I’m channeling Summery thoughts!
So today I registered for my first 5K of 2019.
I could have entitled this post “Great Expectations” because in 2018 I registered, and paid for, four 5Ks, but, because of funky weather on race day, I only participated in one … yup, count ‘em – one. And the one walk/run I did participate in, I kept glancing at the sky the entire time I was walking. I thought I could reach up and touch those low-hanging dark clouds. I remarked to a few others “do you think we’re gonna get rained on?” “Nah” was their answer. Well, to their credit, we finished the event, got our lanyard with a medal on it for crossing the finish line, just as the sky opened up. I waited under cover while watching the awards ceremony and downing a bottle of water, then finally ventured to the car in the pouring rain.
This year I’ll register for the same 5K events, but with a different mindset, because back on January 1st, when producing my list of New Year’s resolutions, I decided to be like fellow bloggers/runners Laurie and AJ, who run, rain or shine, and even in the snow. So, why shouldn’t I be more adaptable as well? After all, I have set a walking goal of 1,242 miles (2000 km) for 2019. Last year I bowed out of participation at prepaid 5K events, as well as dozens of rainy mornings, as I decided to stay on the inside looking out. (As to the torrential rainy mornings … I may need to tweak my mindset a tad as I go along.) Though I might like to think I’m made of sugar, I’m not … so yes, I will try to roll with this weather, so this year, before the 5K season begins, I’m getting waterproof shoes and a rain suit … no more wet weather for ducks causing me to duck out!
Meanwhile the threat of torrential rains and thunderstorms is on the horizon for tomorrow, and we are part of this “Bombogenesis” or “bomb cyclone” weather event. The thought of Sunday’s 50-60 mph winds takes me way out of my comfort zone.
Finally, after 4 or 5 weeks, I made a weekday trip to the Park.
This morning I thought I’d “hoof it” to Council Point Park. I made a short bop around the neighborhood yesterday, but figured I’d head to my favorite nature nook today.
It’s been many weeks since I went to the Park on a weekday, and I was surprised to see how early the sun was up – so when did that happen? It kind of snuck up on me to be honest. I’ve been stuck in a different mode, a non-walking mode, on the weekdays and really paid no attention to the sun’s earlier arrival.
I reached out and left some peanuts for my porch pals, then suited up with a half-bag of peanuts in tow to visit my Park pals.
I wanted to run the car before walking to the Park, and, I came around the corner of the house just in time to see the fox squirrel up on the brick ledge. He was wearing a look that I could only identify as “oops, I’m busted, huh?” A month ago he could not fit on that ledge, but he’s lost some of his girth, so he easily scurried along. A pile of shells remained on the porch begging the question: did he share any of the peanuts with Grady or the birds?
I put more peanuts out in case the rest of the crowd slept in.
Enroute to the Park, I was continually sidestepping large patches of glare ice on the sidewalks, so I finally just walked in the street where it was clear. Along the way I checked the progress of the Snowdrops, those seemingly fragile flowers I showed you in last Saturday’s post. Surprisingly, the snow and freezing rain had not smooshed them and they were resilient, with their tender green shoots and tiny white blooms.
I heard a robin singing and this time I saw the robin. The other day, I just identified the birdsong. That red-breasted bird was sitting on a chimney cap, and I could see its beak moving as it sang on its high perch, a flawless blue sky in the background.
I would see five more robins before I reached the Park!
I like this cartoon I saw on Twitter the other day …
At the Park, the parking lot was an ice rink in a few spots and the sun was so unbelievably strong that I had to use my arm, not just my hand, to shield my eyes so I could cross the parking lot and get on the perimeter path without sliding on a patch of ice.
So there I was … walking along, treading on the grass way more than the pathway, due to glare ice, and there was not a squirrel in sight. Where was Parker and the rest of the welcoming committee today? I even jiggled the bag to announce my presence, just in case their hearing was better than their eyesight this morning. Still no takers.
But a male and female cardinal, high up in a tree, saw me. A series of identifiable and distinctive tweets caused me to look up and there they were, sitting pretty in a plum tree. As I approached the tree, they both came to the lowest branch, clearly intent on grabbing up a peanut or two. I didn’t drag out the camera as it was zippered inside my vest, under my coat, but tossed out some nuts for them. I stepped aside and they both landed on the pathway – yup, I should have had the camera handy. There will be other Kodak moments once the weather gets better.
