One Face in the Crowd

Weekend of August 21

I started out at 6:30. The sun was just coming up and the temperature was about 81 - much cooler than it has been. The humidity was also lower than it has been, probably about 80% (that's kind of low for Houston). It promised to be a somewhat easier walk with the cooler weather.

I checked the water hole for the ducks and the heron. Neither were there, I guess they have moved on to their next roost.

It looks like the parks people have been out doing maintenance. All the high grass has been mowed again. They cleared the sides of the path where the trees and brush has grown too close. It looks like they drove a large piece of machinery through. The small trees are broken off very roughly. Where they hit a branch that was too large to break, it looks like they took an ax and hacked it off. The cut was very rough. All in all, it looked really sad.

There were a lot of people on the trail today. Several groups from Katy Fit were running this morning. I saw four groups with from 12 - 40 people. Two were going one way and two were going the other. They were running two abreast and when they passed, it made it difficult for bicycles to pass between the group and other pedestrians.

There were also a lot of bicycles. Many of the riders were not letting the pedestrians know they were coming. Some of the runners and walkers took it on themselves to call "bike front" or "bike back" to let others know the bikes were coming. It was really different.

Today there were a lot of fathers and sons together. I saw some running, some walking and in one case of a grandfather and grandson, sitting and looking at the woods. This is the first time I've seen so many pairs.

Part 2

I didn't get out until 7:00 this morning. I was on the verge of a migraine all afternoon yesterday, so I decided to only walk 5 miles today. I didn't want to run the risk of being too far from the car if the headache came on full bore.

There were a lot of bikes again today. I saw three older men riding and thought their gear was interesting. They were all wearing gloves, but none of them had helmets. It seems like that is a strange injury-prevention priority. Hmmmmmm.

I saw a really attractive couple today. They were both very fit without looking like the spend all their time working out. The woman was muscular, but still looked like a girl and the man was muscular, but not bulky. They looked like they belonged together. Most of the couples I see when I'm out walking don't look so much like they belong together.

It was a good walk. It has been awhile since I walked two days in a row. I feel pretty good, but I'm a little concerned that my knees are going to be worse for the wear. My left knee bothered me yesterday and was a bit swollen. I hope it doesn't get any worse.

Next time.