SNOW & WOODPECKERS
Wandering Around Greece Canal Park
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
6 Mile Run Near the Rochester Airport
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunny but windy, a run on some of the roads near Ann's house and the airport... nothing scenic, just gettin' in some miles and some hills. Started with a 3.5 mile loop, with much of the first two miles heading into the wind and thinking I'd bail after getting back to the house. But then the run up the mile-long hill took me out of the wind, and I started to feel a little better... so I ditched some of my layers and my water bottle at the house, then ran back to the base of the hill and up it a second time. That hurt a little more than the first time, but it was still well worth doing.
With luck next Sunday will be sunny like today (but maybe a little warmer...!) as I make my way along 9.3 miles of Mendon hills.
JMH
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Sunny but windy, a run on some of the roads near Ann's house and the airport... nothing scenic, just gettin' in some miles and some hills. Started with a 3.5 mile loop, with much of the first two miles heading into the wind and thinking I'd bail after getting back to the house. But then the run up the mile-long hill took me out of the wind, and I started to feel a little better... so I ditched some of my layers and my water bottle at the house, then ran back to the base of the hill and up it a second time. That hurt a little more than the first time, but it was still well worth doing.
With luck next Sunday will be sunny like today (but maybe a little warmer...!) as I make my way along 9.3 miles of Mendon hills.
JMH
Saturday, March 29, 2008
SNOW & WATERFALLS
A Visit to Letchworth State Park
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Last week I wanted to visit Letchworth and see the waterfalls (including some smaller waterfalls that were either dried up or obscured by the foliage when we'd gone previously.) Unfortunately, between the weather and a last-minute trip to Syracuse, that just didn't work. But we woke up to sunny weather today, which meant a trip to Letchworth was on!
The first surprise was the amount of snow there... we should have brought our XC skis with us and gone skiing! In most spots the snow was at least ankle deep, and in some there was even more.
The water levels were up, which I expected... this is the first time I've actually seen water behind the Mount Morris Dam. I also saw a hawk and some turkey vultures while we were at the dam overlooks. A little further down we parked in a very empty lot and hiked through the snow to see a small waterfall running down the side of the gorge. We actually walked a ways along the snow-covered trail to try to see the top of that waterfall, but ended up turning around when it looked unlikely that we'd get a decent view.
From there we headed south on the main park road, and found the second surprise - the road was closed just past the Perry entrance. In retrospect that's not that surprising - other than the road and surrounding woods, there's not a lot to be seen in that section of the park, and it probably saves money and time to leave it unplowed in the winter (at least, I'm assuming it's closed all winter long.) So we left the park and I pulled out my maps to figure out how to get to one of the southern entrances so we could see the major waterfalls.
more to come...
A Visit to Letchworth State Park
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Last week I wanted to visit Letchworth and see the waterfalls (including some smaller waterfalls that were either dried up or obscured by the foliage when we'd gone previously.) Unfortunately, between the weather and a last-minute trip to Syracuse, that just didn't work. But we woke up to sunny weather today, which meant a trip to Letchworth was on!
The first surprise was the amount of snow there... we should have brought our XC skis with us and gone skiing! In most spots the snow was at least ankle deep, and in some there was even more.
The water levels were up, which I expected... this is the first time I've actually seen water behind the Mount Morris Dam. I also saw a hawk and some turkey vultures while we were at the dam overlooks. A little further down we parked in a very empty lot and hiked through the snow to see a small waterfall running down the side of the gorge. We actually walked a ways along the snow-covered trail to try to see the top of that waterfall, but ended up turning around when it looked unlikely that we'd get a decent view.
From there we headed south on the main park road, and found the second surprise - the road was closed just past the Perry entrance. In retrospect that's not that surprising - other than the road and surrounding woods, there's not a lot to be seen in that section of the park, and it probably saves money and time to leave it unplowed in the winter (at least, I'm assuming it's closed all winter long.) So we left the park and I pulled out my maps to figure out how to get to one of the southern entrances so we could see the major waterfalls.
more to come...
Thursday, March 27, 2008
15 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Thursday, March 27, 2008
I dragged my heels a bit too much and ended up missing the morning sunshine, unfortunately. Still, temperatures were mild enough that I was able to get away with leaving the tights at home.
Yesterday I spent a while working on the bike I use for much of my riding... trued the wheel I rebuilt a while back, then replaced the tubes and added tire strips (which are supposed to help guard against flats... they ended up being a major pain in the butt to install.) I also replaced the bike computer with a wireless model I found on sale at Nashbar. So today's ride was something of a shakedown run, to see if anything needed to be adjusted.
Apparently Schenectady has done some work over at the trailhead to the bike path... what used to be a wide breakdown lane (and where most folks parked for accessing the path) is now a multi-use path with a guardrail separating it from the road. I had a smooth ride from SCCC out to Scafford Lane in Rotterdam Junction... had the weather been nicer I might have hopped on the road and added a loop of the bike path extension, but as it was I turned around at the railroad tracks and headed back.
Startled several wood ducks as I was riding along the old Erie Canal... funny thing is, I might not have noticed them if they weren't so jumpy, but they're hard to ignore when they go flying off shrieking. I also saw a couple of ring-necked ducks on the river.
About 3 1/2 miles from the end, I noticed the path seemed a lot bumpier - aargh, a flat! There were no obvious punctures in the tire, so I'm guessing either I nicked the tube when I was putting it in yesterday or a bit got pinched and took that long to wear through. Either way, I ended up alongside the path changing the tube. But while I was there I spotted a muskrat digging away at the edge of a drainage ditch, and snuck up on him to get some pictures.
Not really what I would call an ideal ride, but it was still good to get out and do some pedaling. Given the weather they're predicting for the next few days (winter returns!) I'm guessing I won't be doing any more riding until sometime next week. But with luck I can manage a run tomorrow and make it 5 straight days of getting outside to either run or ride.
JMH
Thursday, March 27, 2008
I dragged my heels a bit too much and ended up missing the morning sunshine, unfortunately. Still, temperatures were mild enough that I was able to get away with leaving the tights at home.
Yesterday I spent a while working on the bike I use for much of my riding... trued the wheel I rebuilt a while back, then replaced the tubes and added tire strips (which are supposed to help guard against flats... they ended up being a major pain in the butt to install.) I also replaced the bike computer with a wireless model I found on sale at Nashbar. So today's ride was something of a shakedown run, to see if anything needed to be adjusted.
Apparently Schenectady has done some work over at the trailhead to the bike path... what used to be a wide breakdown lane (and where most folks parked for accessing the path) is now a multi-use path with a guardrail separating it from the road. I had a smooth ride from SCCC out to Scafford Lane in Rotterdam Junction... had the weather been nicer I might have hopped on the road and added a loop of the bike path extension, but as it was I turned around at the railroad tracks and headed back.