I only walked the one loop due to the patches of ice and finally three squirrels spotted me and came racing over, so I opened the bag and spread peanuts on the path. I left the Park after watching them happily noshing away and I’d barely touched the peanuts I’d toted along.
Animal antics.
Squirrels are always guaranteed to give you a smile with their cute antics as you know from my many posts about them.
The squirrels are a foe, and not a friend to some people though. In fact, I remember the first year we moved here, my father ordered tulip bulbs from Holland. He planted them in the Fall and in the Spring, when he did the initial yard cleanup, he found chewed-up bulbs all over the yard. Not a single bulb bloomed. He was furious and blamed the squirrels after seeing a few of them chomping on bulbs which they were holding in their front paws.
Another one who is not smiling about the cute squirrels is my boss. His “check engine light” came on yesterday while driving. He went to the dealership for a look-see and was told there were forty vehicles ahead of his. We have more damage than usual from this erratic Winter’s freeze/thaw cycle and massive potholes have emerged. The tire-eating potholes are not all as big as this car-eating pothole in nearby Hamtramck, Michigan that was featured on WXYZ’s social media site.
The ragged roads are indeed taking their toll on drivers while making tire companies and tow truck drivers rich. My boss had to get a rental car and leave his vehicle there to be diagnosed. The verdict was a small animal, most likely a squirrel, had chewed the electrical wires and the electrical system needed to be repaired. Needless to say, he is not as enamored with squirrels as I am.
Animals have a knack for getting on your last nerve sometimes, much as you might protest they don’t. The animals who frequent my backyard aren’t getting into much mischief these days, but the same cannot be said for my friend Carol’s backyard critters.
Yesterday she posted these pictures of her view from a window at her house which is near a woodsy area. Carol counted 17 deer altogether. They make themselves at home in the backyard, and often raid the bird feeder – they were behaving themselves in these photos, and merely nibbling on a patch of grass, but they love to chew on her flowers and bushes and are especially fond of her Summer berries.
I often tuck away quotes that I like, and this one sure fits today’s post to a “T”:
“Animals are born who they are, accept it, and that is that. They live with greater peace than people do.” ― Gregory Maguire
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow 17 deer….that’s a small herd. It must be nice though to see them through the window, even if they are flower-munchers. The Robin cartoon is cute. Is it early to see robins? and so many of them? I don’t remember ever seeing any before March at the earliest? Haven’t walked in weeks – I could have walked late today but there was so much ice/leftover snow along the sides of the road that I would have had to walk in the centre, which I was not willing to do, despite the sunshine.
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Isn’t that nice Joan? I would love to see it too. Carol often posts pictures on Facebook of the deer in her yard. I used some pictures before … they were at her bird feeder and also laying down in her backyard. If you scroll down a little you’ll see them:
She lives in a tiny town of Honeoye Falls, NY … population of about 2,000. If you Google it, you see they have a big mill and waterfall and it is quite picturesque. Carol shelters feral cats so she has food and water out for them and this attracts the possums and raccoons as well as other critters. The deer come along and just strip her plants of flowers and her bushes of berries and she gets pretty annoyed about it. I walked today because I wanted to get there as I need to take the car for a run tomorrow – I’m afraid to take it too many places as the pot holes are worse than usual and I don’t want to mess up any tires or axles. So, I wanted to get down there today. I thought the robins generally come back later as well – I was surprised to see not only one, but five of them on one street. If they went South and came back, they’ll be in for a real disappointment with our upcoming weather. Another round of snow next week – are you part of this “Bomb” event too? The glare ice was bad but I walked in street … less people on the roads this week as a lot of kids are off for Winter Break this week. Tomorrow I’ll try another venue – even in hiking boots with lug soles, I did not feel comfortable walking on it.
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I know it’s supposed to be very windy tonight and tomorrow, and maybe some mixed precip. but we seem to be missing the worst of the storms lately.
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Are you getting that “Bomb Cyclone” too? We get rain, thunderstorms and very wet weather tonight and early a.m., then the windy weather –
heard today, wind gusts to 65. My shed blew over in 39 mph winds.
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Yes….wind howling already….it just started here. I remember the last time…..I couldn’t sleep all night.
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We are 32 miles per hour wind gusting to 43 and after 9:00 p.m. going to 50 mph (80) … 4:00 a.m. is the expected time for the wind to die down – it cannot come soon enough.
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The wind storm was horrible yesterday….not sure of the km/hour as we had no hydro for 6 hours yesterday afternoon and into the evening! It finally came on at 8:30. Not fun…..
