I hope that several new people will be checking out the blog this week. I sent out my fundraising email today letting quite a few folks know about it. To those of you visiting for the first time - Welcome. To those coming back for more - Thanks.

I'm Back

Part 1

After 2 weeks away due to the closure of the park and another one due to stormy weather and an uncooperative back, I'm back. I was very disappointed to see that after closing the park for two weeks, the only part of the path they re-surfaced was the area that goes along the side of the water treatment plant. They widened the path with a cement poured sidewalk and curb. Beyond that, they did tar over the adolescent graffiti that had been sprayed on a portion of the blacktop. It is hard to believe it took two weeks to accomplish that.

It was actually good that I didn't walk last weekend. I was ready to get out of the car to begin walking and it began pouring down rain with lots of thunder and lightening. It is clear that the rain caused the bayou to fill up significantly. There were several places on the path that were clearly underwater for some period of time. A lot of sand had settled on the path at all three of the areas that are near the level of the water.

The water is still very high in the bayou.



Mexican hat

The honeysuckle, bluebonnets and Indian paint brush have given over to Mexican hat flowers and wild roses. There are a lot of both along the trail. The tall prairie grass is already turning brown and makes quite a beautiful picture as it blows in the wind.

Prairie grass

The bunnies were out in force on Saturday. I saw at least 4 rabbits within 1' - 2' of the path. They didn't seem to have any problem with the people, bicycles or even dogs that passed them. They stayed very still and barely even moved their heads as I passed.

I'm always surprised by the people I see in the course of my walk. I saw the couple with the border collies in their strollers again. The dogs look so comfortable and natural in the strollers, it doesn't even seem odd for them to be riding. I would love to see them walking sometime. They are both beautiful dogs.

I also saw a couple I've never seen before. They were obviously Muslim. He was wearing a t-shirt and cargo pants. She was in sweat pants, a black chiffon dress with long sleeves, a head scarf and another scarf under her chin. I was so warm in my shorts and t-shirt, I can't imagine how hot she must have been. Interestingly enough, the heat didn't seem to bother her at all. I guess it depends on what you are used to.

I know that I tend to over-do when I start a project or an exercise regime, so I wanted to be sure that I wouldn't push myself too hard. I made an appointment to have my car worked on and I needed to drop it off before 9:00 am. When I got to the 2.5 mile point on the walk, I felt like I could go further, but knowing that I had to drop off the car, I couldn't. So, I turned around and finished the 5 miles.

Part 2

This morning was bright an warm. The humidity was very high. I got started early and hoped that I would finish before it got too hot.

There were a lot of runners today. I'm in awe of people who can do that. I'm having enough difficulty just walking. I can't imagine subjecting my knees to the stress a run would cause. in addition to the knees, there are plenty of hills on this trail. Walking them is difficult, running them would cause my heart to explode. I also saw a guy on roller blades. Very impressive. He was moving fast down as well as up the hills.

The sun was strong the entire walk, but by the time I made the 3.5 mile mark, I was starting to feel the effects. I'm particularly susceptible to heat exhaustion. I was drinking plenty of water, but my body doesn't hold up well in the heat. My face tends to turn red and I fall over. So I took my time on the second half. I walked much slower and stopped a couple of times to rest. There was a dark cloud that held the promise of a rain shower, but it never let loose. I was hoping it would break loose and drench me - not for a long time, just a short, strong shower to cool things off. By the time I got back to the car, I was exhausted and very uncomfortable. My only desire was to get home to a shower and a rest. Several hours later, I'm cooler, but I think every muscle in my body is hurting.

Tomorrow should be interesting.

Better Late . . .

The last week has been crazy and I didn't get around to posting.



Part 1



Saturday was kind of overcast, but not bad. There was a nice breeze so it was a good day to walk. It is getting a lot warmer and I had to break out the shorts. It is kind of a scary look for me.



The cottonwood trees are still putting out a lot of cotton. It looks like snow along the trail - particularly at the trail head and the bridges. I tried to get a picture, but it just doesn't read very well in a photo.



The honeysuckle is still going strong. The vines grow like crazy. They grow up the trees and over the top a lot like kudzu. The difference is that the honeysuckle vines are much lighter and let light through so it doesn't damage the trees. Again the perfume from thousands of honeysuckle flowers can be overwhelming.



This is what the flowers look like. They are about 3" top to bottom and they are everywhere. I took photos of the vines growing up over the trees, but it is too difficult to see the difference between the trees and the vines.









Liz joined me and we walked four miles. This is the longest walk we've done together. It didn't seem like any distance at all because we talked the entire way.



Part 2



Sunday started a bit cooler than I expected. I wore shorts again and was a little worried I might be too cool. It wasn't a problem. The seven mile walk more than warmed me up.



The bicycles are back. I walked early, so it wasn't too bad. I think I only saw about 25 bikes. I did see one person on roller blades. I have real respect for those folks. I have no idea how they pump up the rather substantial hills on this trail. I know I could never do it.



There are two wooden bridges on the trail. They are both very nice, but I don't often cross them when others are on them. Today, I crossed with several runners and a bicycle. That was weird. The vibrations from the runners and bicycle were at a different rate than those caused by my walking. It gave me a sense of being out of phase. Very strange.



I clocked my walk and was a little upset that I didn't do the first half within an hour. I was taking photos and that slowed me down a bit. When I checked at the end of the walk, I was back on track - the whole walk was exactly 2 hours. I'm pretty comfortable with the 7 miles now and I'm going to need to bump up to the next step.



The trail will be closed for the next two weeks so they can resurface the track. I'm guessing they may do some upkeep on the wooden bridges as well. My plan is to walk with Liz next Saturday at her place if she is up to it and to skip the weekend if she isn't. I won't be able to take off both weekends so I'll need to figure out where to walk the second weekend of the work. In the meantime, I'm planning to catch up on some of my projects at home.



I won't be posting for next weekend.