What a Difference a Day Makes

Today: Warmer, icy, cloudy, foggy, calm winds and deer. Just one other car in the parking lot.

In the open areas, the fog created a light mist, but not enough to soak my jacket. In the trees, it was like rain. The drops must form on the branches and then rain down. The white streak in the background is one of the runs at Afton Alps - they've been making snow.

The trails were pretty clear and a little soft in places. They didn't seem slippery but maybe it was because I wore my shoes that had cleats on the bottom.

It was a great day for photos, the soft light allowed more of the small details to light up, like the moss photo this week compared to last week.

The fungus are doing their part in the woods.

And there were a couple of deer, just enough to let me know that we shared this space with them.

Busy Day at Afton and Barred Owl Again

We arrived at Afton about 9:30. A school bus was there filled with teenaged youth. They headed out for a run about the same time we started our run. We didn't see them again but the bus was still there when we finished.

Larry was in the parking lot and had already finished his run.
We headed out to do the snowshoe loop. Saw Jim and Bill running together, Karen was close behind. I think they planned to start at 7:00. Nancy and Tom were off in the distance. Talked to Jeffrey, he was finishing his 25K training run. Then crossed paths with Jan and Wendy -- surprised to see them because they usually don't run at Afton. They were doing a 25K loop. Last month they finished a race in Kansas so their training is going well.

We ran almost 4 hours, including talking time and birding time. I didn't bring the binoculars but did hear some of the new "regulars", the Eastern Towhee, a Brown Thrasher, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows, and Meadowlarks. There was a large flock of Goldfinches in one location and an occasional pheasant calling. I didn't see the Eastern Phoebe on the nest but did see a small flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Also a couple of raptors in the woods.

The big news, the bluebirds were hatching today ! They look like little leaves in the nest.

The Barred Owl is here in Maplewood - again. I assumed it was the same one but I looked at the photos. The feet are very different. The one on Wednesday had feather covered feet and one sore toe. Today's bird doesn't have as many feathers on the feet and doesn't have a sore toe. This one appears to be possibly molting. I don't know enough to make that determination. Pretty cute, huh?

Hill Repeats

Why run hill repeats?

• Dave and Luther used to run repeats at Afton, up and down the long gravel road. They finished Leadville and other mountainous ultra runs.
• Nigel used to run up and down the hill on the north end, up from the river, past the overlook to the prairie. He finished Hardrock several times.
• The year of several PR's for me was the year I ran the most hill repeats. 

This years training will include repeats. My legs were still tired so I did two - a good start.

Before we left, we stopped to watch the birds. There were two Harriers hunting in the grassy field. Our real goal was Woodcocks so we went over to a likely Woodcock area. No woodcocks but 40+ Robins and 50+ Juncos. The Meadowlarks and and one Phoebe were singing. Another great evening.

Running at Afton

Ran at Afton SP both days this weekend. Trails are good for this time of the year. However, I need to be careful because there are a couple of slippery spots. This is a photo of a "mud puppy".

Afton State Park

Went for a short run at Afton SP today. Ran the snowshoe loop. It was quite chilly in the open areas. The ground was soft with very little snow. The trails can be easily damaged when they are this soft. We just need to stay on the trails.

Afton 3/14/2010

Tried running at Afton State Park on Sunday. It was about 95% ice on the trails. The other 5% was snow or grass or mud.

But we did see several Red-Tailed Hawks, American Robins, Black-capped Chickadees, Red-Bellied Woodpeckers, White-breasted Nuthatches, and a Merlin.

Just outside the park were 5 mature Bald Eagles and a American Kestrel.