Marathon Beer, Dark Sky Geese, And First Time Quilling!

Better Running Conditions. 

But still some puddles

 The warmer weather has been a welcome change.   And FINALLY the ice is gone.   Replacing it... with Puddles.   Large puddles that will completely soak you if you fall in them.   The river is high as well.  And there are Flood Warnings pretty much everywhere around here.   It was funny how one river is cresting over its banks while one just a mile down the road is seemingly normal.    Cheryl has been enjoying her training runs in shorts and long sleeves.    And her "niggles"  ( Runner slang for "strange injuries that are annoying, but not serious")  have finally disappeared.  Yeah for Team Allenbrite!

Shorts weather.... Still windy.

An elusive Prize.

Yesterday,   We had a pretty good day.   Pretty much the opposite of the day before that... which is typical... but usually in the reverse order.   Anyway,   We got a Pearson project offer.  Cheryl's was able to run without hurting;  AND   we found the rare and elusive 26.2 MARATHON BEER! ( From Sam Adams.)

Official Boston Marathon Lager.

Aids in marathon Recovery! 

  We journeyed to BOSTON and ran the BOSTON MARATHON and could not find it there.  ( And it was supposed to ONLY be found there. )  But thankfully,  capitalism has prevailed and the greedy corporates in the Sam Adams Brewing Company have decided to open up the beer to the rest of the country.   And we "knuckle-draggers" from the Midwest, fly-over country can enjoy the beverage at our Iowa hovel.   Yeah Team Allenbrite!

Combines with the Spirit Ox!   Tasty!

Chaotic Geese Formation today. 

Another interesting phenomenon is the Migrating birds.   The Eagles have cleared out from the river now.   We still see them in the fields and along the roads on the way home,  but the numbers have dwindled where we run.   On the other hand,  the Geese are in full flight gear and revving their engines.  The other morning,  they literally filled the sky with their formations.   And their callings were so noisy,  they drowned out the local truck traffic!   For about 2 minutes,  there were endless waves of geese  and all you could hear was the honking.   I was bedazzled by it.  I wanted to alert Cheryl, but she had heard their honking and had opened the car door.   I was literally paralyzed by the sight.   It was very awesome! 

Quilling!  My first attempt. 

Today,  the geese were flying over the lake, but were disorganized and chaotic.  They looked more like black birds flocking around.  But at least I had a camera ready to attempt a photo.    It was a fitting counter to the Bomber-like formations of yesterday. 

Not as easy as it looks. 

And lastly,  I have taken up quilling.   I don't know why.   Sometimes I hate myself for taking up a new hobby or testing the waters in some other medium.   I should be folding paper, not cutting and gluing it.   And I should be writing a book.. or something...Productive.   But I guess that is not how inspiration works for me. 

Hoping Spring comes Early (-er) 

So hopefully,  the flooding will not happen,  the sidewalks will clear, and we can do things that are not cold and wet anymore.   Cheryl is already talking tomatoes  and spring Mushroom walks.   And possibly a marathon or something..  We shall see.