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Oh, I wondered how you did – that’s too bad Joan and the temperature dropped thirty degrees from the time I got up until I went to bed – I started thinking that if the power was going to go out, it would have been better earlier in the day. I’ll bet it was freezing in your home. I heard they had 1,000 linemen on standby, but they couldn’t do some of the work at the times it was so gusty. In my area, we got our peak gusts at 3:04 (55 mph/88 kph). I heard a really loud noise and looked this morning, but saw nothing, but it made a big noise and figured it was a large branch. I have nothing in the yard to go airborne. I was happy to see no shingles were off. It has finally calmed down out there (13 mph) now. We are getting more snow on Wednesday.
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I went over to my mom’s around 1:30 and we ate around 3 – hydro went out at 3:30 and stayed out until about 9pm. Luckily we had eaten, nothing exciting but leftover spaghetti with homemade sauce, but better hot than cold. We lit candles, and I had my computer with me, so I spent the 5 hours editing my picture files. I don’t know if you are organized with your photos but I am not, I take many duplicates, use some in the blogs, but forget to delete the rest. So it was a productive use of time. Couldn’t do much else. I drove home and got a flashlight, and tried to go to the local stores but they were all closed due to no hydro, so of course all the smaller flashlights had dead batteries, but no place was open. Luckily it came on before 9pm, but I missed the first hour of the Oscars (no great loss, as I hadn’t seen any of the movies anyway, but I do like to watch the gowns – all ugly this year). I slept at my mom’s as I can’t handle the trees around my two story house, and you don’t notice the wind as much in her one floor house as it is bricked. Came home this morning and the trees were okay, and the roof. A few years ago a big tree fell on the neighbours roof so I’ve been nervous ever since when the wind is bad. Yes, we are getting snow again on Wed. I cancelled a lunch date last week because the weather was bad and now it will be bad again! Have you walked lately at all? I wonder how your furry friends survived that wind….I was thinking about their nests up in those swaying trees!
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I thought of you on Sunday night as the wind continued to howl long into the night and still a little gusty when I went out yesterday morning. We lost power years ago in ther Winter and a lot of people in the city and surrounding cities went to hotels – we had no power for several days.
I had to go to work. It was icy and my mom did not do well getting out in ice and she stayed put. I took two thernos bottles to work and brought home hot water for her for instant coffee or teat and heated up canned soup for my mom – I ate at work. We had a lot of blankets and were okay at night, slept together and luckily had no birds at that time – we had parakeets and canaries through the years. I wish we would have considered an instant-on generator at that time … in the Summer, it is uncomfortable but no worries about damage to pipes or the risk of yourself freezing. We also had a power outage in July 1980 or 1981 … no power for a week in the whole area. I remember the carpeting (wall-to-wall carpeting in the house) started bumping up in places as it was very humid … it was mid-July … we worried the carpeting would not be okay, but once we had the A/C on again it was able to draw out the moisture and it was okay once again. My mom was on a cane and so the possibility of falling due to the carpet being up and also using only a flashlight was worrisome. I know the HVAC place I use services/installs instant-on generators but they are expensive but at least you would have peace of mind in the Winter. I am on a gold plan for twice-yearly visits for A/C and furnace, for tune-ups, etc. so they give a 10 percent discount on equipment and installation but it would still be expensive. I don’t have much in my fridge as I lost a lot last year due to a power outage – overload on the grid. Our side of the street – other side was A-okay..
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Joan – I meant to respond to the part of your comment about the pictures – I will do that separately … I really do believe we were separated at birth!
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Just reading through my comments and see your comment on Traveling went to spam again! Yes, some day when you are a famous children’s author and I have published my mediocre murder mystery, we will go to Italy! Maybe you could do a children’s book on that – Parker Goes to Italy! He can dine on hazelnuts! I am debating getting weekend passes for the tall ships weekend in August, as there is an outdoor art show that weekend as well, even though I have no intention of setting foot on one, unless it is in dock, I would like to get some close up pictures for a blog. There is a 2hr cruise on one of them for $85 a person, which is a good price. It might have been gutsy to go to Ireland by myself when I was 26 but I certainly wouldn’t do it again., and the world was a safer place then I will be blogging about part of that trip in my St. Patrick’s Day post. You know Linda….you could have a whole series of those travel Parker books – Parker Goes to Paris, etc. My mind is in overdrive tonight…..
