4.7 Mile Run at Jug End State Reservation
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
1 Mile Walk at Old Maid Woods
Friday, July 30, 2010
I've wanted to check out this short trail in Rotterdam for a while now and finally made the opportunity before heading over to the bike path for a ride. the walk started with a climb to the top of a ridge followed by a level loop through the woods and then back down the same way I hiked in. All in all a nice, relatively quiet walk in the woods (except for the traffic noise from I890 and when the train went by!) with some impressive old growth trees (ie big old trees; according to this report, some are 200+ years old.)
My only major wildlife sighting was a bit amusing... I opened the rather battered trail register box just inside the trailhead to check if there was a map and found instead several nests, lots of torn paper scraps, and a vinyl binder, which I assumed was the trail register. Opened it up and there was a mouse hiding inside! Needless to say he hightailed it out of there. It looked like the binder had once held pictures of some sort and possibly a trail register... amusingly someone had written on one scrap of paper "The mice have been evicted." Maybe so but at least one of them didn't get the news!
All the same, I don't see myself coming back here very often... it's too short to run by itself (unless I want to be a gerbil and go around and around and around... ugh, no thanks) and there isn't really anything that leaped out at me and made me say "Wow, I've got to come back here again!") It might make a nice side trip during a run on the bike path (particularly if combined with the Rotterdam Great Flats Nature Trail that I visited a few weeks ago) or perhaps it could be a nice spot for a short snowshoe run in the winter... it might also be nice to go there when the leaves are turning and also when they're off the trees to get a better view from the top of the ridge. We'll see...
JMH
Friday, July 30, 2010
I've wanted to check out this short trail in Rotterdam for a while now and finally made the opportunity before heading over to the bike path for a ride. the walk started with a climb to the top of a ridge followed by a level loop through the woods and then back down the same way I hiked in. All in all a nice, relatively quiet walk in the woods (except for the traffic noise from I890 and when the train went by!) with some impressive old growth trees (ie big old trees; according to this report, some are 200+ years old.)
My only major wildlife sighting was a bit amusing... I opened the rather battered trail register box just inside the trailhead to check if there was a map and found instead several nests, lots of torn paper scraps, and a vinyl binder, which I assumed was the trail register. Opened it up and there was a mouse hiding inside! Needless to say he hightailed it out of there. It looked like the binder had once held pictures of some sort and possibly a trail register... amusingly someone had written on one scrap of paper "The mice have been evicted." Maybe so but at least one of them didn't get the news!
All the same, I don't see myself coming back here very often... it's too short to run by itself (unless I want to be a gerbil and go around and around and around... ugh, no thanks) and there isn't really anything that leaped out at me and made me say "Wow, I've got to come back here again!") It might make a nice side trip during a run on the bike path (particularly if combined with the Rotterdam Great Flats Nature Trail that I visited a few weeks ago) or perhaps it could be a nice spot for a short snowshoe run in the winter... it might also be nice to go there when the leaves are turning and also when they're off the trees to get a better view from the top of the ridge. We'll see...
JMH
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
I Wish I Could Have Photographed...
Monday, July 26, 2010
... the multitude of egrets scattered about the North Spring Pool at Montezuma NWR, brilliant white against the greens and browns of the marshy pool.
... the dead tree with its branches covered in blackbirds from top-to-bottom.
... the golden full moon floating above the horizon just past dusk.
JMH
Monday, July 26, 2010
... the multitude of egrets scattered about the North Spring Pool at Montezuma NWR, brilliant white against the greens and browns of the marshy pool.
... the dead tree with its branches covered in blackbirds from top-to-bottom.
... the golden full moon floating above the horizon just past dusk.
JMH
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Red-Bellied Woodpeckers
Sunday, July 25, 2010
On our latest trip to the local retail 800 lb gorilla to buy bird seed, Ann picked up several of the suet/seed/nut cakes that we hang out in the winter. I'd always resisted using them in the summer, thinking they'd get disgusting pretty quickly in the heat. What I hadn't counted on was them not last long enough... the suet feeder was quickly mobbed by mainly grackles, but also chickadees and a red-bellied woodpecker.
This afternoon two woodpeckers showed up and I was surprised to see the adult male taking suet and feeding it to the 2nd bird, which is turns out was a juvenile red-belly. They repeated the process for several minutes before finally flying off. I knew that was how woodpeckers feed their young when they're nestlings but I didn't realize they'd continue to do it when the youngster was almost as big as the adult and able to follow from tree to tree. Or maybe this was just a "Hey, kid, try this stuff, it's great!" moment... regardless, it was pretty darn cool to watch.
