So Cheryl just got a surprise package in the mail today. Apparently, she secured the Second Place for her age group... Or masters... I don't really know which. But 2nd Place! Nonetheless! And they mailed her her award. A Pin.
Just when we thought Cheryl was never going to win anything ever again.... and just when we thought that this year was going to be a crappy year for running.... Our hopes and dreams of failure are DASHED! Like a ship on the rocks... These awards have a way to just Ruin Our Self loathing and depression by arriving at random times. No warning!You think they would at least send an E-Mail telling you to prepare yourself for joy or something.
But now she has another award... to add to her growing collection of awards. All a terrible reminder about how "Good" a runner she really is. Despite what her own body tells her everyday. You would think Cheryl would be a better judge of her running ability.
To qualify things, and to make Cheryl feel "better" about feeling bad, I remind her that maybe the hot weather of this summer kept all the really "good" athletes away. And she won the medal by default. It is possible! And that would explain how this has happened time and time again in almost every race we ran this year. ( She ran... I just watch and try to document her failures.) All that prize money, gift cards, wooden plates and additional trophies, medals and awards. All fake! Just to congratulate her for showing up after age 45. How humiliating!
But enough about Cheryl. This year, the Fawn Mushroom (Pluteus atricapillus)Pluteus atricapillus (formerly P. cervinus) has been poping up all around us. Not much else to report, other than that. I have been watching this particular mushroom for some time, since they tend to grow in the rotting stumps around our apartment. Well, this year, I finally took the plunge and sampled one.
Tasty! And I'm still alive... so far. (It has been three days) There are a number of look-alikes, but the ring around the stem where the gills do not touch, the Pink Sporeprint, and the Location of seriously decaying wood, all make me think that this is the correct, edible species. I found it to be rather tasty. ( much like the white mushrooms you find in the store.) and another species I can positively Identify... and live to tell the tale.
It has been entirely too dry for much else to talk about. Chanterelles are missing as well as the Boletes. Only the mushrooms that grow on logs seem to be having a good year this year.
Yesterday, to change things up in our boring lives, we decided to head to Ottumwa, Iowa to ride on some bike trails. I know, "Ottumwa".... How can this be the first time ever visiting such a place? Well, we have passed through several times and have seen a few trails from the road. We downloaded a map of the place to see if they had others. In all, we discovered 12 miles of bike path around the Des Moines river. We even skipped the part in the park because Cheryl was getting hungry. Some of the trails even connected to the "Strip Mall" area... where apparently, there was a carnival going on.
Though you would never know if by what we witnessed. It looked like a post apocalyptic scene from The Day After. Cheryl simply could not resist riding through the area where the rides were set up. I'm sure if there had been people around, we would have gotten a talking to... But there was none. For a Saturday, the entire city seemed abandoned! Even the HyVee was easy to navigate. It did make biking on the trails seem a lot easier.
Other than that... Our overall view was ... "that was nice..but.." Yeah, I doubt we will have to revisit that place any time soon. I'm not sure what was missing, but the scenery was nice. The trails well groomed and maintained. But.... it lacked something. Perhaps it was just a little too far to travel for a typical outing. Or that the weather was sunny and hot. Or the people were just slightly tipping on the creepy side of weird. And that is saying a LOT from the people in Iowa.
But today we decided to try to write that day off the books and headed back to Muscatine. Where... We fooled Mother Nature!
How? Well, the weatherman said it was not supposed to rain today...until about 5 P.M. But. Nature has a way to defying predictions. And the clouds were rolling in. A pleasant change from the endless sun, but neither of us wanted to get soaked in the process.
Usually, the rain holds out until we are out on the trail, far away from any shelter... then it dumps on us. And that is just what would have happened today, had we not taken a bit of a break. We waited in the car for the squall to blow over.
It took a bit of time, but eventually, the rain stopped and we squeezed in a few miles under the grey skies. Still, the heat and humidity climbed back up in no time. Currently, it is very hot and very humid outside. Hurray for AC.
The "neighbor" cats. with Hiro.
Rocket the Glutton.
Other than that, we have been discovered by the neighbor's cats. They come over to play with Hiro sometimes and eat all of the food we have to offer. The peach colored one ( Rocket is the name) is a total glutton! Oreo..( the black and white one) only samples a bit and then harasses me to play with him.
Oreo, the Rodent catcher.
Hiro with "Leo" the farm cat.