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We’ll both be famous … think big! Ireland by yourself and doing Eurail is still gutsy. I have begun thinking more and more about retirement and needing to treat myself … I stopped suddenly with traveling in 1983 due to circumstances with my father’s abrupt departure, and, like I said last week, I had a few more places I wanted to see. Alaska, though cold, in the Summer in June/July are the best months with no rain. But that is way down the road and like you said … we were the same age when we did our traveling and even though I always went on a tour, I still had to get there and back, and never thought anything about something bad happening. Now, many worries about traveling … it is not the same. I have a friend who goes to the tall ships festival in Bay City, Michigan every year and she posts pictures of it. We went together in Toronto (I worked with her at the diner) … we were able to tour the tall ship, meet the crew (they were Norwegian, spoke no English … the Christian Radich”) and it was fun. I did enjoy it. Bay City is not close to me but I would like to see it again. We saw the tall ships as part of the Bicentennial and they had begun their journey in New York around 4th of July … I remember seeing the pictures in the newspaper and on TV – it was a big event. I like that idea of the Parker goes to Paris … if I don’t get down there soon, he will think I abandoned him. I didn’t see him on Saturday – only about 5 squirrels came out and I decided not to write about it – was working on taxes and the pics and story would have been the same as Friday’s post – sigh. The weatherman just said “sorry folks, Winter is not done with us yet!” We got a light snow covering, just a dusting. I have to run the car, maybe a short walk around the hood if not slippery … Spring cannot come fast enough for either of us.
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Miss Linda………………………………that is some pot hole over there in Hamtramck!…………..and i love the twitter cartoon you found……………….and the quote……………………….about animals being more peaceful than us humans!
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That pot hole was amazing Anne Marie – I heard about it on the news and I Googled around and found it. The street was full of potholes as I walked down to the Park today. That cartoon was funny and I had found that a while ago too and decided since I saw so many robins I would use it – saw five robins on Pagel Street alone. It sure is true about the animals – they are a more peaceful lot than us humans.
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Yeahhhhhh the robins are back. We haven’t seen a one yet so they flew right by us to get to you! What a beautiful picture of the deer!
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Hi Diane – I was amazed to see all the robins … I heard one on Monday already but didn’t see it … they are in for a rude awakening as they returned way too soon! The deer are just amazing … I say that I would like to see that in my backyard, but Carol has said they are a little destructive too. But it is peaceful to look out the window at them. I did another post a while ago about Carol’s deer. If you scroll down this post a little, you’ll see them raiding her bird feeder and laying in her backyard: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/10/14/oh-deer-me/
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Great post as usual, Linda. Missed Parker and pals though- maybe they went to watch a movie or to walk the perimeter path, looking for Linda and were ahead of you.
No, don’t take the car out yet, Linda. The red fox squirrel found the ledge where Grady told you to put his special peanuts ? That is not good.
One year, I planted sunflowers and lovely sunflowers came up, such big ones. But the next day, they were not there- guess who took them- parrots. I loved parrots until then but they seemed to know sunflower seeds were healthy and nipped all my flowers off.
Susie
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Hi Susie – No, I think I’ll take a quick spin, bring the car home and walk to the Park and get my walk in the neighborhood and one loop around the Park due to the ice. I have two types of footwear to strap to my boots to keep from sliding on ice, but that is for more ice or snowy ice, not for this thin layer of ice that is down there now. It is not everywhere – mostly on the side where the Creek is located. It is too bad as it is very clear out this morning but better than taking a tumble. The roads are abysmal but the car needs a run. It is quite gray so not even going down to the River. I likely won’t post anything this weekend – between the weather tomorrow and I need to hunker down and get the taxes done and other things in the house that need my attention as well. Hopefully I don’t lose power and can get something done. I do wish it was March 23rd instead of February 23rd. I planted sunflowers one year too – had some goldfinches bopping around and enjoyed that … the parrots would have been more beautiful to see though, but I can understand your anger and disappointment. I had hoped to get the sunflowers ripe, then lay the flower “pan” face up for the birds. However, an enterprisiing squirrel climbed up the tallest sunflower and broke it with his weight, and the whole, almost-ripe sunflower plant came crashing to the ground. I went outside to water and saw him being a glutton feasting on the sunflower seeds all by himself.
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Wow! I made it into your blog post. Thank you for the mention! Congratulations on registering for your first 5K of the year. Running in the rain is not so bad, especially if it is warm. I agree with you – I am more likely to stay inside if the rain is torrential now than I used to be. Of course, I have more time to run now that I am retired. I can be more choosy about the days that I run.