JMH
Sunday, July 25, 2010
On our latest trip to the local retail 800 lb gorilla to buy bird seed, Ann picked up several of the suet/seed/nut cakes that we hang out in the winter. I'd always resisted using them in the summer, thinking they'd get disgusting pretty quickly in the heat. What I hadn't counted on was them not last long enough... the suet feeder was quickly mobbed by mainly grackles, but also chickadees and a red-bellied woodpecker.
This afternoon two woodpeckers showed up and I was surprised to see the adult male taking suet and feeding it to the 2nd bird, which is turns out was a juvenile red-belly. They repeated the process for several minutes before finally flying off. I knew that was how woodpeckers feed their young when they're nestlings but I didn't realize they'd continue to do it when the youngster was almost as big as the adult and able to follow from tree to tree. Or maybe this was just a "Hey, kid, try this stuff, it's great!" moment... regardless, it was pretty darn cool to watch.
JMH
REBUILDING DISTANCE 2010 - Race #20
Discover Presque IsleDuathlon Drowned Rat-athlon
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Last year it was sunny during the race but then rained all afternoon while we were trying to have fun in the park. This year the rain started right around when we arrived... and didn't let up until we'd left to find some warm filling food for lunch.
The start of the race was delayed by about half an hour while a thunderstorm blew through, with pretty heavy rain at times. Fortunately it let up enough for the race to get going... it would have been more than a bit annoying if they'd had to cancel. Just before we started running the first leg, down to the Perry Monument and back, I tucked the rain jacket away in my jersey pocket, thinking I might need it later. But I realized pretty quickly that I was generating enough heat that I'd be fine, and left it in the transition area for the rest of the race.
Took it easy on the first run but managed to pass half a dozen other runners, which felt good... I may not be back to running longer distances yet but I've regained enough that I can push the short stuff a bit more. The rain stayed a light drizzle, which was actually more pleasant than the heat and sun we had for the last two years.
Of course riding a bike in the rain for almost an hour isn't much fun... thankfully the roads in the park are in great condition with few holes. The amount of rain varied... there were a couple of points where it came down pretty hard and the wind was blowing, gah! And most of the trip back to Beach 11 was through an inch or so of water on the road... I thought I pushed pretty hard but my time was actually comparable to last year, and a few minutes slower than back in 2008. Still, for the weather conditions I guess I did pretty well (for me.) I was reminded that 12 1/2 miles of almost flat terrain is actually harder in some ways than a rolling course, because you never get a break. And after just about 90 minutes in the rain I was ready to be done.
Except of course I had the final run, during which the dark clouds gathered and dumped the heaviest rain of the morning on us... at times it was hard to make out the other runners on the path as much more than blurry outlines. But I definitely ran better than I would have in the heat and humidity... I was definitely motivated both the try and break 2 hours and get done as quickly as possible in hopes of finally changing into some dry clothes!
Came across the finish in 1 hr 59 min 20 sec... not a PR but substantially better than last year, when I'd torn up my knee a little over a month before the race. I'm glad I stuck it out - this was one of the wettest races I've done, but I suspect some of my trail experiences helped... the rain didn't throw me off my game nearly as much as it seemed it did for some of the other folks, rather it probably helped me run the 3rd leg faster than I would have otherwise. I definitely need to wear lighter shorts for du's - ended up with some painful chafing from running in wet heavy cycling shorts, which won't me much fun for a few days. Ann was a really good sport about sitting in the car for a 5 hour round trip and getting dragged out of bed to be at the park by 6:20 AM, then hanging around in the rain for three hours... she definitely earned her post-race brunch. And I'm hoping none of the other du's I do this year will be as wet as this one was!
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run 159.1 mi, 37 hr 42 min
Bike 66.4 mi, 4 hr 58 min
Snowshoe 71.7 mi, 18 hr 26 min
Kayak 3.0 mi, 47 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, VT
Discover Presque Isle
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Last year it was sunny during the race but then rained all afternoon while we were trying to have fun in the park. This year the rain started right around when we arrived... and didn't let up until we'd left to find some warm filling food for lunch.
The start of the race was delayed by about half an hour while a thunderstorm blew through, with pretty heavy rain at times. Fortunately it let up enough for the race to get going... it would have been more than a bit annoying if they'd had to cancel. Just before we started running the first leg, down to the Perry Monument and back, I tucked the rain jacket away in my jersey pocket, thinking I might need it later. But I realized pretty quickly that I was generating enough heat that I'd be fine, and left it in the transition area for the rest of the race.
Took it easy on the first run but managed to pass half a dozen other runners, which felt good... I may not be back to running longer distances yet but I've regained enough that I can push the short stuff a bit more. The rain stayed a light drizzle, which was actually more pleasant than the heat and sun we had for the last two years.