Startled several wood ducks as I was riding along the old Erie Canal... funny thing is, I might not have noticed them if they weren't so jumpy, but they're hard to ignore when they go flying off shrieking. I also saw a couple of ring-necked ducks on the river.
About 3 1/2 miles from the end, I noticed the path seemed a lot bumpier - aargh, a flat! There were no obvious punctures in the tire, so I'm guessing either I nicked the tube when I was putting it in yesterday or a bit got pinched and took that long to wear through. Either way, I ended up alongside the path changing the tube. But while I was there I spotted a muskrat digging away at the edge of a drainage ditch, and snuck up on him to get some pictures.
Not really what I would call an ideal ride, but it was still good to get out and do some pedaling. Given the weather they're predicting for the next few days (winter returns!) I'm guessing I won't be doing any more riding until sometime next week. But with luck I can manage a run tomorrow and make it 5 straight days of getting outside to either run or ride.
JMH
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
CRITTERS GALORE
7.1 Mile Run Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
While I had a strong urge to hit the trails on this beautiful sunny day, I knew I had to get some time in on pavement, since in about 1 1/2 weeks I'm planning to run the Spring Forward 15k road race in Mendon. So I resisted the urge to visit the Pine Bush and instead headed back to the bike path, where I could not only get in some miles on pavement but also might get a few pictures of the ring-necked ducks I saw yesterday.
Overall a good run, though first the wind and then sunset left it a bit chilly... fortunately I'd brought a wind jacket. It was nice to do a run in shorts and leave the tights behind! I was also pleased that the distance and even the hill at the halfway mark were not particularly painful, despite all the miles I haven't run over the past month... guess all that snowshoeing did my legs some good! Unfortunately, I did feel my arches starting to blister again... don't know why, I didn't have that problem with the Supernovas back in December when I started using them. I'm going to try a different insole and see if that helps.
I spotted dozens of ring-necked ducks on the river tonight, and even got a few pictures that are recognizable. They're what are called "diving ducks" because, you guessed it, they dive underwater... I saw that repeatedly. One moment there'd be a duck bobbing along, and then next an empty patch of water until he popped back up a few seconds later.
Further down the river I took some shots of what I thought were ring-necked ducks, but when I looked at the pictures later they clearly aren't... and they also aren't mallards. My best guess based on the colors and the shape of the female's head is that they were common mergansers... I'll have to pack my binoculars the next time I rode over that way, and see if I can get a better look.
Just before I turned around, I spotted a little bird looking for food along the shore... seems pretty likely it was a killdeer... I also saw a fair number of canada geese, mallards, gulls, robins, and red-winged blackbirds (actually I heard more of those than I saw.)
On the way out I spotted two deer off in the woods between the path and the river, just past Lock 7... on the way back I startled a couple of rabbits, and the muskrats were getting somewhat active in the stream that runs near the path. Saw a couple swimming at a pretty good clip! When I stopped to watch one, I must have startled the local herons, because they suddenly flew up and away. Given that they weren't arguing with each other over territory, I'm guessing they're a mated pair.
My coughing wasn't as bad tonight, either, which I take as a good sign - maybe I'm finally kicking this bug that's set up housekeeping in my respiratory system.
Tomorrow I ride!
JMH
7.1 Mile Run Along the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
While I had a strong urge to hit the trails on this beautiful sunny day, I knew I had to get some time in on pavement, since in about 1 1/2 weeks I'm planning to run the Spring Forward 15k road race in Mendon. So I resisted the urge to visit the Pine Bush and instead headed back to the bike path, where I could not only get in some miles on pavement but also might get a few pictures of the ring-necked ducks I saw yesterday.
Overall a good run, though first the wind and then sunset left it a bit chilly... fortunately I'd brought a wind jacket. It was nice to do a run in shorts and leave the tights behind! I was also pleased that the distance and even the hill at the halfway mark were not particularly painful, despite all the miles I haven't run over the past month... guess all that snowshoeing did my legs some good! Unfortunately, I did feel my arches starting to blister again... don't know why, I didn't have that problem with the Supernovas back in December when I started using them. I'm going to try a different insole and see if that helps.
I spotted dozens of ring-necked ducks on the river tonight, and even got a few pictures that are recognizable. They're what are called "diving ducks" because, you guessed it, they dive underwater... I saw that repeatedly. One moment there'd be a duck bobbing along, and then next an empty patch of water until he popped back up a few seconds later.
Further down the river I took some shots of what I thought were ring-necked ducks, but when I looked at the pictures later they clearly aren't... and they also aren't mallards. My best guess based on the colors and the shape of the female's head is that they were common mergansers... I'll have to pack my binoculars the next time I rode over that way, and see if I can get a better look.
Just before I turned around, I spotted a little bird looking for food along the shore... seems pretty likely it was a killdeer... I also saw a fair number of canada geese, mallards, gulls, robins, and red-winged blackbirds (actually I heard more of those than I saw.)
On the way out I spotted two deer off in the woods between the path and the river, just past Lock 7... on the way back I startled a couple of rabbits, and the muskrats were getting somewhat active in the stream that runs near the path. Saw a couple swimming at a pretty good clip! When I stopped to watch one, I must have startled the local herons, because they suddenly flew up and away. Given that they weren't arguing with each other over territory, I'm guessing they're a mated pair.
My coughing wasn't as bad tonight, either, which I take as a good sign - maybe I'm finally kicking this bug that's set up housekeeping in my respiratory system.
Tomorrow I ride!
JMH
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
8.2 Mile Ride on the Mohawk-Hudson Bike Path
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
When I drove back to Albany it was sunny and warm - perfect weather for getting in a ride after I got home. Unfortunately, by the time I got everything together and made it out to the bike path, it was cloudy and chilly. Oh, well.
As I rode east from the Niskayuna Lions Park I was feeling pretty good (besides a mild sinus headache and needing to suck on a cough drop - bleah.) I haven't been on a real ride on one of my road bikes since December (not that I got out on my ATB much either this winter, since the snowshoe duathlon was cancelled and I was a lazy bum) so it was nice to be humming along the path. I hit an occasional gust of headwind which had me thinking that the ride back would be a little easier, with those at my back (that was a dumb thought, as I'll explain in a bit.) And I reached the point at which I'd planned to turn around (the top of the steep hill down to the short stretch of road to get around the Northway) right at 20 minutes, which was the time I'd given myself before I needed to head back.
Once I turned around and started back toward the park, I remembered an important bit of info - the wind almost always blows west to east along the bike path. In other words, I had a cold headwind all the way back to the park. You'd think with all the times I've ridden and run on that path I'd have remembered that right from the start. Needless to say, the ride back was tougher than the ride out, and by the time I got back to the parking lot I was sufficiently cold and my legs were sufficiently tired (despite only riding 8 miles!) that I was glad I needed to get over to the karate school and didn't have more time.