I thought about you yesterday when I was delivering Meals on Wheels. At the first stop, I got out of the car with the food and was walking up to the door. I glanced under a tree and saw hundreds of peanut shells. “The man who lives there must feel the squirrels like Linda”, I thought! When I looked more closely, I saw that some of the shells still contained peanuts. Those squirrels must be pretty well fed if they can afford to leave some morsels there under the tree. Maybe they will come back for them later.
Be careful with those icy paths!
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Yes because you are my inspiration Laurie – last year I made a remark about losing another weekend walk due to rain, or maybe it was one of the 5Ks and said I wish I was like those people who walk or run rain or shine. You said “I am one of those runners” … I know you know AJ through Anne Mehrling’s blog and she said the same thing … I must change my tune or fall hopelessly behind because this weather is so far from what we are used to. I don’t like this “new normal” for the weather Laurie – it is a little scary for a weather worrier like myself. Interesting about the peanuts still in the shell – that makes me think they are perhaps overfed as well and as you know, they can’t be accessing their stored nuts or other treats buried underground unless your ground is a lot warmer than ours. There is a guy at the Park who gives them each one peanut and has been known to pick up extra peanuts that I lay down because he feels they didn’t eat them or hide them right away – I said something to him about it after I saw what he did. I want them to have available food, even if they can’t eat it – they’ll hide it in a tree or maybe in their nest eventually. The squirrel lovers will keep feeding their furry pals just like the homeowner you see. I’m off shortly and not looking forward to a walk because those paths are glare ice and much sidestepping onto the grass. The roads are a big mess – are yours too? I would prefer to go a long distance in the car on Sunday to dodge the potholes, especially on a two-lane road, but with the rain/wind, I’ll hunker down inside instead.
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Congratulations on committing to the 5K in the future! And for surviving a trek outside. The icy conditions sound like they’d keep me on the treadmill instead of outside getting some much desired Vitamin D. That’s awesome that the Cardinals were interested in your peanuts! That cartoon is hilarious! Love the quote at the end, so very true! I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for both of us – SPRING is just around the corner.
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Yes, the first one Shelley and hope I can walk all of them this time! The one I registered for yesterday is the one I walked last year … very nice, through a woodsy area which is kind of secluded so I didn’t even know about it. I didn’t stray far this morning – the potholes have me a little fizzed – some parks are out in the boonies on a two-lane road so I’d go when less traffic so I could dodge them, like a Sunday, but decided against it also as I figure the trails are too icy. The side of my house where it is grassy is all icy on the grass. It was much better at the Park this morning … I did five miles so officially walked 100 miles this year but have a looooong way to meet my goal. Spring get here soon!
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Lovely wildlife pictures, not so good with squirrels damaging your bosses car and the monster potholes. They are everywhere… the roads can not cope with the changing climate..
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Thanks Marian – glad you liked this post. Even the less-traveled roads, like in our neighborhood, I saw huge potholes … they cold patch them in the Winter, but it doesn’t hold. That was an incredible photo of the car in the pothole, but three or four years ago, a large span of freeway which goes over Southwest Detroit literally broke apart and all that kept people’s cars from going down to the neighborhood below was a mesh grid.
They have since replaced a large part of that freeway – just finished in November after it being torn up for nearly two years. Hopefully it last for a few decades.
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Wow that’s scary! Glad they did eventually replace that freeway. I hate pot holes!
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Love the quote. We have had more damage from mice than squirrels here. They have chewed wires inside our outdoor air handler twice. Cha-ching, cha-ching. Both were caused by mice.
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I thought you’d like that quote Kate as you often deal with animal antics, inside and outside the house. 🙂 I thought of you this morning … saw a beautiful heron walking a little unsteadily on the ice at the Creek. He was trying to go ice fishing, but couldn’t peck through the ice and no open water was to be found. As soon as I made a move to get the camera he bolted. I have heard of mice making mischief in cars before and in houses as well. Years ago my boss had a dedicated fax line at his house. He had to have it replaced twice in a matter of weeks as squirrels kept chewing through the telephone line.
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That is some serious deer.
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I can’t imagine looking out the window and seeing 17 of them in my backyard. They do that all year around and they shamelessly raid the bird feeders and relax in her backyard because it is shady. Carol’s backyard is large and a woodsy area is behind, but she lives in a residential neighborhood. I did a post a few years ago showing the deer making themselves at home. : https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/10/14/oh-deer-me/
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I’m glad I got to catch up on some posts here (I haven’t really been reading anyones posts at the moment 😦 ).
