Slow Is Me: Nearly Breakfast

Friday, May 2, 2014

Nearly Breakfast

As in, I was nearly breakfast. Okay, slight exaggeration, but I feel like being melodramatic. My alarm went off early. I got up, had my usual cup of coffee, and got dressed in my running clothes. I stopped at the store to grab a mid-run and post-run snack, and headed out to Russian Gulch. The plan was to do the nine mile loop twice, pausing at the truck to top off my hydration pack and get my snack in between. There was nobody else about this morning, and I was by myself. I didn't bring a dog due to the distance I was going for. Turned out, I only did seven and a half miles. I was quite peacefully running along the trail when movement ahead caught my eye. I stopped and watched something bound a short way up the trail ahead of me. Ooh, bobcat. Should get my camera... Then it turns and looks at me, and I register the tail and the distinctly non-bobcat face. Uhoh. You are a mountain lion, and a mini one at that. Why are you bouncing down my trail alone? You probably aren't alone. Oh @#$%, that means Mrs Mountain Lion is highly likely to be around here somewhere, and she'll be mad if she thinks I'm messing with her kid. Of course it darted off the trail into the shrubbery before I got my phone out my pack to snap a picture. I also got my pepper spray out (just in case, but felt like such a dork!) and cautiously continued down the trail. I kept an eye out around me just in case, and listened out for movement. I tried looking the direction the cub (/kitten, both terms are correct) to see if I could still get my picture but it had vanished. I decided to avoid risk and take the next trail back to the fire road and cut my run short for the day. I wasn't really feeling it anyway, so opted to spend some extra time stretching and hanging out with my foam roller. I haven't been rolling enough lately and have been feeling it, so thanks baby mountain lion. While you have done nothing to help convince me that I won't die a bloody death from your mauling one day, you were definitely adorable :) I think I might give Russian Gulch a miss for a little while...

Ok I know Simba isn't a cougar, but he fits my melodramatic need :)

1 comment:

FunderMay 3, 2014 at 8:34 AM
That is so cool/horrifying! Love it, glad you weren't breakfast!
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Oh! The Places You'll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

You'll look up and down streets. Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry. Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't
Because, sometimes, you won't.

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right...
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!

Somehow you'll escape
all that waiting and staying.
You'll find the bright places
where Boom Bands are playing.

With banner flip-flapping,
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of a guy!

Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored. there are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame! You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't.
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul
On you will go
though your enemies prowl
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

On and on you will hike
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step.
Step with care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft.
And never mix up your right foot with your left.

And will you succeed?
Yes! You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting.
So...get on your way!

Slow Is Me

Motivators..

Friday, May 2, 2014

Nearly Breakfast

1 comment:

Trails

Countdown!!

Rocko :)

Sunsets