While I was riding I saw the ever-present ducks and geese, and also spotted a muskrat swimming along the edge of the river. When I got back I saw some birds swimming in the river, so after I packed up the bike I grabbed my binoculars and took a look. Initially I thought they were just mallards, though something didn't look quite right about them - the thing that stood out the most was a white stripe on their bills, and I couldn't remember seeing anything like that before. When I got home I checked my bird guide, and I'm now pretty sure they were ring-necked ducks. (I know the photo below doesn't look much like a mallard, other than that both are ducks. But it was nearing dusk on a cloudy evening... maybe I'll pick up another field guide and leave it in the car with the binoculars!)
photo ©2007 Walter Siegmund, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
JMH
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
When I drove back to Albany it was sunny and warm - perfect weather for getting in a ride after I got home. Unfortunately, by the time I got everything together and made it out to the bike path, it was cloudy and chilly. Oh, well.
As I rode east from the Niskayuna Lions Park I was feeling pretty good (besides a mild sinus headache and needing to suck on a cough drop - bleah.) I haven't been on a real ride on one of my road bikes since December (not that I got out on my ATB much either this winter, since the snowshoe duathlon was cancelled and I was a lazy bum) so it was nice to be humming along the path. I hit an occasional gust of headwind which had me thinking that the ride back would be a little easier, with those at my back (that was a dumb thought, as I'll explain in a bit.) And I reached the point at which I'd planned to turn around (the top of the steep hill down to the short stretch of road to get around the Northway) right at 20 minutes, which was the time I'd given myself before I needed to head back.
Once I turned around and started back toward the park, I remembered an important bit of info - the wind almost always blows west to east along the bike path. In other words, I had a cold headwind all the way back to the park. You'd think with all the times I've ridden and run on that path I'd have remembered that right from the start. Needless to say, the ride back was tougher than the ride out, and by the time I got back to the parking lot I was sufficiently cold and my legs were sufficiently tired (despite only riding 8 miles!) that I was glad I needed to get over to the karate school and didn't have more time.
While I was riding I saw the ever-present ducks and geese, and also spotted a muskrat swimming along the edge of the river. When I got back I saw some birds swimming in the river, so after I packed up the bike I grabbed my binoculars and took a look. Initially I thought they were just mallards, though something didn't look quite right about them - the thing that stood out the most was a white stripe on their bills, and I couldn't remember seeing anything like that before. When I got home I checked my bird guide, and I'm now pretty sure they were ring-necked ducks. (I know the photo below doesn't look much like a mallard, other than that both are ducks. But it was nearing dusk on a cloudy evening... maybe I'll pick up another field guide and leave it in the car with the binoculars!)
photo ©2007 Walter Siegmund, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons
JMH
Monday, March 24, 2008
A WALK BY THE LAKE
Irondequoit Lakeside Trail
Durand Eastman Park
Monday, March 24, 2008
Durand Eastman Park site
info about the Irondequoit Lakeside Trail
Irondequoit Lakeside Trail map (PDF)
After Ann got home from work we decided to go out for a walk somewhere, since it had turned into a sunny afternoon. We hadn't been to Durand Eastman Park in a long time, so we decided to head up there to walk on some of the trails around the lakes.
We had a couple of surprises when we got there. The first was the relatively new Irondequoit Lakeside Trail, a paved path which runs along Durand beach and back down to Seabreeze. The other was that it was a lot windier and a lot chillier along the lake!
We took the Lakeside trail along the shore of the lake and down to a boardwalk/bridge across a swamp, then up into the woods a little ways. Then we headed back to the car to pick up some extra cold weather gear and crossed the road to go up into the park.
After a brief visit to the "castle" overlooking the road (really just a fancy cobblestone wall) we headed down the trail along the shore of Durand Lake to get a closer look at some animals we'd seen out on the ice... turns out it was a pair of swans snoozing. Seemed like an cold place for that to me, but maybe it makes sense if you're a swan. While I was took pictures of them, they looked around, stretched, tucked back in to sleep... one even finally got up and moved closer to the other before we left. Pretty cool.
After that we headed up the hill overlooking Eastman Lake, only to find that we were only going to get a view of the lake if we hiked into the woods, and it was getting cold and late for that. So instead we walked back down the road and then headed home, with a stop at the store to pick up something for me to cook for dinner.
We'll definitely have to get back to Durand to actually walk the trails sometime!
JMH
Irondequoit Lakeside Trail
Durand Eastman Park
Monday, March 24, 2008
Durand Eastman Park site
info about the Irondequoit Lakeside Trail
Irondequoit Lakeside Trail map (PDF)
After Ann got home from work we decided to go out for a walk somewhere, since it had turned into a sunny afternoon. We hadn't been to Durand Eastman Park in a long time, so we decided to head up there to walk on some of the trails around the lakes.
We had a couple of surprises when we got there. The first was the relatively new Irondequoit Lakeside Trail, a paved path which runs along Durand beach and back down to Seabreeze. The other was that it was a lot windier and a lot chillier along the lake!
We took the Lakeside trail along the shore of the lake and down to a boardwalk/bridge across a swamp, then up into the woods a little ways. Then we headed back to the car to pick up some extra cold weather gear and crossed the road to go up into the park.
After a brief visit to the "castle" overlooking the road (really just a fancy cobblestone wall) we headed down the trail along the shore of Durand Lake to get a closer look at some animals we'd seen out on the ice... turns out it was a pair of swans snoozing. Seemed like an cold place for that to me, but maybe it makes sense if you're a swan. While I was took pictures of them, they looked around, stretched, tucked back in to sleep... one even finally got up and moved closer to the other before we left. Pretty cool.
After that we headed up the hill overlooking Eastman Lake, only to find that we were only going to get a view of the lake if we hiked into the woods, and it was getting cold and late for that. So instead we walked back down the road and then headed home, with a stop at the store to pick up something for me to cook for dinner.
We'll definitely have to get back to Durand to actually walk the trails sometime!
JMH
So THAT'S What Running Again Feels Like...
6 Mile Run Along the Genesee Valley Greenway
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ow. Ow. Ow.
Hack. Cough.
That's what running again feels like.
The Greenway was a mix of mud and ice... I almost wished I'd worn my screw shoes. But I lucked out... after a grey morning the sun came out and I was able to run in the sunshine, which made it much easier to keep going.
Coughing kicked in early on, and I ended up doing most of the run with a cough drop in my mouth. Ugh.
I startled two groups of deer... the first when I tried to take a picture (they were lying down in a field) and was surprised to see just how many popped up and ran off. The second group was off in the swampy thickets near the Thruway, and I might not have even noticed them if they hadn't run off.
