First Hike!

Today was the first hike for Kaiju and for our new hiking series for our cover school.  Not sure if I explained the whole thing before, but this year, we are getting free coverage in exchange for me planning group events through the year.  I know I was done with all of that sort of thing, but we have been so busy with the high school age group and I plan so much for that, sometimes every week, that planning for the larger base of folks was no big deal.  Plus, I have nothing invested-if no one is interested, I plan something else.  Or go without them. I am not emotionally involved in trying to please a small group of people who never in turn plan anything on their own or invite me to join if they do.  It's just a job.

So far it's working well and there is usually a good turn out-other than that volunteering fiasco which I still am amused/annoyed about.  At least I know the entirety of the 500 families in the cover are all slackers or can't keep a promise-other than Katy (who showed up).  That helps plan the next thing.  hahaha!

Anyway, with the weather being what it is this time of year, I planned today's hike Friday and posted it.  Got lots of 'next time!' replies, which are next to useless other than it let's me know there IS an interest, just probably not at the level I am going about it.  My ankle is still...well, it's not healed.  But if it's ever GOING to heal, it has to work and be used.  I can't use the treadmill because I have to vary my step more than it allows, so walking on even ground has been my only exercise beyond physical therapy stuff.  So-refuge to the rescue!  We did the 4 mile loop at Arrowhead Landing, which is always a lovely walk.  Took us less than 2 hours!

First, terrible puppy!  She's on Nia's bed and Nia is crammed in Kaiju's baby bed!

Second, this.

Ben said those birds were 'Alabama water cotton'

Water levels are down!

Only one family joined us today, but they were really nice and love getting out and hiking.  I'll take one interested person over a dozen who don't want to be where they are any day!

Kai wailed and WAILED on the way, she even howled while yawning.

On the way home, she slept.

She slept so hard that she stuck her muzzle in the cup holder and stayed there.

Back home, she ATE, she was so hungry that walking in the house she went straight to the dog food bag (not even her puppy food) and started barking and biting it, trying to tip it over.  She is a HUGE menace, we are going to have our hands full if she's still this bossy at 65 pounds!

On the house training business, she's not doing amazingly.  She won't go in the yard unless someone goes out and tells her to go.  So the kids let her out and in with Nia and when she comes inside after being out there for 20 minutes, she pees.  It amazes them EVERY time.  I don't mean like once a day, I mean EVERY time.  I worry.

But when I remind them every single time to 'go out and tell her to potty' and they do, she can go the whole day without peeing inside.  Matt and I also take her out, at least half the time.  I have never thought a young person should be in charge of an animal without an adult checking in often.

Anyway, so that was our first group hike and puppy hike, I think both went well and I am looking forward to next time!  When I got in, I had 3 requests for going hiking in other places, so I may be on to something!

Summer Day Seventeen: Sun Beam

We had planned to go to the zoo today and ended up chickening out because of the ongoing rainy weather.  The radar looked ominous south of us, but west and north were clear.  So, Matt and I headed out to hike somewhere north and west.  The kids opted to stay home, they don't enjoy exercise for the heck of it yet.

We ended up going to the Refuge to walk, thinking we might do the 4 mile loop at Arrowhead Landing, but after we parked and got going, we turned right instead of left to do the 7.5 mile loop that heads back toward the Decatur river bridge.

I am starting to think I need steel-bottomed shoes for this particular place, the large gravel shift just enough to make my feet hurt and my ankles feel like I have been ice skating.

 

 I took many shots of the sun on the trail, thinking it would disappear within a few minutes.

2 hours later, I was WISHING it would disappear for a few minutes!  I about baked and the weather said cloudy all day, there was no mention of blazing sun, I had no hat.  Grrrr

 

It was really humid when the sun would get going with that full-on baking.  I flipped worms off the road until that last mile when I was dragging myself along.  It's been a while since I have walked more than my usual 3 miles on the treadmill.  We did 6 miles on Friday and I was stiff most of yesterday, ended up doing a bunch of squats to loosen up, which hardly helped today! 

I guess I can either step up my efforts and get my endurance back or I can fall out from exhaustion walking less than 10 miles on a flat road.  Granted, the heat was a big factor, but I got back to the van feeling QUITE the wimp.

That gar was over 3 feet long.

These guys were at it all day, they make a noise when they hit each other, almost like sword fight clashes but using dried seaweed as weapons.  It was a brittle-sounding rub when their wings hit, I expected to see little flakes of them falling to the ground.

We saw gar, carp and turtles in all the water, the turtles slipped under faster than we could get a photo of them, but the gar were pretty content to lounge up in the sun. 

A carp in the reflected grass in the canal.  I loved the way it made the reflection ripple and bulge.

These were few and far between-shady pockets along the road. 

Passion Flower

No idea

Sweet gum

horse nettle

blackberry

I never could get the exposure to work out for this guy, but I liked the bokeh in the water behind him, so pardon the wonky feel of the lighting.

turtle eggs, we hope hatched and not consumed.

 I could watch these guys for hours, the red-winged blackbirds riding the long stalks over the marsh.

Trumpet vine

It was a great walk, I sure sweated out about a month's worth of crud, I just wish I had been able to protect my face.  I have been using the sun damage serum and following all the directions and even Matt agreed my skin was looking better and BAM.  One afternoon reset all of that and likely made it worse than before.  I had sunscreen, but that barely lasts when you are literally dripping sweat. 

You may notice I did not blog for yesterday.  I have come to the realization that I don't actually DO something every day and if I try to blog for every day this summer, I am going to be typing a good bit about household chores and my big plans for lounging in the hammock, maybe talk some about what my hair is doing and how annoyed I am with it most of the time.  I never HAVE had good hair. 

Summer Day Fifteen: Bean!

We headed out in the little gap between rain...things.  Fronts?  They are not storms, just lots of rain.  Anyway, I had to get in a good walk, the treadmill is great, but moving in the air and seeing things is more important than exercise at times.

We did not have a big chunk of time, we we hit Bean Road for a quick 6 mile in and out, it took us about 2 hours. 

I call this one 'Dead of Winter'

 It poured for about 5 minutes and sprinkled a little now and then, but it was not too bad at all.  And that's coming from me, the one who hates being wet.
I did nearly freeze at the grocery store later.

Kudzu, the plant what ate the South.

Our weekend plans have been scuppered due to rain.  We picked up some kind of beef...thing to grill, we may do that tomorrow.  I bought a pack of salmon burgers, that could be awesome or just gross.  I guess we will find out! 

I am going back to gluten free.  The side effects of eating gluten are not worth it.  If it's just me, I can get creative or simply do things such eating my sandwich fillings and not eating the bread, I don't have to plan a meal for 5 every few hours.