Of course riding a bike in the rain for almost an hour isn't much fun... thankfully the roads in the park are in great condition with few holes. The amount of rain varied... there were a couple of points where it came down pretty hard and the wind was blowing, gah! And most of the trip back to Beach 11 was through an inch or so of water on the road... I thought I pushed pretty hard but my time was actually comparable to last year, and a few minutes slower than back in 2008. Still, for the weather conditions I guess I did pretty well (for me.) I was reminded that 12 1/2 miles of almost flat terrain is actually harder in some ways than a rolling course, because you never get a break. And after just about 90 minutes in the rain I was ready to be done.
Except of course I had the final run, during which the dark clouds gathered and dumped the heaviest rain of the morning on us... at times it was hard to make out the other runners on the path as much more than blurry outlines. But I definitely ran better than I would have in the heat and humidity... I was definitely motivated both the try and break 2 hours and get done as quickly as possible in hopes of finally changing into some dry clothes!
Came across the finish in 1 hr 59 min 20 sec... not a PR but substantially better than last year, when I'd torn up my knee a little over a month before the race. I'm glad I stuck it out - this was one of the wettest races I've done, but I suspect some of my trail experiences helped... the rain didn't throw me off my game nearly as much as it seemed it did for some of the other folks, rather it probably helped me run the 3rd leg faster than I would have otherwise. I definitely need to wear lighter shorts for du's - ended up with some painful chafing from running in wet heavy cycling shorts, which won't me much fun for a few days. Ann was a really good sport about sitting in the car for a 5 hour round trip and getting dragged out of bed to be at the park by 6:20 AM, then hanging around in the rain for three hours... she definitely earned her post-race brunch. And I'm hoping none of the other du's I do this year will be as wet as this one was!
JMH
2010 Event Totals
Run 159.1 mi, 37 hr 42 min
Bike 66.4 mi, 4 hr 58 min
Snowshoe 71.7 mi, 18 hr 26 min
Kayak 3.0 mi, 47 min
states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, VT
Friday, July 23, 2010
6.3 Mile Run on the Genesee Valley Greenway Trail
Friday, July 23, 2010
What a change a little over 12 hours makes... last night it was cool and dry, perfect running weather. After a rainy morning today was warm and very, very humid... the sort of mugginess that feels like being wrapped in a warm damp blanket the moment you step outside. So my 8-9 mile run was quickly downgraded to a little over 6 miles. Not much fun, really, but I have to get back to putting in some miles after the past two weeks of almost no running and riding. The Greenway trail seemed like a good choice since it's fairly flat easy running.
I was greeted by a beautiful butterfly in the parking lot of the Brookdale Preserve - it was there when I finished, too. Lots of birds out and about; maybe they don't mind the humidity as much. At one point I seemed to be running into a cardinal convention, with bright red feathered bodies shooting back and forth across the trail... that was pretty cool. And twice I startled a juvenile hawk, which flew off screeching... couldn't tell if it was the same type that Ann and I saw yesterday at Green Lakes or if it was a typical red-tailed hawk.
Ended up drenched and much more tired than I should have been from a meager 6+ miles... and really wishing I could have run through some of this morning's rain!
JMH
Friday, July 23, 2010
What a change a little over 12 hours makes... last night it was cool and dry, perfect running weather. After a rainy morning today was warm and very, very humid... the sort of mugginess that feels like being wrapped in a warm damp blanket the moment you step outside. So my 8-9 mile run was quickly downgraded to a little over 6 miles. Not much fun, really, but I have to get back to putting in some miles after the past two weeks of almost no running and riding. The Greenway trail seemed like a good choice since it's fairly flat easy running.
I was greeted by a beautiful butterfly in the parking lot of the Brookdale Preserve - it was there when I finished, too. Lots of birds out and about; maybe they don't mind the humidity as much. At one point I seemed to be running into a cardinal convention, with bright red feathered bodies shooting back and forth across the trail... that was pretty cool. And twice I startled a juvenile hawk, which flew off screeching... couldn't tell if it was the same type that Ann and I saw yesterday at Green Lakes or if it was a typical red-tailed hawk.
Ended up drenched and much more tired than I should have been from a meager 6+ miles... and really wishing I could have run through some of this morning's rain!
JMH
Thursday, July 22, 2010
2 Mile Walk at Green Lakes
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thanks to my lollygagging, we got off to a late start and ended up reaching Green Lakes State Park after 7 PM... fortunately that left plenty of time to walk around one of the lakes. We shared the trail which lots of other walkers and quite a few runners... this seems to be a popular place to go on a summer evening.
I continue to be surprised at how green the water is (due in part to high levels of calcium in the water, reflecting back blue and green light wavelengths) as well as how quickly the bottom drops off. I definitely want to get back here during the day and run both around the lakes and up in the meadows to the west... perhaps next year I'll be in good enough shape to finally tackle the 50k at the end of August.