One of the great things about the warmer weather is all the birds... even when I couldn't see them I could hear them all around. Including a woodpecker tapping away at several trees along the path.
The other thing running again feels like... it feels good.
JMH
6 Mile Run Along the Genesee Valley Greenway
Monday, March 24, 2008
Ow. Ow. Ow.
Hack. Cough.
That's what running again feels like.
The Greenway was a mix of mud and ice... I almost wished I'd worn my screw shoes. But I lucked out... after a grey morning the sun came out and I was able to run in the sunshine, which made it much easier to keep going.
Coughing kicked in early on, and I ended up doing most of the run with a cough drop in my mouth. Ugh.
I startled two groups of deer... the first when I tried to take a picture (they were lying down in a field) and was surprised to see just how many popped up and ran off. The second group was off in the swampy thickets near the Thruway, and I might not have even noticed them if they hadn't run off.
One of the great things about the warmer weather is all the birds... even when I couldn't see them I could hear them all around. Including a woodpecker tapping away at several trees along the path.
The other thing running again feels like... it feels good.
JMH
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Wandering Around the Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Ann and I spent the afternoon at her parents' house, first for Easter dinner and then visiting with her extended family. I took a break for about an hour and sat out back in the sunshine watching the birds in her mother's feeders - it was a gorgeous day as long as I was out of the wind. There were tons of grackles and red-winged blackbirds in the area, moving from tree to tree. I also saw some slate-colored juncos (a common visitor to the feeder at Ann's) and the ever-present chickadees, as well as several mourning doves and not one but two kinds of nuthatches (white-breasted and red-breasted... we've just seen the latter at Ann's.)
It was getting darker and chillier by the time we headed home, but Ann still wanted to get outside for a bit, so we stopped at the Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park, which houses a current lock on the Canal as well as remnants of several of the previous versions. The most obvious is the Aldrich Change Bridge, which is a Whipple bridge originally built in 1858 over the Enlarged Erie Canal. It was restored and placed in its current location in the middle of the park in 2003-04, and is the oldest of two surviving Whipple bridges in New York State (the other is the one at the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve.) There's more info about the Aldrich bridge here for anyone who's interested. Usually the bridge has grass underneath it, which always looks a little odd to me, but today the area was flooded and the bridge actually looked like it belonged there!
Another indication of the previous allignments of the Canal is the old aqueduct at the west end of the park. The aqueduct originally carried the canal over the waters of Mud Creek. The towpath bridge over the creek has been put into service carrying the Erie Canalway Trail over the creek, while the aqueduct was dismantled and a portion modified as an overflow spillway for the current Canal. The other times we've visited there was typically a nice waterfall flowing over the spillway, but since the Canal is still in its off-season low water phase, we had a nice view of the underlying stone work.
After that we wandered briefly around Lock 29 and then walked to the east end of the park, just to see what was there. I took a look at a water-covered swamp and what I suspect was part of the old canal prism, and we were both surprised to hear a woodpecker hammering away... on a metal light fixture! It was tough to tell, but he might have been a northern flicker... he flew off when we stopped to look at him, and headed off into the woods when I followed him to try and snap a picture.
By then it was getting near dusk and also getting pretty darn cold, so we headed back to the car to finish the rest of the drive home. While it wasn't a trip into the woods, it's still a nice little park and I'm glad we stopped and got to spend a little while outdoors together.
JMH
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Ann and I spent the afternoon at her parents' house, first for Easter dinner and then visiting with her extended family. I took a break for about an hour and sat out back in the sunshine watching the birds in her mother's feeders - it was a gorgeous day as long as I was out of the wind. There were tons of grackles and red-winged blackbirds in the area, moving from tree to tree. I also saw some slate-colored juncos (a common visitor to the feeder at Ann's) and the ever-present chickadees, as well as several mourning doves and not one but two kinds of nuthatches (white-breasted and red-breasted... we've just seen the latter at Ann's.)
It was getting darker and chillier by the time we headed home, but Ann still wanted to get outside for a bit, so we stopped at the Palmyra-Macedon Aqueduct Park, which houses a current lock on the Canal as well as remnants of several of the previous versions. The most obvious is the Aldrich Change Bridge, which is a Whipple bridge originally built in 1858 over the Enlarged Erie Canal. It was restored and placed in its current location in the middle of the park in 2003-04, and is the oldest of two surviving Whipple bridges in New York State (the other is the one at the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve.) There's more info about the Aldrich bridge here for anyone who's interested. Usually the bridge has grass underneath it, which always looks a little odd to me, but today the area was flooded and the bridge actually looked like it belonged there!
Another indication of the previous allignments of the Canal is the old aqueduct at the west end of the park. The aqueduct originally carried the canal over the waters of Mud Creek. The towpath bridge over the creek has been put into service carrying the Erie Canalway Trail over the creek, while the aqueduct was dismantled and a portion modified as an overflow spillway for the current Canal. The other times we've visited there was typically a nice waterfall flowing over the spillway, but since the Canal is still in its off-season low water phase, we had a nice view of the underlying stone work.
After that we wandered briefly around Lock 29 and then walked to the east end of the park, just to see what was there. I took a look at a water-covered swamp and what I suspect was part of the old canal prism, and we were both surprised to hear a woodpecker hammering away... on a metal light fixture! It was tough to tell, but he might have been a northern flicker... he flew off when we stopped to look at him, and headed off into the woods when I followed him to try and snap a picture.
By then it was getting near dusk and also getting pretty darn cold, so we headed back to the car to finish the rest of the drive home. While it wasn't a trip into the woods, it's still a nice little park and I'm glad we stopped and got to spend a little while outdoors together.
JMH
Saturday, March 22, 2008
A Return Visit to the Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday found Ann and I heading to Syracuse for a birthday party (one of Ann's friends) so we left Rochester early enough to stop somewhere along the way. I chose Montezuma because I knew it was easy to get to and hoped we might see some new birds, since the spring migrations have started.
Nothing to see at the visitor's center, which was closed for the season, so we took the short drive through the portion of the preserve south of the Thruway. Nothing much to see, except at a spillway between the Montezuma ponds and the Cayuga Seneca Canal, where hundreds of huge carp (about a foot long) were splashing around in the water. According to the sign nearby, in the spring when the Canal rises the carp try to get into the warmer, nutrient-rich waters of the preserve, while the folks managing the refuge do their best to keep them out so they won't stir up the silty bottoms of the ponds. We spent a little while there watching the fish, until finally we got cold enough that we decided to move on. Other than the fish, the main wildlife we saw were geese (lots of geese!) and gulls.
