Day 290 & 291: Thurs / Fri May 30th - Bested by a squirrel

Day 290 & 291 - Bested by a squirrel...

Round one:  Loud scratching noises come rapidly from the tree in front of us.  I cannot see our opponent.  Jax and I come to a halt in our run, listening....... then feverishly we circle the tree trying to find the source of the noise. Jax sniffing intensified... trying to locate the beast.

Round two:  Scratching noises come to a sudden halt but are replaced with loud barking / chirping noises that sound closer than the scratching did moments before. Alarm signals rise up from the small hairs on my arm. Jax looks up at the tree, seemingly to see something that I cannot.


Round three:  Chattering becomes louder and louder still.  Suddenly...out of the shadows of the tree we are confronted by an adolescent squirrel.
I screech with surprise.

Jax jumps up in excitement. I  pull Jax away. The daring squirrel charges down the base of the tree. When it finally reached the bottom and charged forward quite aggressively...... we ran!

and THAT is how you are Bested by a squirrel.

We are so brave.

Day 289: Wed May 28th - War of the Roses

Day Two Hundred Eighty-nine - 

War 

of the 

Roses

There were so many roses lining the road this morning, I couldn't take a single photo, instead I found myself smiling and taking photos at various angles of a single rose who waved hello...then....to only find another one equally beautiful and different. I just wanted to take and capture them all ... again at the risk of looking creepy. The rose colors were vibrant and wild in composition.  How do you pick just one?  

Day 288: Tues May 27th - Back to the daily grind.

Day Two Hundred Eighty-eight - Back to the daily grind. 

The beautiful Memorial weekend is over.  We had a nice couple days of getting away, grueling and beautiful hikes / trail running, swimming, good food and a little bit of R & R. It always goes by much too fast. 
 

Day 286 & 287: Sun / Mon May 26th - Memorial Weekend

Day 286 & 287 - Memorial Weekend

Tough long Hike Up = Fun fun FUN long run down again.

Meet Freddie - an awesome black cricket up high on the Mt. Olympus Trail

Day 285: Sat May 24th - Singing In The Rain

Day Two Hundred Eighty-five - Singing In The Rain







I love running and dancing in the rain, but no way am I singing.

Day 283 & 284: Thurs / Fri May 23rd - What a week.

Day 283 & 284 - 

What a week.

A week that has tested my confidence, self-esteem, anger, frustration, pain tolerance (dang heel) and patience.  On a good note, it has been very beautiful out and running, this week especially, has provided a much needed anger outlet...a.k.a therapy.  Cheers to the upcoming holiday weekend!

It looks like something else had a bad week as well and took it out on this decaying log.

Day 282: Wed May 21st - Goat Meditation

Day Two Hundred Eighty-two - Goat Meditation

Smile at the sun. 

Day 281: Tues May 20th - A Moth's Life

Day Two Hundred Eighty-one - A Moth's Life

 

Without Googling it.... have you ever wondered what a moth's life is like?   What do they do?

Nope, me neither.  

However this one was quite pretty to look at.... you know... for a moth.

Day 279 & 280: Sun / Mon May 19th - Perfect Prescription

Day 279 & 280 - Perfect Prescription

Prescription for impending week involving court, meetings and difficult people.....a glorious, beautiful 3 1/2 hour trail and road long Sunday run.

Day 278: Sat May 17th - H E double toothpicks....

Day Two Hundred Seventy-eight - HELL

Afternoon run from HELL..... at least its over.

Day 277: Fri May 16th - If I had a garden.... it would be full of flowers.

Day Two Hundred Seventy-seven
 - Garden full of flowers

At the risk of looking creepy, many times I pause running and take photos of flowers gracing the front and sides of strangers homes along my route, hoping that someone isn't  looking out their windows wondering who this 'chick' is and why is she taking photos with her phone.
Peering at creative ways people doll up their front yard and garden areas can be quite fun and engages my mind as I imagine what I would grow, changes I would make if it were mine and sometimes  marveling at the simple beauty in each yard, dreaming of my own.

If I had a garden. It would be overflowing with flowers, vegetables, tomatoes, basil, lavender, thyme, mint, etc...  I would spend a good percentage of my free time tending to it, watering, weeding and learning about the growth cycles, pests and requirements for each plant to be successful. I would teach my daughters about gardening and the joy in eating what you've grown. 

Nothing beats a ripened tomato, warm from the sun and fresh off the vine as you bite into it, seeds spraying your nose. 

Day 276: Thurs May 15th - Duck on a Hill

Day Two Hundred Seventy-six - Duck on a Hill

This duck gave us several not-so-friendlly-stay-the-hell-away-from-me quacks as we ran by. Jax barely paid him any mind, preferring to take advantage of our pause in running while I snapped this photo, to pee on a tree.