Good luck with the runs….. I’m beginning to decide maybe I should take up running – though I’m out of breath after 30 seconds or so and after a minute can’t continue any longer 🙂 but running is actually cool. So maybe I’ll find someone to do it with.
Love, light and glitter!
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I should run … I would meet my goal more quicly, but I only walk – it is easier on the bones. I am glad I began as it’s good exercise and I was sitting too much due to working from home. There is a fellow blogger in the UK named Clare – she set an ambitiius goal for walking/hiking this year. I read her agenda and told her I wished we lived closer … she also enjoys nature walks. I’m not sure exactly where she lives … it would be a match made in Heaven if you two could hook up and take long walks together: https://cosycottageandthequestforthegoodlife.wordpress.com/
Love, light and glitter back at you Eliza! {{{ hugs too]]]
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Will check it out.
Though I can’t do long walks, only short! I’m not fit enough.
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You’ll get there in no time Eliza … I started off in September of 2011 just doing one block, then increasing by a block each day. I sometimes can’t walk for long periods of time in the Winter and have to cut back on the walking til I build myself back up again. Do you teach in the Summer, besides your one student you told me about that soon will be leaving you? That would be a good time to start … in the morning when it is cool and not hot and humid … that is not fun to walk in the heat and humidity.
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I teach this one student in the mornings and groups in the afternoon. Though before work would be a good time. I love early morning. I’ll need to find someone near enough to me to do it with (or else I just won’t)
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I like early morning for walking, even errands, too Eliza. The best time going to the Park is early morning, when the animals and birds are out. If I go to the Park after 11:00 a.m. any time of the year, it is quite quiet, mostly humans and it takes from the Park ambiance, for me anyway. There is a woman in her 60s who rollerskates at the Park. She goes every day and I see her sometimes on weekends if I stay there later than on a weekday/workday. She also walks, but on the weekends and one night a week – with a walking group in a nearby city. She suggested I try it out, but I would prefer walking in a park and by myself as I stop and take pictures and like to just enjoy my walk. She went on a site called “meetups” … she is a widow, but not looking for a relationship, just to be with other people. The “meetups” site is for different types of groups with similar interests – sports enthusiasts, photography (I looked here but they are professionals, not amateurs), etc. Here is Detroit “meetups” as an example: https://www.meetup.com/cities/us/mi/detroit/
So interestingly I Googled for “Meetups in Britain” but Google (being smarter than me) wanted to give me “British groups” near me … so you try, at this link and maybe you’ll find a group of people who like to walk … let me know how you do, okay?
https://www.meetup.com/
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I’m going to join.
My friend told me she could ask her sister to run with me – but her sister is good, and I’m a newbie. Also I’d need someone really close because I want to run in my park, but gonna join meetup and see what we find. If I find anyone I’ll let you know!
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Great Eliza – I am so glad I thought of it for you! For me on an everyday basis (except this Winter – grrrrrr) I generally walk to the Park which is one mile each way from my house, then I do my walk around the loops there. I say “hi” to people, sometimes will walk along, but just as happy to walk myself as I stop and take photos, feed the squirrels – I enjoy the ambiance just as you like seeing those birds outside your window in the morning …. peace and tranquility to start the day off right. I truly can’t see me running as opposed to walking …. I’d get more miles but I like going at a slower pace. When you begin a regimen, go slowly, even if you feel good like you could go farther. I have to do that with walking – even if it is a good, clear Winter day I can’t do a lot of walking miles – I will risk shin splints from overdoing it. I’ve messed myself up before … a beautiful Spring day and just walked and walked … paid the penalty later. So, I have to stay at about 3 miles, 3 1/2 for awhile to build up miles again. I’ve had to start from scratch in the Spring sometimes if I didn’t walk most of the Winter. So glad you have an option now Eliza!
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I strolled really slowly around the park with a little girl today. It’s such gorgeous weather here. I’m praying it lasts. I began signing up to meetup and I’m not sure how to handle all the options that have come up on the next page, will see if I can figure it out.
I ran down the road to school again today, I was actually better at it.
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That weather sounds inviting Eliza. I love that first day of warm Spring-y weather where you can unbutton your coat, fling off your hat/gloves … in late March/early April, I often do a post called “Spring Fling” (the official flinging off of all the extra layers of heavy clothes). On that day, I’ll go on a walk and hate to come back into the house. Then there’s the day the trees all leaf out – suddenly the neighborhood has a green canopy over it. I never signed up for anything in Meetups as I never found anything that suited my needs. I tried to see if there was a local photography group because I thought they might have organized groups to nature places and that would be fun, but most of the people were more professional than I’d ever hope to be as they had the really long lenses and the fancy equipment, so that wasn’t an option.