After exiting the drive, we headed over to the May's Point Pool, where we first spotted some black and white ducks (either buffleheads or goldeneyes - unfortunately they flew off as we got out of the car, so my only pictures ended up being pretty poor and not good enough to make a definite identification... Ann's vote is that they were buffleheads, and she's probably right, since she saw them for longer than I did through the binoculars.) From there we walked across the road to another small pond, where last fall we'd seen cormorants. Today we spotted a bald eagle soaring far off in the distance - with the binoculars we could just make out his white head and tail.
Then we drove down the road to the observation tower. No flocks of egrets today - just more geese, possibly the ducks that had flown away from us early, and a heron we spotted as we were driving down the road. We did catch sight of two birds paddling along, and I managed to snap a couple of pictures - I'm pretty sure they were a male and female hooded merganser. Eventually the cold wind got to be too much, so we headed back to the car, where Ann remembered to call one of her friends to get directions for later. While she was talking I had fun taking pictures of two flocks of geese that flew in and spent a while gyrating around the sky before finally choosing places to land.
We wrapped up out visit by going for a walk along the Esker Brook Nature trail on the western edge of the Refuge. The paths took us through a hardwood forest and up along the ridge of the esker (a ridge of rubble left behind when water flowed under a glacier some 10000 years ago) out to a small pond, then back through the woods on a hillside overlooking a small stream. It was pretty muddy in spots (a sure sign of spring) and unfortunately never really out of earshot of the Thruway, but still a fairly pleasant walk.
Our route back to the Thruway took as past the entrance to the preserve along Routes 5 & 20. The other times we've driven past there we've always noticed a series of huge nests on the tops of the electrical line towers, so today I pulled over briefly and had Ann take a couple of pictures. I don't know what kind of bird (besides a BIG one) built those nests, but they're very impressive, and also a nice reminder of the remarkable ability some wildlife has to adapt to human intrusions into their living spaces.
JMH
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Saturday found Ann and I heading to Syracuse for a birthday party (one of Ann's friends) so we left Rochester early enough to stop somewhere along the way. I chose Montezuma because I knew it was easy to get to and hoped we might see some new birds, since the spring migrations have started.
Nothing to see at the visitor's center, which was closed for the season, so we took the short drive through the portion of the preserve south of the Thruway. Nothing much to see, except at a spillway between the Montezuma ponds and the Cayuga Seneca Canal, where hundreds of huge carp (about a foot long) were splashing around in the water. According to the sign nearby, in the spring when the Canal rises the carp try to get into the warmer, nutrient-rich waters of the preserve, while the folks managing the refuge do their best to keep them out so they won't stir up the silty bottoms of the ponds. We spent a little while there watching the fish, until finally we got cold enough that we decided to move on. Other than the fish, the main wildlife we saw were geese (lots of geese!) and gulls.
After exiting the drive, we headed over to the May's Point Pool, where we first spotted some black and white ducks (either buffleheads or goldeneyes - unfortunately they flew off as we got out of the car, so my only pictures ended up being pretty poor and not good enough to make a definite identification... Ann's vote is that they were buffleheads, and she's probably right, since she saw them for longer than I did through the binoculars.) From there we walked across the road to another small pond, where last fall we'd seen cormorants. Today we spotted a bald eagle soaring far off in the distance - with the binoculars we could just make out his white head and tail.
Then we drove down the road to the observation tower. No flocks of egrets today - just more geese, possibly the ducks that had flown away from us early, and a heron we spotted as we were driving down the road. We did catch sight of two birds paddling along, and I managed to snap a couple of pictures - I'm pretty sure they were a male and female hooded merganser. Eventually the cold wind got to be too much, so we headed back to the car, where Ann remembered to call one of her friends to get directions for later. While she was talking I had fun taking pictures of two flocks of geese that flew in and spent a while gyrating around the sky before finally choosing places to land.
We wrapped up out visit by going for a walk along the Esker Brook Nature trail on the western edge of the Refuge. The paths took us through a hardwood forest and up along the ridge of the esker (a ridge of rubble left behind when water flowed under a glacier some 10000 years ago) out to a small pond, then back through the woods on a hillside overlooking a small stream. It was pretty muddy in spots (a sure sign of spring) and unfortunately never really out of earshot of the Thruway, but still a fairly pleasant walk.
Our route back to the Thruway took as past the entrance to the preserve along Routes 5 & 20. The other times we've driven past there we've always noticed a series of huge nests on the tops of the electrical line towers, so today I pulled over briefly and had Ann take a couple of pictures. I don't know what kind of bird (besides a BIG one) built those nests, but they're very impressive, and also a nice reminder of the remarkable ability some wildlife has to adapt to human intrusions into their living spaces.
JMH
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Spring is Here... Technically...
Thursday, March 20, 2008
This year spring is creeping in with a whimper... we've got some sunshine today but it's pretty cold with a nasty windchill. And that's made it very difficult to get myself motivated and get my butt out the door for my first run in about two weeks. Being sick is the pits.
Man, the Spring Forward Distance Run 15k in a little over two weeks is definitely going to hurt...
JMH
Thursday, March 20, 2008
This year spring is creeping in with a whimper... we've got some sunshine today but it's pretty cold with a nasty windchill. And that's made it very difficult to get myself motivated and get my butt out the door for my first run in about two weeks. Being sick is the pits.
Man, the Spring Forward Distance Run 15k in a little over two weeks is definitely going to hurt...
JMH
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
ON THE ROAD AGAIN...
Rochester to Albany
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The drive between Albany and Rochester is old hat, no matter which direction I'm going. While the drive itself can often be more than a bit dull, one plus to driving during the day is that there's always something new to look at. Today, for example, I saw multitudes of geese flying back and forth, half a dozen hawks, two flying herons, and even a couple of turkey.
One sight which I see on any trip in daylight is the Noses just east of Canajoharie. These are two hills with a valley in between, with the Mohawk River and the NYS Thruway running through the valley. Route 5S runs under the base of Little Nose, which overlooks the Thruway, and Route 5 runs along the base of Big Nose on the other side of the river. The Noses stand out to me in part because several years ago while stopped at a rest stop, one of the karate instructors pointed to a historical photo on an information kiosk and wondered where it was taken. I recognized the outline of the Noses immediately and told her to be sure to keep her eyes open as we got closer to Canajoharie and she'd recognize it... which just goes to show that you can drive past something hundreds of times and not notice it.
Little Nose (L) and Big Nose (R), heading west on Saturday
Big Nose (L) and Little Nose (R), heading east today
I considered stopping somewhere along the way today to do a bit of exploring, but it was such a grey gloomy day that I decided to go straight home instead. With luck the weather will be nicer when I drive out west again and I can do either some hiking or some running along the way.
