the Way of the Turtle

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