Both of those are fixed males ( so no territory disputes here....Thank goodness) but he little orange one... is a stray farm cat. Or so I think anyway. He is not fixed, not very fond of the other cats, and LOVES humans. We gave his some worm medicine and I think it has done the trick for him. Perhaps some flea treatments and a trip to C-snip will make him a little more social to the others. But for now, he eats like Rocket ( a lot!) and sleeps on the bench sometimes. Possibly because he has no where else to go.
Hiro helping Cheryl read her book.
Hope everyone is having a fine Sunday. I'm hoping things cool down this evening so we can go back outside. If for no other reason than to play with the cats. And Hiro enjoys his outdoor time with his friends. Thanks for stopping in.
With a little embellishment from me.. Just in case they really want to see what we will look like when we age. The front of the card says: "Congrats one being married another year...."
But it could still happen.... And if it ever does, we will look like this.... MuuuHaaaA Haaaaa HAaaa! "Hey Kid! Get Off my LAWN!"
We have been spending quite a few days out at Muscatine lately. Usually every other day at least. What can we say? It's nice out there and a pleasant change from the normal routine of Iowa City. Cheryl likes running next to the water and we both like eating at Tee's. So here are a few of the sites one might see if they ever drop in for a visit....
Cheryl!
Cheryl ready for a run...
Vultures hovering over Cheryl's head.
Vultures ready to eat Cheryl if she dies of heat exhaustion.
Grain trucks dropping off Soybeans.
Barges being uploaded on the Mississippi.
Painted Ladies. Lots and LOTS of Painted Ladies.
Cheryl in a fountain, after a long hot run.
The Goose Highway men! Blocking your path until they get food
Deer watching from the edge of the Sidewalk.
Sometimes they stand near the railroad tracks.
A Riverboat with a load of Barges coming from the north. While Cheryl relaxes in the shade.
Tomorrow is my Birthday. But enough about me.... Subie, my beloved Silver Bullet Chariot of Fire, Hit the 300,000 Mile Mark today! That's like 3 Million in Dog Years.... Now I know there are some of you thinking that upon crossing that threshold, The engine overheated, the battery died, and all four tires went flat. But this is a Subaru...Not a(n) ( insert random American car here.) It is a Major Accomplishment for any car.... But Subaru has set the expectation bar pretty high. This will be the Second Subaru I have owned to get over 300,000 miles. Time for a Celebration!
How does one celebrate this Milestone with a car? Should we buy cake? Icecream? An Oil change? Perhaps some premium gasoline... Or maybe something more lasting and durable... Like Subaru Badges!
Like Cheryl, Subie likes to collect badges and trinkets when he achieves something note worthy. But Subie does not have a vanity wall of his achievements. (unlike Cheryl...) So we have to go with the kind of badges that are worn every day. Behold! The Subaru Badges of Ownership!
Like my blog, Cheryl manages to influence everything... even it it is mostly unintended. So, for Subie, in addition to making the correction of our 4th Subaru.... (not our second.) We have added a few other badges to the mix. There were a couple of bike badges (Mostly for me.... But Cheryl bikes now as well.) And all those running badges: A runner, 13.1 half marathon, and of course...26.2 Full Marathon. (Hmm... Wonder how those badges got in there.....)
And finally.... 300,000 miles! Subaru does not make a 400,000 mile badge.( yet!) So it is possible that there may not be a way to celebrate that moment when it arrives.
Other than that, I should note that the internet has been very picky this last week. I can't get online and Cheryl manages to download only a few things on her tablet. The service says we have only used .01% of our total 10gigs....but it also says that the service and the phone are not always in sinc with the amount of data used.
Good thing I was not relying on the internet for anything this week. ( except blogging....) Still, I fall behind on all of the exciting things we have done this week. Mostly run and bike in Muscatine and the Kewash trail.
I have a bunch of pictures, but now have to wait for them to download. I may not be able to show them all... and most of them are "more of the same stuff..." So it is not a big deal.
Hopefully I will be able to post this and show off the Awesome Silver Bullet Subaru with all this bling and mile markers. Thanks for stopping in.
But now she has another award... to add to her growing collection of awards. All a terrible reminder about how "Good" a runner she really is. Despite what her own body tells her everyday. You would think Cheryl would be a better judge of her running ability.
But enough about Cheryl. This year, the Fawn Mushroom (Pluteus atricapillus)Pluteus atricapillus (formerly P. cervinus) has been poping up all around us. Not much else to report, other than that. I have been watching this particular mushroom for some time, since they tend to grow in the rotting stumps around our apartment. Well, this year, I finally took the plunge and sampled one.
