Training Log Archive: PG

Adventures (up to a point) are usually a good thing. So, today, time for another adventure. A culinary adventure. Surprise!

Picked out a recipe from the Jerusalem that seemed like it was worth a try -- Braised quail with apricots, currants, and tamarind. On this venture, rather than the master (Gail) / slave (me) relationship on our last venture in the kitchen, it was a little more equal. Me still the novice, but not quite a total idiot.

Anyway, it got done in not too much time and without any crises and it was delicious. :-)

C • quail 4

Jeep road on Mt. Toby.

On the old "roads" on the north side of Quabbin again, lots of stops again. A nice day. No sun, but generally benign, mid 40s and no wind. Sightings included three otters, a porcupine, an osprey (should already be heading south), and a flock of snow buntings (harbinger of what's coming).

But for sheer entertainment, none matched the sighting on Friday. I hadn't been going very long when some movement in the brush by the side of the road caught my eye. A ruffed grouse. You hear them much more often than see them, so normally this guy would have already skedaddled, but it seemed quite happy hanging about 5 yards from me, looking for snacks in the brush.



I stayed a few minutes, pretty cool.

About an hour and a half later I was passing back through the same area. I saw a thrush, stopped, caught glimpses of it as it moved a couple of times, then lost it. As I was still looking, I heard a noise, looked down, and there was the grouse about 2 feet from my front wheel.

Was it lonely? Or just an extrovert? Or psychotic? It certainly wasn't leaving. Well, might as well take advantage of the situation. First a video --



Then tried for a selfie, successfully so in the sense that bird, bike, and me are all in the same photo, but not really up to my usual high standard. Just need more practice.

Second training for the day. Phil wanted to do another summit, Horse Mountain in Hatfield, and it seemed tame enough and short enough that I might be able to manage it. So off we went.

Just perfect. Didn't get shot at or yelled at, even passed a sign that said hikers were welcome. Didn't get lost. Didn't fall. Ran in bits and pieces and it wasn't awful. We made it to the top despite the fact that we had forgotten to bring crampons, ice axes, ropes, oxygen bottles, or (for Phil at least) a map.

And then we made it back too. A little more running because it was now downhill. No video, because two old guys doing something that is sort of like running is not worth spending a bunch of electrons on. But still, some running.

The only problem is that Phil thinks I am now on the way back. He already thinks he is on the way back. So pretty soon we will be tearing through the woods again, just like we used. Hmmm, nope, not gonna happen.

But, for one day at least, it was really fun getting out with him for this bit of an adventure. It's been a while.

Seemed like hard work, though it shouldn't have. Home to Northfield, one way, heading roughly north and the breeze was roughly out of the south. Thought it would be much easier than it was. Some days are like that.

Gail was already in Northfield, opening reception for a group art show that she's got some paintings in. Put the bike in her car, changed, went in to look at the art for a bit (and also snag some of the refreshments). And then we went off for hike #38 in the current series, a couple miles up a nearby dirt road, a couple miles back. My legs were dead, dead, dead. Some days are like that.

Four Mile Brook Road in Northfield.

Event: WCOC Ansonia Nature Center--NRE
 

Went to the Ansonia NRE. Totally enjoyable.

-- Excellent company: picked up Julia, Phil, and Steve for the drive down, couldn't ask for better. On the way back it was just the three old guys as Julia had ditched us, opting to stay in the area and do tomorrow's O' too. Nevertheless the conversation was still dignified. (I remember the CSU trip to the Tiomila a few years back. On the way back to Uppsala we swung by some out-of-the-way airport to drop off Ali. The van being now occupied just by males, all except for me rather young males, the conversation quickly went to hell, with Ian being the clear leader, he perhaps being the fewest years removed from high school....)

-- And good social hanging out at the event, both pre- and post-. My only fail (I think) was being introduced by Niels to a fellow named Danny and drawing a blank on who Danny might be, when, in fact, it was a person I'd been interested in meeting. Namely Danny O'Callaghan. Never met him before, know hardly anything about him. But a couple of months ago when the SML was at Big Basin in the redwood forests, when I was trying to see how the event was going and info was really hard to come by, I stumbled on his AP log and it was great. I saw he was on the list of those planning to be at Ansonia today. But this was a couple of days ago, and my memory just sometimes sucks.

-- And also a pleasure to see Barney and his family, though Barney totally ignored me, notwithstanding the fact that we have a history together. And Janet, who it seems has been the OUSA web-mistress for 15 years if I remember correctly. And George and Lynn, who I haven't seen for a while. And had a longish chat with Bill Duncan about his O' skills and occasionally lack thereof. And a few others.

-- Oh, and a bit of orienteering myself, very satisfyingly only 29.5 minutes of it, as I hustled my old body around the Brown course quite successfully, even running a fair bit, though rarely for more than 30 or 40 yards at a time. The woods are lovely, the course was an appropriate length and challenge (thanks, Joe), and I took only one fall, quite minimal, no apparent damage.

Were I to complain about anything it would be that 28.5 minutes would have been even more satisfying, but then most of the trip home would have had to be spent consoling Phil, so the actual outcome was surely for the best.

C • Next Time! 1

Brown - Splits

Spent several hours yesterday morning doing fall clean-up stuff outside. Clearly not used to such efforts as today most everything hurts.

I suppose the solution is to do such things more often. :-(

Bike and birding outing on the old roads on the north side of Quabbin, so lots of stops. Cold morning, upper 20s when I started, maybe 32 when I finished, NW wind 10-20 by the water but 0-10 in the woods. Total time out was 3.5 hours, and stayed pretty warm the whole time.

Mt. Toby jeep trail.

Bright sunny morning, 35 when I started, up to 45 by the end. Had on most of my winter clothing, very comfortable.

Included a little along the edge of some farm fields, a bit muddy but as pleasant as could be.

Rattlesnake Gutter.