Friday, August 15, 20008
After a dreary, rainy morning and early afternoon I ended up over at Five River Environmental Education Center for a run this evening. No major hills, and Five Rivers is usually good for seeing lots of wildlife (though that can be a disadvantage since it slows me down - I end up stopping to watch the birds and animals!)
The trails were the muddiest I've ever seen them in the summer - no surprise, given the amount of rain we've had over the past couple of weeks, but I don't know that it bodes well for Savoy on Sunday, which is typically a muddy place even during dry seasons. The staff at Five Rivers has clearly been busy trying to keep the trails in the best shape they can - major sections have been covered in wood shavings, but even those were pretty soggy. On the plus side, that meant there was lots of water in the streams, which have usually dried to a trickle by August.
I was certainly right about seeing wildlife - early on there were deer on the trail, and toward the end of my run I stopped and spent a while taking pictures of one that was happily munching on bushes near the Sunfish Pond. Also early on I startled a heron, which flew off, and down at the Beaver Pond I was surprised to find an egret. A little later on I spent a few minutes watching a muskrat, and on my way back I saw several wood ducks. So my run took a little longer than it would have otherwise, but it was well worth it... and it was short enough that I should still have plenty of juice left in my legs for Sunday's adventure at Savoy!
JMH