It started to warm up quickly this morning as the sun came up.  I fear the cold crisp mornings are on hold for the rest of the season.  At the risk of complaining about the weather too early -  before the summer heat really begins, I already cannot wait until Autumn. I run much better in colder temperatures.
However, best to just enjoy the moment and current Spring and incoming Summer weather I suppose.
It will go by fast enough.

89 days left of my year running streak.  89 days left until I turn 40 (gasp!).
Not that I'm counting... or dreading.   ;)

Day 274 and 275: Tues and Wed May 14th - Challenges

Day 274 & 275 - Challenges


Yep, we all face challenges. They come in many forms. Unfortunately right now it feels like I am being 'challenged' by many of these forms simultaneously.  Some challenges I feel confident to conquer head on, others I wish I could hide away from while one in particular is just a royal pain in the ass.

Switching focus... aren't these blossoms lovely.

Day 273: Mon May 12th - Beautiful

Day Two Hundred Seventy-three - Beautiful

No words can truly describe how beautiful the flowers are as they envelope you on the trail in waves of purple spray, hitting you on both sides.  The smells equally intoxicating.

Day 272: Sun May 11th - Mother's Day

Day Two Hundred Seventy-two

 - Mother's Day

Froze my buns off on what was to be a long early morning run. Underestimated the wind chill at the top of the Shoreline and was hit with hail pellets stinging my legs and ear burning cold fast wind.  So only made it half the distance I intended to run before saying 'the hell with it' and turned back having Justin and Iz pick me up. We then walked up city creek trails a bit before heading home to relax the rest of the day.

Day 270 and 271: Fri and Sat May 10th - Day Off

Day 270 & 271 - 
Day off, a good run 
and early Mother's Day lunch














Day off to a good start. Went shopping a bit and later went to Market Street for a late lunch of halibut fish tacos, warm sourdough bread and a peach blossom mother's day drink.  Super yum

Day 268 and 269: Wed and Thurs May 8th -

Day 268-269 -

I love love LOVE this weather. Rainy, stormy, cool air, clouds, and solitude....

 did I mention how much I love this weather and running in it! 

For me, as I was thinking about last night, running (primarily trial running) or hiking in nature, is the time when I feel like my truest self.  The real me. The place I feel strong, happy and alive. What makes it even better are the times I can bring Siena and Izzy along and watch them transform from an indoor kid to enjoying the amazing outdoor world around us, throwing rocks into the river, watching a fox, deciphering footprints in the dirt. The river is wild now with water, roaring loudly and cascading down the large rocks underneath the bridge I cross each morning when I run in my regular places.
 I look forward to this weekend and being able to venture out on some higher trails again, exploring and getting away.
.
Cool! I just heard a rumble outside. Thunder. Did I mentioned how much I love the rain!  Now it is hailing!

I'm sure this could be put much more eloquently, but the headache in my eyeballs is challenging my brain circuits.

Day 267: Tues May 6th - Beauty in the rough

Day Two Hundred Sixty-seven -Beauty in the rough.

 

Day 266: Mon May 5th - 100 Day Countdown

Day Two Hundred Sixty-six - 100 Day Countdown

Day 265: sun May 4th - 50 Bikes vs. a Runner

Day Two Hundred Sixty-five: 50 Bikes vs. a Runner

it's so beautiful and alive with wild flowers everywhere...

these two on bicycles above were very nice people

Ran BST (Bonneville Shoreline Trail this morning). Beautiful morning, started cool enough, but quickly warmed up.  Funny enough, very few runners / hikers on the trail, I must have missed the memo about it being "Bike Day".  I lost count, but there were at least 50 Bikes I passed from beginning to end of the trail. Two pulled over to let me past, the rest of them I either kindly waited for or they blasted past giving me no choice but to step to the side or risk being plowed over.  I'm quite polite to others on the trail, giving space, room to run or ride past, but there were a few stinkers who weren't so kind in return.
Other than that, I was much faster today. I felt strong and lively.

more beautiful purple flowers hidden in coves along the trail

Day 264: Sat May 3rd - Joy

Day Two Hundred Sixty-four - Joy

Quick run and romp through the woods.  Nice morning, a bit on the warm side.
River filling up with snow melt off from the mountains. Very excited for tomorrow, heading back to the BST.

Day 263: Fri May 2nd - Pain in the Butt

Day Two Hundred Sixty-five - Pain in the Butt - literally

Once in a while my sciatic nerve will bully me. This morning was one of those 'once in a while' pain in the ass days.  Oh well... must carry on. 

On a happy note, the morning was beautiful, sunny and just beginning to warm up. I tried to take a photo of this bluejay who landed on the fence to my right, I tried to be quick about it (hence the blurred photo) and a nano-second later he flew off.