R.O.Y. G.... mud

Sunday's long run was beautiful. Just under nine miles. Picked a great route, which I'm trying to figure out how screenshot & post now. (I shaved about 1/3 mile off the map, just the part takes me to & from home.) Temps climbed from 48 to 54 during my excursion. A couple rolling hills, a few level stretches, easy proximity to Starbucks and other sources of water bottles and restrooms. I ended up stopping at Home Depot, but that's just because I knew the temptation to sit down with a scone and a venti coffee would have been too much for me.


There's a little game I play with the kids whenever we're hiking or at the botanical gardens. It's a competition to find all the colors of the rainbow in the course of the day. We've been doing this since B1 was an only child. Camera phones have made it so much easier than trying to juggle the clunky kodak camera of 10 years ago, so it's now something we'll message to each other from the road, or split into teams during a day trip. (Winning team gets to pick where we eat lunch/dinner, or what type of ice cream we pick up on the way home, if we're not eating out.)

As I passed the first of many butterfly bushes seen on the 8.9 miles, it occured to me that DD would enjoy the flower photos. Her older brothers wouldn't really care, as they're only interested in the game when food is at stake.

First up, the blooms of the REDbud tree:


Freshly planted ORANGE marigolds:


Happy YELLOW flowers on a butterfly bush...

This got me about 1/2 way through the run. I'd been scouting for violets, periwinkle, pansies and the greenest green of lawns on the way out, and figured I'd snap photos of the best on the way back.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO pansies or periwinkle, VIOLET - well, violets. That was the plan.

Somewhere around 5-1/2 miles, on the way to the greenest lawn, I hit a lovely zen state. All I could hear was the sound of feet hitting the pavement. The air was perfect, the sun on my face was warm.

GREEN grass, BLUE sky, INDIGO.... VIOLET... GREEN grass...

...TRIP...

Close up view of green grass, and a deep tire track in the soft dirt, not quite mud.

Totally missed the transition from sidewalk to grassy shoulder. Wasn't hurt, but muddied up elbow, hand, knees, and nose. A very nice lady pulled over in her minivan to make sure I was okay. I thanked her, and let her know it was just dirt. She paused for a moment more, while I brushed off and started running again.

The remaining three miles were uneventful. I held off on snapping photos, and paid attention to the ground 4-6 feet in front of my feet the rest of the way home, to make sure it stayed that way.

The boys enjoyed a laugh at Danger Mom. (I'm known for being rather clumsy.) DD was more supportive, and let me know it would be okay if we found the rest of the colors in our own yard. Which we did.