As we were walking through the cedar grove just before coming out into the parking lot, two juvenile hawks took off into the air, screeching all the way. We caught a couple of glimpses of them as they went from tree to tree, not long enough to get any photos but long enough to tell that they weren't the typical red-tailed hawks that are so prevalent around here. Our best guess is that they were red-shouldered hawks, based on the colors and the bands of color in their tails. They were definitely upset... we heard them long after they'd vanished from sight.
It would have been good to spend more time outdoors today, especially given how pleasant it was this evening... but I got to walk around a very nice lake with my sweetheart, so in the end I really have nothing to complain about.
JMH
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thanks to my lollygagging, we got off to a late start and ended up reaching Green Lakes State Park after 7 PM... fortunately that left plenty of time to walk around one of the lakes. We shared the trail which lots of other walkers and quite a few runners... this seems to be a popular place to go on a summer evening.
I continue to be surprised at how green the water is (due in part to high levels of calcium in the water, reflecting back blue and green light wavelengths) as well as how quickly the bottom drops off. I definitely want to get back here during the day and run both around the lakes and up in the meadows to the west... perhaps next year I'll be in good enough shape to finally tackle the 50k at the end of August.
As we were walking through the cedar grove just before coming out into the parking lot, two juvenile hawks took off into the air, screeching all the way. We caught a couple of glimpses of them as they went from tree to tree, not long enough to get any photos but long enough to tell that they weren't the typical red-tailed hawks that are so prevalent around here. Our best guess is that they were red-shouldered hawks, based on the colors and the bands of color in their tails. They were definitely upset... we heard them long after they'd vanished from sight.
It would have been good to spend more time outdoors today, especially given how pleasant it was this evening... but I got to walk around a very nice lake with my sweetheart, so in the end I really have nothing to complain about.
JMH
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Eagles on the Mohawk River
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
After spotting one of the eagles I hustled back to the park to see if Ann wanted to have a look. She did, so she started walking down the path while I locked the bike on the car and ran after her. The spot to see the dead tree they perch in is about 3/4 of a mile from the park, and the sun was setting, so we hustled a bit in hopes of still having enough light to see the bird.
Just before we got there it started raining lightly, which Ann wasn't happy about - she hadn't brought a waterproof bag for her camera. But we were treated to a pleasant surprise as well - the second eagle had arrived in the meantime. We spent a few minutes as the rain stopped and then started up again, I shot a few pictures (my camera's been in the rain before and is on it's last legs anyway, at almost 70,000 photos taken and after being dragged through all sorts of conditions it wasn't designed for) and then we headed back to the car and home to get some well-deserved dinner.
JMH
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
After spotting one of the eagles I hustled back to the park to see if Ann wanted to have a look. She did, so she started walking down the path while I locked the bike on the car and ran after her. The spot to see the dead tree they perch in is about 3/4 of a mile from the park, and the sun was setting, so we hustled a bit in hopes of still having enough light to see the bird.
Just before we got there it started raining lightly, which Ann wasn't happy about - she hadn't brought a waterproof bag for her camera. But we were treated to a pleasant surprise as well - the second eagle had arrived in the meantime. We spent a few minutes as the rain stopped and then started up again, I shot a few pictures (my camera's been in the rain before and is on it's last legs anyway, at almost 70,000 photos taken and after being dragged through all sorts of conditions it wasn't designed for) and then we headed back to the car and home to get some well-deserved dinner.
JMH
16 Mile Ride on the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ann was a very good sport this afternoon about going over to the bike path to sit and read again while I took the bike out for a spin... so unlike yesterday, when I stopped to take plenty of pictures, today I mostly concentrated on riding and kept up a pretty darn good pace (for me, at least) similar to what I expect to do during Sunday's du at Presque Isle State Park in PA.
Of course, that doesn't mean I was totally oblivious to my surroundings... on my way back to the park the second time I was treated to a nice view of a heron surrounded by ducks, lit by the orange glow of the setting sun, and when I rode back out toward the Niska-Isle bridge to get my mileage over 15 miles I discovered that one of the eagles was perched in their typical spot out on the river...
It felt good to get my legs moving at a pace faster than a walk again... they're tired but that's a good feeling too.
JMH
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Ann was a very good sport this afternoon about going over to the bike path to sit and read again while I took the bike out for a spin... so unlike yesterday, when I stopped to take plenty of pictures, today I mostly concentrated on riding and kept up a pretty darn good pace (for me, at least) similar to what I expect to do during Sunday's du at Presque Isle State Park in PA.
Of course, that doesn't mean I was totally oblivious to my surroundings... on my way back to the park the second time I was treated to a nice view of a heron surrounded by ducks, lit by the orange glow of the setting sun, and when I rode back out toward the Niska-Isle bridge to get my mileage over 15 miles I discovered that one of the eagles was perched in their typical spot out on the river...
It felt good to get my legs moving at a pace faster than a walk again... they're tired but that's a good feeling too.
