Today began with a soggy start and a couple of big boomers to boot … and they weren’t firecrackers either.

There were two downpours before dawn, the latter, a torrential rain pounding on the patio roof. Well, I felt like I might be left “holding the bag” –  well, eighteen of them to be exact, the number of garbage bags stuffed to capacity from my downstairs rampage on cleanup and clutter control.

I sure didn’t relish the thought of traipsing up and down the stairs with eighteen bags, plus miscellaneous and sundry other items, while dealing with the pouring rain, so I waited it out, rather impatiently I might add. Then, it was like a tropical rain forest when I stepped outside, extremely hot and humid.  That task took me over an hour to complete, lugging one bag or item at a time, up the stairs, and out front to the garbage.  Exhausted, I rested in the car, while parked in the garage, with the A/C vents on full, and directed toward my face to cool me off.  Then, I set out to Council Point Park, with considerably less bounce in my step than when I hauled the first bag out of the basement at 8:30 a.m.

The Park likewise had a tropical feel to it – extremely moist and the weeping trees were bending low to the ground with sopping wet leaves. The perimeter path was still streaked with damp spots and big puddles.

My head was bent down so I didn’t step into any of those big puddles, and, also because I was scoping out four rocks set out in the 7:00 o’clock hour by my friend Ann Marie for “National Drop A Rock Day”, an event wherein a painted rock, decorated with the single word “Peace” is hidden for others to find, keep and/or re-hide. I found two of Ann Marie’s turquoise-colored Peace rocks, but left them there for others to discover and enjoy.  My blog post photo today is actually a rock that was painted by a member of the Downriver Rocks! Facebook group, which I’ve mentioned in earlier blog posts.

I met three nice women walkers on the path this morning and we chatted it up for the entire two loops, then carried our conversation another half hour or so in the parking lot afterward.

I strapped on my pedometer before I began my hauling extravaganza and my walk, so I had over 11,000 steps which is about 5 ½ miles today.

By the time I returned home, I was hot and hungry and decided to get hydrated, grab a sandwich, then get cleaned up and head downstairs to the cool basement to work some more. But, before I went downstairs, I felt sleepy, and my bed beckoned me to have a nap.  This was the first time I’ve taken a nap mid-day ever, but my early wake-up time, the neighborhood firecrackers until midnight and this morning’s extra effort in the heat and humidity, left me too pooped to participate.  That power nap rejuvenated me, and when I got up, I was ready to take on the day once again!