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And I appreciate that you take the time to read mine Eliza … Love, light and glitter – hope your Sunday is restful as Monday comes all too soon unfortunately!
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You haven’t posted in ages!!! Just coming on to send love light and glitter your way. And wishes for peaceful weekend.
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Sorry, just getting here since this morning. I know it – I am delinquent with posts! I usually write more than once a week, but, while I did walk last Saturday, I did not walk again until today. I decided if I wrote a post, it would be mostly whining about the weather and I’ve done that plenty already this season! 🙂 Love, light and glitter sent your way – by the time you get it, it is Saturday, unless you’re a night owl like the other night? I’m hoping to write a post tonight.
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((((((hugs)))))))
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((((((hugs))))))) back at you Eliza!
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Good luck on all the 5k’s that you have signed up for ❤
What a beautiful quote to end with ❤
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Thanks Zena – I hope the weather is better this year – we had 9 weekends of rain in a row last Spring/early Summer and it was this torrential type of rain. We have a massive windstorm going on right now. I feel pretty blessed I still have my power, given the way it is raging – gusts to 50 mph (80 kmh). I liked that quote too – I often see nature or animal quotes and keep them in a separate document knowing one day the opportunity will come up to use them. We know all about animals being strong willed sometimes (but still sweet), don’t we? 🙂
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Oh yes. Strong willed animals love to keep us on our toes!! 😂. Munch was a little rascal today when we took him to the beach. Never a dull moment with him around !
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I had to say that to you Zena as I knew it would give you a smile as to your Munch. He loves the water no matter what time of the year – it is his license to run with the wind in his ears. 🙂
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Yay!!! Excited for you on the 5k Registration! Cannot wait to hear all about the training & race! Aw I wonder where all the squirrelies go when it gets that cold & snowy. That pot hole pic is nuts! I remember how bad they would get in OH every winter!
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I hope it can happen – I usually walk, but I’ve had people remark on running it – since it is just a 5K, not a 10k, maybe I should make that a first … but it is a scenic route, so I could run at Council Point Park’s 5k instead – I should know every nook and cranny there for sure so I can concentrate on running. That pothole picture was something else – they are always bad but this year’s constant freeze/thaw cycle is made a real mess of the roads. We have this windstorm now – gusts to 50 mph til Monday early morning. The weather has gone mad!
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Oh my gosh- up to 50 mph?!?!? That’s INSANE!
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I know and they said 500 power lines came down during the course of the day – just amazing wind. 150,000 lost their power over the 24-hour period – I think everyone is back now. They had 1,000 linemen standing by. No trees were uprooted because the ground was frozen – that was a plus.
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WOAH… oh my gosh, that’s awful!! And yeah- that seriously is looking on the bright side… thank goodness the trees weren’t topplin’ too!
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Sometimes there is a silver lining!
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🤗
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I’ve heard mice like to chew on wiring too.Something about the chemicals its made of that attracts them.Very common actually.
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I’ve heard that too Wayne. In fact there is an automotive reporter on the all-news station I listen to and he is the beat writer for anything in the automotive industry and he recently did a story that the newer cars have their wires wrapped in some type of material to make them “greener” –
not a good idea as mice found it tasty. Years ago my boss had a dedicated fax line at his home. He had the phone company out twice in a matter of weeks because the fax machine was not working – each time the squirrels had chewed through the cable.
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I know that squirrels chew on the plastic collecting lines used to collect maple syrup. Maybe the sweet toothed squirrels!
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Ha ha – the squirrels are little buggers sometimes. When I was a kid, my parents bought some styrofoam bird feeders. We had a pulley line my mom used for hanging out laundry and so in the Winter, we put the feeder hanging from a hook in the middle of the clothesline. We figured the squirrels could not get onto the clothesline. They must have leapt from a tree, knocked it on the ground and I went out to see if the birds had emptied it and it had been chewed apart … teeth marks in the styrofoam and they broke into the seed area. The idea was that it was squirrel proof and you threw it away when done – no muss, no fuss. Probably why they don’t sell them anymore.
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well you did end up throwing it away. I’ve seen them do the old tight rope act and walk along clothes lines.