JMH
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
1 Mile Walk at Saratoga Spa State Park
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Well, that was a disappointment overall... between the park map and my copy of ECOS's Natural Areas of Saratoga County I had high hopes for the wetland trail at Saratoga Spa State Park, especially since I've never been there in warm weather. The trail description talked about a pond with a viewing blind and an overlook with a view of a heron rookery, all of which sounded pretty cool.
What we found instead was a very overgrown trail with plenty of bugs (well, that was no great surprise.) The pond was nice - I surprised a green heron when I stepped up onto the platform, and he flew off across the pond squawking and continued to squawk the whole time we were there. But there really wasn't much else to see, so we made our way back to the overlook, which turned out to be the top of an old landfill. We could see the trees off in the distance but it doesn't look like the herons have been there for years... there weren't even any old nests in sight.
On the way out we startled a deer and spent a few moments watching her... but overall this definitely wasn't one of the more memorable walks we've taken over the past week or so, and definitely not a spot I feel any need to return to.
JMH
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Well, that was a disappointment overall... between the park map and my copy of ECOS's Natural Areas of Saratoga County I had high hopes for the wetland trail at Saratoga Spa State Park, especially since I've never been there in warm weather. The trail description talked about a pond with a viewing blind and an overlook with a view of a heron rookery, all of which sounded pretty cool.
What we found instead was a very overgrown trail with plenty of bugs (well, that was no great surprise.) The pond was nice - I surprised a green heron when I stepped up onto the platform, and he flew off across the pond squawking and continued to squawk the whole time we were there. But there really wasn't much else to see, so we made our way back to the overlook, which turned out to be the top of an old landfill. We could see the trees off in the distance but it doesn't look like the herons have been there for years... there weren't even any old nests in sight.
On the way out we startled a deer and spent a few moments watching her... but overall this definitely wasn't one of the more memorable walks we've taken over the past week or so, and definitely not a spot I feel any need to return to.
JMH
Monday, July 19, 2010
Sigh.... No Patterson's Pellet for the Turtle
Monday, July 19, 2010
Guess this just wasn't the summer for me to sign up for the Shawangunk Runner's New Paltz Summer XC Series... so far I'm 1 for 3. Woke up this morning with a pounding headache and a grumbling digestive system, and it just didn't make sense to drive to Minnekwaska for a race under those circumstances. Oh, well... there's always the Blueberry Run next Monday...
JMH
Monday, July 19, 2010
Guess this just wasn't the summer for me to sign up for the Shawangunk Runner's New Paltz Summer XC Series... so far I'm 1 for 3. Woke up this morning with a pounding headache and a grumbling digestive system, and it just didn't make sense to drive to Minnekwaska for a race under those circumstances. Oh, well... there's always the Blueberry Run next Monday...
JMH
Sunday, July 18, 2010
SOUTHWESTERN TURTLE TORTOISE, Part 13 -
Flagstaff To Albany In Only 12 Hours...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Admittedly that includes some long layovers (3+ hours in Phoenix and almost 2 hours in Newark) but by the time Ann and I got back to Albany this morning we'd been up for 24 hours straight (neither of us sleeps well on planes.) Thankfully, all the flights went off essentially on time and without a hitch... other than being a long time to spend travelling between Arizona and New York this was about as painless as flying can get, these days...
I will work on getting some very basic updates posted soon to at least give an idea of all the places we visited out in northern Arizona...
JMH
Flagstaff To Albany In Only 12 Hours...
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Admittedly that includes some long layovers (3+ hours in Phoenix and almost 2 hours in Newark) but by the time Ann and I got back to Albany this morning we'd been up for 24 hours straight (neither of us sleeps well on planes.) Thankfully, all the flights went off essentially on time and without a hitch... other than being a long time to spend travelling between Arizona and New York this was about as painless as flying can get, these days...
I will work on getting some very basic updates posted soon to at least give an idea of all the places we visited out in northern Arizona...
JMH
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Thursday, July 08, 2010
1.4 Mile Walk at Ann Lee Pond
Thursday, July 8, 2010
I started out planning to ride my bike this evening, but I just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for riding or running after spending the day dripping sweat... in the end I decided to go for a short walk over at Ann Lee Pond before running some errands.
Once again I enjoyed looking at the fields of flowers in the fields along the western side of the pond... the black-eyed susans look like they were deliberately planted, covering large sections of two fields. And there are also smaller patches of other wildflowers scattered around - whites, purples, yellows, and pinks among the gold.
When I got to the "crazy bridge" on the far side of the pond, it seemed even more warped than usual because the water was the lowest I've ever seen it. I was surprised to see a group of five birds out on the bridge... some sort of plover or sandpiper I think, though I haven't managed to ID them yet. As I walked out on the bridge they worked their way down to the far end, but stayed on the bridge for quite a long while, until finally I guess I got to close and two at a time they flew off.