JMH
Rochester to Albany
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
The drive between Albany and Rochester is old hat, no matter which direction I'm going. While the drive itself can often be more than a bit dull, one plus to driving during the day is that there's always something new to look at. Today, for example, I saw multitudes of geese flying back and forth, half a dozen hawks, two flying herons, and even a couple of turkey.
One sight which I see on any trip in daylight is the Noses just east of Canajoharie. These are two hills with a valley in between, with the Mohawk River and the NYS Thruway running through the valley. Route 5S runs under the base of Little Nose, which overlooks the Thruway, and Route 5 runs along the base of Big Nose on the other side of the river. The Noses stand out to me in part because several years ago while stopped at a rest stop, one of the karate instructors pointed to a historical photo on an information kiosk and wondered where it was taken. I recognized the outline of the Noses immediately and told her to be sure to keep her eyes open as we got closer to Canajoharie and she'd recognize it... which just goes to show that you can drive past something hundreds of times and not notice it.
Little Nose (L) and Big Nose (R), heading west on Saturday
Big Nose (L) and Little Nose (R), heading east today
I considered stopping somewhere along the way today to do a bit of exploring, but it was such a grey gloomy day that I decided to go straight home instead. With luck the weather will be nicer when I drive out west again and I can do either some hiking or some running along the way.
JMH
Friends Feathered & Furred
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Ann had to replace the bird feeder I bought two months ago, after the darn squirrels chewed the feeder cups up so badly that it would no longer hold seed. So now she has one that's frustrating the squirrels to no end - it's designed to drop a metal cover over the feeder cups whenever a squirrel puts its weight on it. The birds aren't swarming to it in quite the numbers they were previously, but while during this trip I saw all but the nuthatch visiting at least once. And it is definitely interesting to watch the squirrel try to figure out a way to get into the feeder... so far the best he's managed to do is rock the feeder a bit and spill a few seeds before the cover slid down.
In the past I've always found it difficult to shoot photos of the cardinals, especially the male (who comes across as downright neurotic, but I suppose making instant dashes for cover at the slightest hint of nearby motion is a survival trait when you go around wearing bright red all the time.) Somehow I got lucky this visit, and ended up with decent pictures of both the male and the female.
I think I also saw the male courting the female today... at least, I can't think of many other reasons he'd chase her around the tree and then break out with a major song and dance routine to keep her attention... it was rather interesting to see. Though she didn't seem too interested...
Gulls on the other hand are no great challenge to photograph... especially when they're snoozing in the sunshine en mass in the Wal-mart parking lot!
JMH
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Ann had to replace the bird feeder I bought two months ago, after the darn squirrels chewed the feeder cups up so badly that it would no longer hold seed. So now she has one that's frustrating the squirrels to no end - it's designed to drop a metal cover over the feeder cups whenever a squirrel puts its weight on it. The birds aren't swarming to it in quite the numbers they were previously, but while during this trip I saw all but the nuthatch visiting at least once. And it is definitely interesting to watch the squirrel try to figure out a way to get into the feeder... so far the best he's managed to do is rock the feeder a bit and spill a few seeds before the cover slid down.
In the past I've always found it difficult to shoot photos of the cardinals, especially the male (who comes across as downright neurotic, but I suppose making instant dashes for cover at the slightest hint of nearby motion is a survival trait when you go around wearing bright red all the time.) Somehow I got lucky this visit, and ended up with decent pictures of both the male and the female.
I think I also saw the male courting the female today... at least, I can't think of many other reasons he'd chase her around the tree and then break out with a major song and dance routine to keep her attention... it was rather interesting to see. Though she didn't seem too interested...
Gulls on the other hand are no great challenge to photograph... especially when they're snoozing in the sunshine en mass in the Wal-mart parking lot!
JMH
Monday, March 17, 2008
MORE WALKING...
Tinker Nature Park
Brighton Town Park
Monday, March 17, 2008
Tinker Nature Park photos
Brighton Town Park photos
Since I needed to pick Ann up at work, I couldn't go to far to wander through the woods... in the end I decided to visit the Tinker Nature Park in Henrietta. Ann and I had gone there a couple of years ago, and I remembered it as a short easy walk.
The trails were pretty much uniformly snow-covered, but it was well-packed and easy walking. I started out following the perimeter trail, which headed off into the woods and through what will probably be a hardwood swamp once the snow melts. Spotted a deer fairly early on; sadly, it had a broken front leg and was finding it pretty tough to get around, especially on the ice under the trees. Further along I spotted a group of five deer near the pond - they headed off into a stand of trees, and I wandered along the boardwalk through the frozen swamp.
On the other side of the swamp I spotted two deer in the field, so I did my best to sneak up on them using a picnic pavilion as a blind... turned out I was working much too hard, these two were very used to people. They happily munched away at their afternoon meal as I got closer, and even moved closer to me as I stood there... in the end, the younger one got within about three feet of me before I decided it was time to move on. I followed the trail back toward the pond, and spotted the five deer I'd seen earlier resting in the woods. That was fairly cool - I don't think I've seen them doing that before.
I had about an hour to kill before picking up Ann, so I checked my copy of Rich and Sue Freeman's Take a Hike! Family Walks in the Rochester Area and discovered that the Brighton Town Park was both on the way and small enough to wander around in the time I had left. So I headed over there and walked the fairly short path through the woods. Nothing all that remarkable... and unfortunately the entire time the traffic noise from I390 and I590 was in the background.
After I got back to the park lodge I snapped some photos of the crows and a gull, and then walked down the path along the pond to the picnic pavilion and said hello to the geese along the way. The pond can be fairly interesting in the summer - there are typically ducks, geese, and occasionally a heron there - but today the main thing I noticed was the large office complex they built a few years back. Like we don't have enough of those already... I'd have much rather they leave the wetlands that were there originally.
So altogether, I think I managed between 4.5 and 5 miles of walking today. Maybe tomorrow I can actually get out for a short run...
JMH
Tinker Nature Park
Brighton Town Park
Monday, March 17, 2008
Tinker Nature Park photos
Brighton Town Park photos
Since I needed to pick Ann up at work, I couldn't go to far to wander through the woods... in the end I decided to visit the Tinker Nature Park in Henrietta. Ann and I had gone there a couple of years ago, and I remembered it as a short easy walk.
The trails were pretty much uniformly snow-covered, but it was well-packed and easy walking. I started out following the perimeter trail, which headed off into the woods and through what will probably be a hardwood swamp once the snow melts. Spotted a deer fairly early on; sadly, it had a broken front leg and was finding it pretty tough to get around, especially on the ice under the trees. Further along I spotted a group of five deer near the pond - they headed off into a stand of trees, and I wandered along the boardwalk through the frozen swamp.
