the bird from almost certain extinction. Our biggest problem down here is habitat loss due to human expansion and land use changes. We don't have the dairy farms we once had. We don't have the mast producing trees that we once had. And we don't have the controlled burns we once had in the pine timber. Nevertheless, we seem to have a pretty good number of turkeys on the places I hunt. I have been fortunate.

Dumping rain but a bit warmer so I dressed (over dressed) and ran 4 miles with thee mutts.  I saw a group of deer that we stopped and looked at and they looked at us.  I think they were wondering WTF we were doing outside when we had houses.    Plan to join the New Years folks at the gym today.

QOTD:  Not really but I have started to do it a little more.  With two dog leashes strapped to my hands it makes it hard to move things without all three of us getting tied to the branch!

AT:  Seriously you have no problem letting those white legs shine in the middle of winter!

XT:  Welcome back..we missed you.

runtraildc:  Yea they are very comfortable..hmmm Cascadia is getting good again?  Maybe wait another year.

I ran 5 miles after work in New York, saw lots of wildlife.  Zig-zagged my way up to central park, did the lower loop and then zig-zagged my way back to my hotel (39th and Park).

qotd: I typically do some informal cleanup, trash and branches, etc.  Even before I took that header over a fallen tree a while back I tried to keep things clear, but the header added additional incentive to help others avoid the same fate.