No ducks or geese around this evening, though I did hear the kingfisher chattering away a couple of times. After I'd walked the shore of the pond a bit I wandered over to the field with the bulls... two came right over to the gate because there was a fellow with a kid feeding them. After they left one of the bulls tried to mooch more food off of me, then settled for a long drink and a session at the salt lick. Watching the flies all over them I suddenly was glad that I both have access to bug spray and only have a few flies and mosquitoes at a time buzzing around me (whatever it might feel like while it's happening) - these guys had swarms of them on them, ugh.
JMH
Thursday, July 8, 2010
I started out planning to ride my bike this evening, but I just couldn't muster up any enthusiasm for riding or running after spending the day dripping sweat... in the end I decided to go for a short walk over at Ann Lee Pond before running some errands.
Once again I enjoyed looking at the fields of flowers in the fields along the western side of the pond... the black-eyed susans look like they were deliberately planted, covering large sections of two fields. And there are also smaller patches of other wildflowers scattered around - whites, purples, yellows, and pinks among the gold.
When I got to the "crazy bridge" on the far side of the pond, it seemed even more warped than usual because the water was the lowest I've ever seen it. I was surprised to see a group of five birds out on the bridge... some sort of plover or sandpiper I think, though I haven't managed to ID them yet. As I walked out on the bridge they worked their way down to the far end, but stayed on the bridge for quite a long while, until finally I guess I got to close and two at a time they flew off.
No ducks or geese around this evening, though I did hear the kingfisher chattering away a couple of times. After I'd walked the shore of the pond a bit I wandered over to the field with the bulls... two came right over to the gate because there was a fellow with a kid feeding them. After they left one of the bulls tried to mooch more food off of me, then settled for a long drink and a session at the salt lick. Watching the flies all over them I suddenly was glad that I both have access to bug spray and only have a few flies and mosquitoes at a time buzzing around me (whatever it might feel like while it's happening) - these guys had swarms of them on them, ugh.
JMH
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
6.5 Mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Another day spent trying not to melt into a puddle of goo and sweat... I briefly considered riding my bike again this evening, but decided I really wanted to get out for a run, so I headed over to the section of the Pine Bush I know the best (so I wouldn't need a light when it started to get dim...)
I was drenched fairly quickly, but it still wasn't as bad as it would have been earlier in the day. And it felt really good to be out on the trails for a little while. I even spotted a couple of deer along the way.
I thought about staying out for another mile or so but decided instead to stop while it was still feeling pretty decent... I used up all the water in my bottle before I finished, and I suspect I would have felt the lack of fluids pretty quickly had I kept going. Now I just need to get in a longer run either tomorrow or Friday.
JMH
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Another day spent trying not to melt into a puddle of goo and sweat... I briefly considered riding my bike again this evening, but decided I really wanted to get out for a run, so I headed over to the section of the Pine Bush I know the best (so I wouldn't need a light when it started to get dim...)
I was drenched fairly quickly, but it still wasn't as bad as it would have been earlier in the day. And it felt really good to be out on the trails for a little while. I even spotted a couple of deer along the way.
I thought about staying out for another mile or so but decided instead to stop while it was still feeling pretty decent... I used up all the water in my bottle before I finished, and I suspect I would have felt the lack of fluids pretty quickly had I kept going. Now I just need to get in a longer run either tomorrow or Friday.
JMH
Tuesday, July 06, 2010
15.3 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Another day of awful heat and humidity... initially I thought I was just spoiled by all the nice weather we've had so far, but then I saw reports describing this as "record-breaking heat" and "more like south Florida than NY" and realized that it's pretty reasonable that I spent much of the day not wanting to do much more than melt into a puddle of sweat. Gah.
I had planned to run this evening but decided that a ride made more sense, so I headed over to Lock 8 to put in a few miles on the bike path. Only a few other folks on the path tonight, mostly on bikes... I guess no one wanted to be outside under these conditions, though I thought it was pretty comfortable while I was riding and even wondered if I should have run instead.
The shoreline of the pond they built for wetlands mitigation (I believe to make up for a patch of wetlands that was destroyed when they started building the new bridge at exit 6 on the Northway) was covered in yellow flowers with burgundy centers... very nice, especially with the sunlight coming in at a shallow angle due to it being late in the day.
Lots of critters around... several bunnies, including one that was unusually calm about me being only a couple of feet away. Just after I crossed route 5 and started riding along the old Erie Canal there was a gorgeous milk snake stretched almost across the entire path... I imagine he was enjoying the warm pavement. I took some pictures then chased him into the grass before someone came along and ran him over.
I saw several groups of wood ducks and ducklings in the old canal, including a male still in breeding plumage. And down at Gateway Landing Park near SCCC I spent a few minutes watching a heron hunt... he seemed to be finding a lot of possibilities for dinner in the shallow water.
