Spring is Springing

A decent weather week, with things greening up and only one day of rain!

Monday was a holiday and day off from work for me, so mid-morning I headed out on the powerlines for a run. Kept it nice and easy and enjoyed the bright sunny morning. (7.0 miles)

Then mid-afternoon, we picked up my parents and headed south to go to Costco and Trader Joe's (Sam's requests 😂😂) and then to Empire Chinese Kitchen for a yummy early dinner. A fun afternoon and dinner was sooo good! 🍜😋

Tofu bao bun with pickled veggies and plum sauce - delish!

A day in the office and off from running on Tuesday, before getting in a road run around town on Wednesday morning. Cool, bright, crisp and calm. Forsythia and daffodils in bloom all along the route and a lot of bird chatter. (7.0 miles)

Did a bit of work at home on Thursday morning and then took the rest of the day off. Anne came over to hang out with Sam in the afternoon and while they walked to DQ, I took a walk around the school block. Nice afternoon and the magnolia tree in bloom by the middle school looked and smelled lovely. (2.0 miles walked)

Headed up to Riverlands mid-morning on Friday to meet up with Val for a run. Mostly running, some picking up sticks, a bit of flagging and a lot of stepping over and ducking under downed trees and branches 😂😂 Always fun to catch up with Val! And trillium budding, hepatica blooming in the woods, and new-to-me early saxifrage. 🤩(8.3 miles)

Early saxifrage along the Ledge steps

Hepatica in bloom! Haven't seen this since seeing them at Traprock in 2019. So pretty!

Trillium!

Saturday was my day to lead the TMR group run. And of course, I woke up to hear rain pitter pattering on the skylights. Well, it turned out to be a group run of two, as Emily was the only one to show up 😂😂 What a good friend! She was hoping for 15 miles for the day so we wandered out on the powerlines and Gone Fishing trails before looping around on the cart paths and out into the Cathance. Damp, rainy and soggy, but we got it done, and had fun too! (15.58 miles)

Greening up along the river's edge

After a quiet afternoon, we headed over to Mom and Dad's for dinner, and by the time we headed back home, the skies had cleared. Sunday dawned bright and cool. I headed over to the field house to run aloop out through the Commons, Coleman Farm and the Landing trails. Legs were quite creaky but a nice morning for a mellow meander. (9.1 miles)

Finished up the week with a windy walk around the block with Ryan mid-afternoon. (1.7 miles walked)

And just for fun, Gigi with her tongue out 😹😻

These Better Be Great May Flowers!

Saw someone post online, "these better be great May flowers!," and I gotta say, I do agree 😆😆 March and April have so far not been very kind when it comes to all the wind and rain and snow and storms we've had to endure. Aie! I could really use a nice stretch of sunny, dry, calm days! 

Monday was a day off from school for Sam due to the eclipse, which was a bit of a strange call in my mind, but I don't think the kids minded! I didn't take the day off, but did work from home, wihch was nice as it meant I could take advantage of the sunshine and head out for a run before the start of the work day and my meetings. Looped around Highland Green a little after 8:00 am. (6.1 miles)

Then around 3:00, we headed over to Mom and Dad's house to sit outside in the sunshine and gaze at the eclipse through the special glasses. It was a nice afternoon to be outside, and it was pretty neat to see the moom moving across the sun through the glasses, but honestly conditions did not change much otherwise! We were not in the path of totality and therefore it did not get dark at all. So much for those safety concerns 😜 

Daffodils in bloom out front at Mom and Dad's

Eclipse viewing

View through the glasses

Mom and Dad nicely cooked us an early dinner, as Ryan had headed out west Sunday evening for a conference. While we were eclipse viewing, he was skiing at Brighton Resort. 

Tuesday was another nice day and I headed out for a late afternoon walk around the school block to enjoy the sunshine after work and just get outside for a bit of movement. Bright and breezy. (2.0 miles walked)

While we were working, schooling and I was walking, Ryan got in a XC ski outside of Park City. Looks pretty sweet, especially compared to some of the xc skiing he's did around here this winter 😆

Wednesday, I headed out a few minutes after 6:00 am for a road run around town. Nice morning with a pretty sky. Sunrise is getting earlier and earlier! And thankfully, I beat the rain that started up later in the day. (7.0 miles)

Thursday was a rest day, which was fine with me as it rained all day long, but out west, Ryan was skiing at Snowbird under bluebird skies before a client meeting. What a tough life 😉😁

Rain continued to fall overnight and all day on Friday, accompanied by some wicked wind. So lovely 😐 I hedged my bets, talked to Ryan for a bit when he got home from taking the red-eye into Boston, got my errands done early, did some work on the computerand then finally headed out mid-afternoon for a run around 2:00 pm. Not really rainy but misty and very windy. Trails were very wet and sloppy. River is roaring once again. I think the bog bridge side of the Heath, which they have not been maintaining, might finally be done. So many downed trees, it was like a bushwhack. 😢But also, yay, peepers! 🐸 And first training arbutus of the season in the typical spot! 🌸❤️ (7.2 miles)

So.much.water

hmmm...

Trail meets obstacle course!

Got in a bit of morning relaxing, made a trip to the farmer's market, picked up some donuts and got a few things done around the house on Saturday morning before heading out for a run around 10:00 am. Super messy with lots of debris, some downed trees, a clear cut 😢, so many puddles, mud and crazy amounts of standing water. On the plus side, it was sunny! And saw two bluebirds, a hairy woodpecker, one phoebe and a mourning cloak butterfly flitting about. Plus lots of blooming colts foot, skunk cabbage and of course, had to stop at the trailing arbutus patch, but didn’t see it in any other spots.

Love the bright yellow of the colts foot this time of year!

Then after lunch, we headed over to the Cathance to get in a family walk. It was a bit overcast, but always nice to be out the woods together 💗💗, and we did a good loop. Definitely mucky out there, with the river roaring and peepers peeping. (3.0 miles walked)

Happy 😊

For this morning's long run, I headed out to run roads and trails around town. Had a route in mind, but got stymied by flooding twice 😂 Town Landing trail and the cut through from Foreside Field both were totally flooded with no way through. Not a huge surprise but always amazing to see all the water where it normally isn’t! The Androscoggin in running very high (again!). Nice bright warm morning. A bit windy, but I'll take it! So nice not to be running in the rain. Felt a bit sluggish in the final miles but glad to get it done and finish up with a solid week. (15.0 miles)

Japanese Pieris shrub in full bloom in the sunshine in the Highlands (had to look that one up)

Water way up onto the banks

First bluets of the season along the golf course

Peepers peeping in the Heath

Then it was off to Target to pick up some storage bins for Sam to organize her closet with, and onto the couch to watch the rest of the Masters!