April Snows Bring May...?
So I've been anxiously waiting for winter to end and, despite having a few teasers, summer just can't seem to get a foothold here in central Pennsylvania. Annoying for a cold-natured southern girl like me. At least, as of May 1, it isn't snowing. Chilly and rainy, yes. Snowing, no.
That was NOT the case less than a month ago when I kicked off my trail running season at my usual inaugural race, The Dirty Kiln. Or, as they were calling it this year, The Snowy Kiln. Fortunately, we didn't get as much snow as predicted and the temps were a bit higher than expected. They took out the water crossings due to the below freezing temperatures, which was disappointing. But I'm glad they did. I got some extra warm running gear and enjoyed a nice 5.5 miles in the snowy woods. I performed much better than expected too, which is always a bonus.
One thing is clear, I need to work on my running faces! I never think about the fact that people take pictures during these things. I look through the pictures and everyone's smiling all cute and then there's me. I'm not a natural "pose for the camera" person I guess!
As I've alluded to previously, the last few months have been tough. My motivation to do much beyond the required has been minimal but I've pushed on. The last few weeks have been especially difficult. I'm a strong person...I have been much of my life. But the problem with being the strong person is that you usually get the short end of the stick in the way people treat you because they know you'll survive. Doesn't matter how you come out on the other side, you'll make it. A lot of what has happened of late has really gotten to me and I'm tired and beat down.
In desperate times I think one grasps for meaning in everything and my grasps at meaning have come from encounters on my runs and walks with the dogs in the woods. Within the last week I've encountered a coyote, a fox (twice), and a bear in the game lands. I don't think it's a coincidence that all of these have appeared in my life at one of the lowest points though I'm still working out what exactly they mean! Though it isn't unusual for me to see animals that many people don't (I spend a lot of time in the woods, my energy is nonthreatening, who knows) it's been years since I've seen any of these three. So, we'll see what I can take away from that.
I had to get a picture of the bear since I missed out on the other two, even though they were actually closer to me when I saw them. I was out with the dogs when I saw the coyote...it crossed the road right in front of us, stopped, and we all just stared at each other for a minute then it trotted off. I was running when I saw the first fox. Caught it out of the corner of my eye, skidded to a stop not unlike one might see in a Loony Toons episode, walked back to look at each other before he also casually trotted off. When I told my parents about this encounter, the following conversation occurred:
Mom: Did you have the dogs with you?
Me: No, I was out running so I was by myself.
Mom: Good because foxes carry rabies.
Okay...so the two creatures of the household that have actually been vaccinated for rabies are the ones she's worried about! Thanks mom! Hahaha!
I was out after Zumba with the dogs for a quick walk but when I saw this guy I took off home in hopes of getting my camera in time. I did and here I am sprinting through the field, hurdling over those irrigation pipes with my camera to make sure to get a shot or two. Because I get really excited about seeing things like bears in the wild. I would have liked to get closer but didn't want to risk scaring it off. Anything for the photo! Haha!
I was going to continue on with my April showers play on words from my title and do a series of flower pictures that I've taken over the years. But...there's just way too many so I'll save that for another post soon. In the meantime, here's a preview from a series of sunset shots I took in the game lands around the holidays.
I'm hoping with the end of the semester and longer, warmer (maybe!) days I'll get some more local pictures. I'm trying to recruit people to come on photo walks with me but it seems the idea of randomly wandering to see what wonders you find isn't on most people's list of fun things to do. Come on, I even have an extra digital camera and a couple older film cameras to play with! Oh well...I suspect it will be just me. But hopefully I get some great stuff to share!
That was NOT the case less than a month ago when I kicked off my trail running season at my usual inaugural race, The Dirty Kiln. Or, as they were calling it this year, The Snowy Kiln. Fortunately, we didn't get as much snow as predicted and the temps were a bit higher than expected. They took out the water crossings due to the below freezing temperatures, which was disappointing. But I'm glad they did. I got some extra warm running gear and enjoyed a nice 5.5 miles in the snowy woods. I performed much better than expected too, which is always a bonus.
One thing is clear, I need to work on my running faces! I never think about the fact that people take pictures during these things. I look through the pictures and everyone's smiling all cute and then there's me. I'm not a natural "pose for the camera" person I guess!
As I've alluded to previously, the last few months have been tough. My motivation to do much beyond the required has been minimal but I've pushed on. The last few weeks have been especially difficult. I'm a strong person...I have been much of my life. But the problem with being the strong person is that you usually get the short end of the stick in the way people treat you because they know you'll survive. Doesn't matter how you come out on the other side, you'll make it. A lot of what has happened of late has really gotten to me and I'm tired and beat down.
In desperate times I think one grasps for meaning in everything and my grasps at meaning have come from encounters on my runs and walks with the dogs in the woods. Within the last week I've encountered a coyote, a fox (twice), and a bear in the game lands. I don't think it's a coincidence that all of these have appeared in my life at one of the lowest points though I'm still working out what exactly they mean! Though it isn't unusual for me to see animals that many people don't (I spend a lot of time in the woods, my energy is nonthreatening, who knows) it's been years since I've seen any of these three. So, we'll see what I can take away from that.
I had to get a picture of the bear since I missed out on the other two, even though they were actually closer to me when I saw them. I was out with the dogs when I saw the coyote...it crossed the road right in front of us, stopped, and we all just stared at each other for a minute then it trotted off. I was running when I saw the first fox. Caught it out of the corner of my eye, skidded to a stop not unlike one might see in a Loony Toons episode, walked back to look at each other before he also casually trotted off. When I told my parents about this encounter, the following conversation occurred:
Mom: Did you have the dogs with you?
Me: No, I was out running so I was by myself.
Mom: Good because foxes carry rabies.
Okay...so the two creatures of the household that have actually been vaccinated for rabies are the ones she's worried about! Thanks mom! Hahaha!
I was out after Zumba with the dogs for a quick walk but when I saw this guy I took off home in hopes of getting my camera in time. I did and here I am sprinting through the field, hurdling over those irrigation pipes with my camera to make sure to get a shot or two. Because I get really excited about seeing things like bears in the wild. I would have liked to get closer but didn't want to risk scaring it off. Anything for the photo! Haha!
I was going to continue on with my April showers play on words from my title and do a series of flower pictures that I've taken over the years. But...there's just way too many so I'll save that for another post soon. In the meantime, here's a preview from a series of sunset shots I took in the game lands around the holidays.
I'm hoping with the end of the semester and longer, warmer (maybe!) days I'll get some more local pictures. I'm trying to recruit people to come on photo walks with me but it seems the idea of randomly wandering to see what wonders you find isn't on most people's list of fun things to do. Come on, I even have an extra digital camera and a couple older film cameras to play with! Oh well...I suspect it will be just me. But hopefully I get some great stuff to share!
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