JMH
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Another day of awful heat and humidity... initially I thought I was just spoiled by all the nice weather we've had so far, but then I saw reports describing this as "record-breaking heat" and "more like south Florida than NY" and realized that it's pretty reasonable that I spent much of the day not wanting to do much more than melt into a puddle of sweat. Gah.
I had planned to run this evening but decided that a ride made more sense, so I headed over to Lock 8 to put in a few miles on the bike path. Only a few other folks on the path tonight, mostly on bikes... I guess no one wanted to be outside under these conditions, though I thought it was pretty comfortable while I was riding and even wondered if I should have run instead.
The shoreline of the pond they built for wetlands mitigation (I believe to make up for a patch of wetlands that was destroyed when they started building the new bridge at exit 6 on the Northway) was covered in yellow flowers with burgundy centers... very nice, especially with the sunlight coming in at a shallow angle due to it being late in the day.
Lots of critters around... several bunnies, including one that was unusually calm about me being only a couple of feet away. Just after I crossed route 5 and started riding along the old Erie Canal there was a gorgeous milk snake stretched almost across the entire path... I imagine he was enjoying the warm pavement. I took some pictures then chased him into the grass before someone came along and ran him over.
I saw several groups of wood ducks and ducklings in the old canal, including a male still in breeding plumage. And down at Gateway Landing Park near SCCC I spent a few minutes watching a heron hunt... he seemed to be finding a lot of possibilities for dinner in the shallow water.
JMH
Monday, July 05, 2010
Sigh... No Undercliff/Overcliff For the Turtle...
Monday, July 5, 2010
Every summer the Shawangunk Runners Club puts on a series of 5 XC runs on Monday nights, mostly held at the Mohonk Preserve and Lake Minnewaska Park Preserve... I ran three of the runs back in 2008 and had planned to do four or maybe all five this year, in part because it's a great excuse to visit a part of NYS that I love. In a couple of cases it will take some creative travel arrangements, like today when I was planning to drive to the first run, Udercliff/Overcliff, straight from Rochester... a plan which involved heading to Binghamtom first and then to Mohonk, in an effort to save roughly an hour or more of driving.
Except - as I was driving down I81 just south of Syracuse I heard a loud hissing from somewhere outside the car... it sounded like one of my tires had suddenly lost air. The handling didn't change but I still got off the road at an exit a short distance later and checked, to find one of the rear tires very soft (but not flat, fortunately... at 70 mph on the highway at flat would have been bad.) So I spent a few minutes putting on the temporary spare and saw that the original tire had lost air along the rim... probably a problem with the bead, aggravated by the heat today. That squashed any hopes I had of just adding air and putting it back on, and I ended up ditching my trip to the 'Gunks in favor of taking route 20 back to Albany... took a bit longer than the highway but I was able to keep my speed lower, which was a bit more comfortable given that if anything else had happened I had already used my only spare... and all of the garages I passed were closed for the 4th of July holiday.
On the plus side, it could have been a lot worse... had the tire gone completely I would probably been on the rim in a matter of seconds, and I got to see some very nice countryside as I took the slower route home. But it still would have been nice to run at Mohonk this evening. Oh, well.
JMH
Monday, July 5, 2010
Every summer the Shawangunk Runners Club puts on a series of 5 XC runs on Monday nights, mostly held at the Mohonk Preserve and Lake Minnewaska Park Preserve... I ran three of the runs back in 2008 and had planned to do four or maybe all five this year, in part because it's a great excuse to visit a part of NYS that I love. In a couple of cases it will take some creative travel arrangements, like today when I was planning to drive to the first run, Udercliff/Overcliff, straight from Rochester... a plan which involved heading to Binghamtom first and then to Mohonk, in an effort to save roughly an hour or more of driving.
Except - as I was driving down I81 just south of Syracuse I heard a loud hissing from somewhere outside the car... it sounded like one of my tires had suddenly lost air. The handling didn't change but I still got off the road at an exit a short distance later and checked, to find one of the rear tires very soft (but not flat, fortunately... at 70 mph on the highway at flat would have been bad.) So I spent a few minutes putting on the temporary spare and saw that the original tire had lost air along the rim... probably a problem with the bead, aggravated by the heat today. That squashed any hopes I had of just adding air and putting it back on, and I ended up ditching my trip to the 'Gunks in favor of taking route 20 back to Albany... took a bit longer than the highway but I was able to keep my speed lower, which was a bit more comfortable given that if anything else had happened I had already used my only spare... and all of the garages I passed were closed for the 4th of July holiday.
On the plus side, it could have been a lot worse... had the tire gone completely I would probably been on the rim in a matter of seconds, and I got to see some very nice countryside as I took the slower route home. But it still would have been nice to run at Mohonk this evening. Oh, well.