On the other side of the swamp I spotted two deer in the field, so I did my best to sneak up on them using a picnic pavilion as a blind... turned out I was working much too hard, these two were very used to people. They happily munched away at their afternoon meal as I got closer, and even moved closer to me as I stood there... in the end, the younger one got within about three feet of me before I decided it was time to move on. I followed the trail back toward the pond, and spotted the five deer I'd seen earlier resting in the woods. That was fairly cool - I don't think I've seen them doing that before.
I had about an hour to kill before picking up Ann, so I checked my copy of Rich and Sue Freeman's Take a Hike! Family Walks in the Rochester Area and discovered that the Brighton Town Park was both on the way and small enough to wander around in the time I had left. So I headed over there and walked the fairly short path through the woods. Nothing all that remarkable... and unfortunately the entire time the traffic noise from I390 and I590 was in the background.
After I got back to the park lodge I snapped some photos of the crows and a gull, and then walked down the path along the pond to the picnic pavilion and said hello to the geese along the way. The pond can be fairly interesting in the summer - there are typically ducks, geese, and occasionally a heron there - but today the main thing I noticed was the large office complex they built a few years back. Like we don't have enough of those already... I'd have much rather they leave the wetlands that were there originally.
So altogether, I think I managed between 4.5 and 5 miles of walking today. Maybe tomorrow I can actually get out for a short run...
JMH
Morning Walk at Genesee Valley Park
Monday, March 17, 2008
photo slideshow
After dropping Ann off at work, I decided to wander around Genesee Valley Park for a little while and see it in a way I generally wouldn't - in the morning sunshine.
I wandered around for quite a while on both sides of the river. Saw a lot of geese and a few ducks, and more small birds than I expected to - a titmouse, a nuthatch, a cardinal, several robins. Also heard a woodpecker. But probably the greatest surprise was the red-winged blackbirds - I expected they'd still be south for the winter.
All in all, a pleasant start to the day... and I'm still planning to get out somewhere this afternoon.
JMH
Monday, March 17, 2008
photo slideshow
After dropping Ann off at work, I decided to wander around Genesee Valley Park for a little while and see it in a way I generally wouldn't - in the morning sunshine.
I wandered around for quite a while on both sides of the river. Saw a lot of geese and a few ducks, and more small birds than I expected to - a titmouse, a nuthatch, a cardinal, several robins. Also heard a woodpecker. But probably the greatest surprise was the red-winged blackbirds - I expected they'd still be south for the winter.
All in all, a pleasant start to the day... and I'm still planning to get out somewhere this afternoon.
JMH
Sunday, March 16, 2008
A BIT O' HIKING ON A CHILLY DAY
Ontario Beach Park
Turning Point Park & The Genesee Riverway
Sunday, March 16, 2008
photo slideshow
No question, I wanted to get outside today, and my coughing is still bad enough that going for a run seemed like a poor idea. Fortunately, there was enough sunshine that I was able to convince Ann to go out for a walk despite it being on the rather chilly side...
The first place we stopped at was Ontario Beach Park. We were going to walk out onto the long concrete pier, but the wind was blasting across the beach something fierce and making it very cold. So instead we admired the waves smashing against the pier, checked out the ducks and gulls in the much calmer harbor, and watched a group of people doing some sort of bizarre sailboat manuevers... I'd almost say they were some type of sailing team, because they had two powerboats in the water with them that seemed to be giving instructions.
After leaving the beach, we stopped briefly at the Charlotte Light House so I could take some pictures of it up close.
Click on picture for larger image
From there we headed down the road to Turning Point Park and the Genesee Riverway - in particular, the boardwalk that runs out over the water in the turning basin. I was surprised at how many folks were out there today, walking or walking their dogs or even fishing. No question, that boardwalk was a fantastic investment.
I didn't expect to see much wildlife beyond gulls, ducks, and maybe some geese... but in the end the swans were there, and we got to watch two herons squabble over territory.
We also spotted a small black and white bird swimming in the water... at first I thought it was a gull, but when we got a clearer view it was evident it was something else. I snapped some photos on full zoom and later identified it as a bufflehead, a type of small duck that lives in northern Canada and Alaska but winters further south.
After Turning Point Park we headed along the river and stopped at what we thought was the bridge overlooking Lower Falls... unfortunately, after taking the rather fancy pedestrian bridge across the road, we discovered we were about a mile too far up the river - I could just barely see the bridge we wanted to be on down the gorge. And given that it was getting even colder and we were both getting tired, we decided to call it a day and headed home to a warm house and some dinner.
JMH
Ontario Beach Park
Turning Point Park & The Genesee Riverway
Sunday, March 16, 2008
photo slideshow
No question, I wanted to get outside today, and my coughing is still bad enough that going for a run seemed like a poor idea. Fortunately, there was enough sunshine that I was able to convince Ann to go out for a walk despite it being on the rather chilly side...
The first place we stopped at was Ontario Beach Park. We were going to walk out onto the long concrete pier, but the wind was blasting across the beach something fierce and making it very cold. So instead we admired the waves smashing against the pier, checked out the ducks and gulls in the much calmer harbor, and watched a group of people doing some sort of bizarre sailboat manuevers... I'd almost say they were some type of sailing team, because they had two powerboats in the water with them that seemed to be giving instructions.
After leaving the beach, we stopped briefly at the Charlotte Light House so I could take some pictures of it up close.
Click on picture for larger image
From there we headed down the road to Turning Point Park and the Genesee Riverway - in particular, the boardwalk that runs out over the water in the turning basin. I was surprised at how many folks were out there today, walking or walking their dogs or even fishing. No question, that boardwalk was a fantastic investment.
I didn't expect to see much wildlife beyond gulls, ducks, and maybe some geese... but in the end the swans were there, and we got to watch two herons squabble over territory.
We also spotted a small black and white bird swimming in the water... at first I thought it was a gull, but when we got a clearer view it was evident it was something else. I snapped some photos on full zoom and later identified it as a bufflehead, a type of small duck that lives in northern Canada and Alaska but winters further south.
After Turning Point Park we headed along the river and stopped at what we thought was the bridge overlooking Lower Falls... unfortunately, after taking the rather fancy pedestrian bridge across the road, we discovered we were about a mile too far up the river - I could just barely see the bridge we wanted to be on down the gorge. And given that it was getting even colder and we were both getting tired, we decided to call it a day and headed home to a warm house and some dinner.
JMH
Friday, March 14, 2008
Two Snowshoe Races... But Not for the Turtle
Friday, March 14, 2008
Tomorrow there are two races that are connected to the Western Mass Athletic Club's series - in the morning the final race of the series, the Massachusetts State Championships at Northfield Mountain, and then in the late afternoon a Sunset Snowshoe race at Catamount Ski Area in Hillsdale, NY.