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I think at that time we didn’t know they could do the old tight rope act … they trashed it in no time. Marge had birdfeeders lined up along her deck … they shimmied up and across the wrought iron gazebo she had on the deck to get to each feeder … it’s a wonder they didn’t drink the sugar water in her hummer feeders.
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I saw a bear go along a clothes line to get a bird feeder
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This is a great video Wayne. That bear must have been really hungry to go through all that effort for bird seed. I mentioned to some of the other bloggers who commented on this post, that my friend Carol, whose house the deer were visiting in the snow, gets deer all year around and she feeds and has birdbaths for the birds. Carol posted these pictures of the deer at her bird feeder. I thought that was amazing … until I saw the bear who thinks he’s on a zip line to raid a feeder! The pictures are at the end of this post: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/10/14/oh-deer-me/
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bears will do just about anything to get at food!
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It must’ve been really heavy-duty clothesline to bear his weight.
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pun intended?
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I started to say “pun intended” then thought I would see if you were on your toes….
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tippy
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Good! A little sunshine clears the brain of cobwebs does it not?
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or at the very least chase the spiders away
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In that case, bring on the sunshine … I don’t like anything that runs faster than I do.
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The winds here have been horrible! I was out today for a walk on my lunch and the wind was so cold!
I’m glad to hear you’re going to venture out in some rain. Goretex is your friend:)
We have crocuses out here and it’s nice to be walking to school in daylight in the morning!
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The weather is crazy everywhere AJ! We had that crazy wind (Bomb Cyclone) on Sunday. Very gusty winds, got to 55 mph (88 kph) in the afternoon. It’s so nice to see the flowers coming up and it was so long that I didn’t get ready to walk in the morning, but just headed out to run the car that I couldn’t believe how light it got. 🙂
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Yes I’ve recently noticed the lightness too. It seems to come on so suddenly!
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That’s something to smile about for sure!
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Yes it is! Much easier to get runs in when it’s light more:)
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It looks like I won’t get any more walking in for February … I’ll be stuck at 100 miles (160k) to end the month – ugh. I had 50 miles as of January 12th … what progress – NOT! My goal is 1,242 miles (2,000 kilometers) by year end!
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I’m not going to make my February goal either and I didn’t make January goal too so I’m behind as well:(
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It seemed like you were doing great but then you had all that (unwelcome) snow. We’re getting more snow this weekend, then back in the deep freeze next week again.
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Yes we’re supposed to be getting more snow tonight:(
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Well I wish I could dislike that!
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Yes super unhappy about it!
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I don’t blame you! I’m so sick of our Winter too!
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On Sunday it felt like spring so it’s especially nasty to hear about more anow
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I know – it is disgusting, especially for you living on the West Coast. Here is more understandable.
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Yes we definitely aren’t used to this type of weather
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With all the rain we’ve had here lately, our roads are riddled with potholes. It’s hard to both pay attention to the traffic and watch the road ahead. Hopefully I won’t end up like that poor car in your picture. Being a city girl, I always Ooooh and Ahhhh when I see deer on my travels. It’s hard to believe that those beautiful creatures could be seen as a menace. Good luck on your upcoming 5K events!
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We had an incident yesterday where a bridge developed a hole – you could see the rebar underneath and they had to do an emergency repair. It was 5 X 6 feet. I’ve been reading about your rain – just terrible. The potholes sometimes are evident until you get up close and I have not gone to any rural area parks because some of those roads are just two lanes and if there is traffic, you can’t dodge them as easily. The weather all across the U.S. is not too pleasant these days. I’m like you with the deer – such beautiful and gentle creatures. Thank you Janis – I hope we have better weather this year. We had so many rainy weekends last year. I’ve set myself a higher goal this year – 1,242 miles and I’ve only walked 100 miles so far.
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Wow that photo of the car stuck in the hole is terrifying!
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It sure is amazing! And the other day a piece of an overpass got such a large hole, you could see the rebar and mesh supporting what was left of the concrete – we always have potholes here in Southeast Michigan, but we have had a really bad freeze/thaw cycle this Winter!
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Awesome post. I am a friend to squirrels but then agsin they have never destroyed my garden bulbs or chewed pieces of my car. Sounds like you have mafia style squirrels. I think if they did that to me even I’d have to give them the stink eye
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That’s for sure Ari – the squirrels are extra sweet in the Park, but the ones near my house that I have been catering to this Friday, have made themselves right at home and are pretty strong-willed. Of course they know a sucker when they see one! I hope you get out to some parks this year when you get caught up at work and post-move.
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