JMH
Sunday, July 04, 2010
17 Mile Ride on the Erie Canalway Trail
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ann was marching in Chili's 4th of July parade this evening, so after I dropped her off I headed over to the canal path for a short ride... just as well it was short, because my legs were definitely feeling yesterday's efforts. I rode from the Public Safety Training Center to Pittsford and back. Not many people on the path today, presumably due to the holiday. When I rode through Brighton they were setting up for the evening's fireworks display; funny thing is, I remember doing the same thing last year (except it was later in the evening and I was a little more worried the path would be closed when I came back... today it was early enough that they were busy putting the fuses in all of the fireworks.)
Heard lots of catbirds, of course, and spotted a cardinal, a mockingbird, and an oriole fairly briefly. Not as many ducks in Pittsford as I'd expected, and it looks like the ducklings hatched early there too, because I didn't see any of the fuzzy little guys. Didn't have time to check them out more closely, because I had to be back in time to pick an up after the parade and I rode a little further than I probably should have...
JMH
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Ann was marching in Chili's 4th of July parade this evening, so after I dropped her off I headed over to the canal path for a short ride... just as well it was short, because my legs were definitely feeling yesterday's efforts. I rode from the Public Safety Training Center to Pittsford and back. Not many people on the path today, presumably due to the holiday. When I rode through Brighton they were setting up for the evening's fireworks display; funny thing is, I remember doing the same thing last year (except it was later in the evening and I was a little more worried the path would be closed when I came back... today it was early enough that they were busy putting the fuses in all of the fireworks.)
Heard lots of catbirds, of course, and spotted a cardinal, a mockingbird, and an oriole fairly briefly. Not as many ducks in Pittsford as I'd expected, and it looks like the ducklings hatched early there too, because I didn't see any of the fuzzy little guys. Didn't have time to check them out more closely, because I had to be back in time to pick an up after the parade and I rode a little further than I probably should have...
JMH
3.6 Mile Paddle on Irondequoit Creek
Sunday, July 4, 2010
I was a bit surprised that Ann didn't object when I picked the Irondequoit Creek through Ellison Park as the place to paddle today... the current is brisk in spots and it can be pretty hard work. On the plus side there's a lot of shade, and that was a major plus on a hot day like today.
We started at the Monroe County Pure Waters substation off of Browncroft Blvd and headed upstream into Ellison Park. The creek twists and turns a lot, so we had gone over a mile and a half before going under Blossom Rd near the park's main entrance. We continued a bit further but then decided to head back, since it was well past noon and we had a couple of errands to run before Ann needed to get ready for Chili's July 4th parade.
Along the way we spotted lots of birds - there were swallows nesting at most of the bridges we paddled under, so we got to see hungry little swallow chicks waiting for their parents to bring them food, as well as plenty of adults swooping and soaring all over the place. There were also several kingfishers along the way - in one spot three of them took to the air as we paddled through.
One of the drawbacks to Irondequoit Creek is that it's a very popular place to paddle, in part due to BayCreek Paddling Center at the mouth of the creek on Irondequoit Bay. From what we've seen they keep very busy with boat and gear rentals, and quite a few of the canoes and kayaks that we passed today probably came from there. There's a section of the park that's very popular with dog owners as well, and on a hot day like today a lot of the dogs were out in the water... fortunately none of them seemed too interested in climbing up into a boat...
JMH
Sunday, July 4, 2010
I was a bit surprised that Ann didn't object when I picked the Irondequoit Creek through Ellison Park as the place to paddle today... the current is brisk in spots and it can be pretty hard work. On the plus side there's a lot of shade, and that was a major plus on a hot day like today.
We started at the Monroe County Pure Waters substation off of Browncroft Blvd and headed upstream into Ellison Park. The creek twists and turns a lot, so we had gone over a mile and a half before going under Blossom Rd near the park's main entrance. We continued a bit further but then decided to head back, since it was well past noon and we had a couple of errands to run before Ann needed to get ready for Chili's July 4th parade.
Along the way we spotted lots of birds - there were swallows nesting at most of the bridges we paddled under, so we got to see hungry little swallow chicks waiting for their parents to bring them food, as well as plenty of adults swooping and soaring all over the place. There were also several kingfishers along the way - in one spot three of them took to the air as we paddled through.
One of the drawbacks to Irondequoit Creek is that it's a very popular place to paddle, in part due to BayCreek Paddling Center at the mouth of the creek on Irondequoit Bay. From what we've seen they keep very busy with boat and gear rentals, and quite a few of the canoes and kayaks that we passed today probably came from there. There's a section of the park that's very popular with dog owners as well, and on a hot day like today a lot of the dogs were out in the water... fortunately none of them seemed too interested in climbing up into a boat...
JMH
Saturday, July 03, 2010
Friday, July 02, 2010
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