As much as I enjoyed my visit to Northfield a month ago, I had pretty much ruled that one out just due to travel time... I'm heading west this weekend and don't particularly feel like adding a 4 hour round trip east to my driving. On the other hand, I would have really liked to do the Catamount race, in part because I used to live 5 minutes away in the center of Hillsdale, and it would have been a blast to run there again. Unfortunately, between the bug I'm fighting (which is now mostly lodged in my chest and throat) and not having been out to Rochester to see my sweetie in a month, it just is not meant to be. With luck it will be a big success and I can go next year...
JMH
Friday, March 14, 2008
Tomorrow there are two races that are connected to the Western Mass Athletic Club's series - in the morning the final race of the series, the Massachusetts State Championships at Northfield Mountain, and then in the late afternoon a Sunset Snowshoe race at Catamount Ski Area in Hillsdale, NY.
As much as I enjoyed my visit to Northfield a month ago, I had pretty much ruled that one out just due to travel time... I'm heading west this weekend and don't particularly feel like adding a 4 hour round trip east to my driving. On the other hand, I would have really liked to do the Catamount race, in part because I used to live 5 minutes away in the center of Hillsdale, and it would have been a blast to run there again. Unfortunately, between the bug I'm fighting (which is now mostly lodged in my chest and throat) and not having been out to Rochester to see my sweetie in a month, it just is not meant to be. With luck it will be a big success and I can go next year...
JMH
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Another Walk in the Pine Bush
Thursday, March 13, 2008
photo slideshow
Another grey, chilly day, and I'm still doing my best to cough up both my lungs... but I wanted to get outside for a bit before class so I went for a walk in another section of the Pine Bush that I haven't visited in a while, the Rapp Barrens between Rapp Road and Rensellaer Lake. I ended up really wishing I'd worn my screw shoes because there was a lot of ice... which makes sense, since those trails are fairly shady.
Walking along some of the trails brought back memories of running the ARE's Dodge the Deer 5k over there back in early April 2005. That race hold a fond place in my memories because (1) I ran fairly well (for me!) and (2) it was the first race I did when I got back into training and racing again. Though conditions were very different today from then!
The sun peeked out a little bit toward the end, and if I could have I would have stayed out for a bit longer and enjoyed the break in the somewhat gloomy grey... but classes called, so instead I hustled back to the car to get over to the karate school.
JMH
Thursday, March 13, 2008
photo slideshow
Another grey, chilly day, and I'm still doing my best to cough up both my lungs... but I wanted to get outside for a bit before class so I went for a walk in another section of the Pine Bush that I haven't visited in a while, the Rapp Barrens between Rapp Road and Rensellaer Lake. I ended up really wishing I'd worn my screw shoes because there was a lot of ice... which makes sense, since those trails are fairly shady.
Walking along some of the trails brought back memories of running the ARE's Dodge the Deer 5k over there back in early April 2005. That race hold a fond place in my memories because (1) I ran fairly well (for me!) and (2) it was the first race I did when I got back into training and racing again. Though conditions were very different today from then!
The sun peeked out a little bit toward the end, and if I could have I would have stayed out for a bit longer and enjoyed the break in the somewhat gloomy grey... but classes called, so instead I hustled back to the car to get over to the karate school.
JMH
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
A Walk in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
photo slideshow
Since I'm still working on coughing up one or both of my lungs, I didn't think even a short run would be a good idea, especially since afterwards I needed to teach a sword class over at the karate school. But the evening was too pleasant to just stay indoors, so I headed over to the Pine Bush Discovery Center and the Karner Road Barrens for a short walk.
As I've driven past the Discovery Center it's been clear they're doing major work there, but I could never tell exactly what. Now I know! They've torn up the old parking lot, and shifted visitor parking a little ways away, and they seem to be building something, possibly some outdoor learning areas, where the old lot was. They also have installed a much fancier path from the lot up to the trails - I suspect the goal is to eventually make the trailhead handicap-accessible.
I started out by heading to the hilltop, hoping to get some nice pictures of the sun and the clouds. During the early part of my walk a storm rolled through and dropped a few light snow flurries, though later on the sunset developed some nice colors as the sky partially cleared.
There were a surprising number of icy patches - if I'd known I'd have worn my screw shoes! But I made it through without any mishaps.
One of the unfortunate realities of the Pine Bush is that the NYS Thruway cuts right through it... so no matter where you are, there's always the background noise of Thruway traffic. That's one of the things I love about getting further away, like up at Thacher. Still, being in the woods with traffic noise in the background is better than not being in the woods at all.
One of my favorite sections, a set of trails through a hardwood forest and hardwood swamp, was closed for habitat restoration... meaning they're tearing out everything that's not a pitch pine. Once again, I understand the importance of preserving and restoring the Pine Bush ecosystem in those areas... but I'll really miss those woods, they were a fun cool shady place to run.
It was getting a bit darker and pretty chilly by the time I got back to the car - guess it is still March after all - and I was running up against needing to get to the school to get ready to teach, so I called it a hike and headed out. Being sick sucks... being able to get outdoors helps a little, though.
JMH
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
photo slideshow
Since I'm still working on coughing up one or both of my lungs, I didn't think even a short run would be a good idea, especially since afterwards I needed to teach a sword class over at the karate school. But the evening was too pleasant to just stay indoors, so I headed over to the Pine Bush Discovery Center and the Karner Road Barrens for a short walk.
As I've driven past the Discovery Center it's been clear they're doing major work there, but I could never tell exactly what. Now I know! They've torn up the old parking lot, and shifted visitor parking a little ways away, and they seem to be building something, possibly some outdoor learning areas, where the old lot was. They also have installed a much fancier path from the lot up to the trails - I suspect the goal is to eventually make the trailhead handicap-accessible.
I started out by heading to the hilltop, hoping to get some nice pictures of the sun and the clouds. During the early part of my walk a storm rolled through and dropped a few light snow flurries, though later on the sunset developed some nice colors as the sky partially cleared.
There were a surprising number of icy patches - if I'd known I'd have worn my screw shoes! But I made it through without any mishaps.
One of the unfortunate realities of the Pine Bush is that the NYS Thruway cuts right through it... so no matter where you are, there's always the background noise of Thruway traffic. That's one of the things I love about getting further away, like up at Thacher. Still, being in the woods with traffic noise in the background is better than not being in the woods at all.
One of my favorite sections, a set of trails through a hardwood forest and hardwood swamp, was closed for habitat restoration... meaning they're tearing out everything that's not a pitch pine. Once again, I understand the importance of preserving and restoring the Pine Bush ecosystem in those areas... but I'll really miss those woods, they were a fun cool shady place to run.
It was getting a bit darker and pretty chilly by the time I got back to the car - guess it is still March after all - and I was running up against needing to get to the school to get ready to teach, so I called it a hike and headed out. Being sick sucks... being able to get outdoors helps a little, though.
JMH
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