Latest Origami Stop Motion....

An Elk/Deer.   This is the first video I shot with the new Camera.   Don't see a huge improvement at the moment. Maybe in a a future video.   In the mean time... Enjoy!

Two Great Days In A Row! In Muscatine!

Trying out the New Nike Shoes. 

Fine day in Muscatine. 

 And by "Great"  I mean:  65 degrees and partly cloudy.  Just like the entire Summer in Alaska!   Perfect conditions for biking... which is what I do most of the time.   And "Almost" perfect conditions for running...  which is what Cheryl does.

Biking in Kewash/ 

10 Miles Complete!  Hot Dash
Virtual race Complete! 

We spent both days in Muscatine, because the river called us.. and we did not want to go to Iowa City again.   Cheryl finally was able to wear her new shoes.   And they matched her outfit... which is always a good thing.

Cheryl earned her Hot Dash Shirt
(And Medal) 

After each day... we head to the Kewash trail to bike our 10 miles.   Which, I have to say... is not getting any easier.  Perhaps it is the aging process... or the endless baked good.  Or the fact that my Bike broke again!   I had to spend the evening fixing the bearing in the collar.   I had a feeling it was a little loose to begin with, but it turns out to be totally broke!   I will now have to search for a permanent solution, since I think World of Bikes is probably closed.

Hangin' near the Clammer. 

Day two in Muscatine. 

But today all things went well.  Another pleasant day.  Another trip to Muscatine.   We love Muscatine.   Perhaps it is the river therapy that the Mississippi offers.   Or maybe the possibility of spotting a passing white pelican.  Who knows.   All I know is the bike worked after I gerry rigged it with salvaged bearings and a few steel shot BB's.

Pelican on the river. 

Cheryl relaxes with a Diet Coke. 

It even managed to survive the Kewash trail.   (Another 10 miles)  I'm beginning to hurt all over!  My ankle and knees ache.  My elbows and wrists hurt.   Perhaps it is the aging Process... or the fact that I'm out of shape.. ( Or in a shape I do not want to be in..)   Bottom line.   Cheryl has run 39 miles this week!  And I think we biked at least 10-8 miles every day.  I  know we biked in the rain... so I can't remember if we skipped a day.   That puts us around 60 miles of biking...  So tomorrow we might be able to break the 100 mile mark for the week.   It certainly feels like we have already done it.

Over 100 miles of Physical
activity... and it feels like it! 

Hope everyone is having a fine weekend so far.   Avoid cities,  get outside, and try to breath in that wonderful, clean air!  Thanks for stopping in.

More Running, Hotter Weather, and Random Flooding!

As mentioned in a previous post, the rain has been happening a little bit, on and off, every day.  Sometimes it happens in the morning.. Sometimes in the afternoon or evening.   Thankfully,  this morning was nice and dry.   We ran on the Kewash Trail while the trail was still firm and the humidity was tolerable.   We have already encountered our first dose of black flies, and as long as the wild remains calm, they will become a problem.   Otherwise,  as long as you never stop.. and the wind is moderately strong...we are able to keep them at bay.

Wildlife Sighting.

Random Wildlife sighting.  I wanted to see if I could catch the elusive Indigo Bunting or maybe even the Oriole... but instead,  I captured this bright Tiger Swallowtail.  Normally these guys are busy flying by at the speed of light.   Capturing one in the morning....while it was stationary on the bright grass was kind of lucky.  I'll take what I can get.

Dry trail.... so far.

Corn is gorwin'

The Corn in the field across from the old school is already several inches high. They used to say,"knee high by the 4th of July" in Michigan.   Well, in Iowa, they plant later and it grows taller than back in Michigan. ( Ok, I'm not sure when they plant in Michigan... maybe that expression is because spring comes slightly later than here...)

Rain begins.

It did not take long before we arrived home and the rain began to fall.  This time the rain was more downpour and less sprinkles.   It has been raining ever since except for the last hour.   With the rain lightening up and our evening bike time approaching,  Cheryl was eager to take the risk and get out there to bike in the rain and mud.

Falling pretty hard.

I did not bring my camera...because...Rain!   But the dry trail is now a RIVER!   I'm willing to bet ( and Cheryl will back me up here)  the small creek next to the trail rose 2 ft  within the last 5 hours!  Many of the fields are now filled with water and the drainage ditches are brimming.   I know it is because the topography makes for "flash floods" around here, but I actually did not think the rain was falling all that hard.   Thankfully, the trail was still somewhat firm so we could bike 8 miles.  Cheryl thought we should turn back before hitting ten because the trail was a little soft and it was getting late.   (Soft trails are a PAIN to bike one... it feels like you permanently have your brakes applied!)

New tripod.

New Camera! ( not really, just making
existing tech talk to each other.

Changing gears a little.  I managed to figure out how to connect my camera to my Stop Motion Program, My new Tripod has arrived, and I have the little clips for the back brakes on the Subie...so I can finally (hopefully) get that annoying squeaking to stop.    And Tomorrow will be a Muscatine day... so I have something to look forward to... Unless it rains even more!

Kinda hot outside....

Breath the fresh air!

Hope everyone is staying dry and warm. If your State allows it,  be sure to get outside at least a little this weekend.  Fresh air is good for the soul!  And it doesn't hurt to act like a rebellious American from time to time and defy the lock down order... It's who we are.  Thanks for stopping in!

Hot Weather, Random Downpours, And Running with Wildlife!

Today in Coralville. 

Quite the Popular spot!  See the cars?

The Iowa Summer has begun; And the rain that was supposed to happen earlier this Spring, have finally arrived.  Along with that awful summer heat.   Did I mention the bugs?    Yes!  Gnats, June Bugs, and eventually,  biting Black flies will all welcome us to our outdoor activities.  So much to look forward to.

Downpour on the way to Muscatine.

Downpour this afternoon. 

The rain has been intermittent.  Cheryl says there is a 50% chance of rain every day this week... it just is not certain when it will happen.   Sometimes overnight,  sometimes in the middle of the day.   Today, it happened and less than 10 minutes later, the sun was already shining.   Bringing all that wonderful humidity.

20 minutes later...SUN! 

I should probably switch gears here as I'm sounding like an annoying complainer.   There are so many OTHER things to complain about, lately.    Seems like the weather is an opportunity to avoid the elephant in the room. 

Wildlife sighting:  The Iowa
Milk Snake!

Not the best lighting, but his colors
are very vivid!

But things are not all bad!   Today we were finally able to capture the Milk Snake on Camera!   He was located in nearly the same area where we first saw him last time.

He was not very happy when I pulled
his tail...

 I would like to think it was the same one, but I'm sure there is a possibility that there are more.  And the lighting did not show off his colors like it did back when he was in a more shaded area.  Still,  Fun catch!

A Large Fruiting of Ink Caps. 

Cheryl in Muscatine. 

Yesterday, we went to Muscatine again and were not only able to get completely soaked by the rain, but we also found a large cluster of Ink Cap Mushrooms near a dead tree.   These are edible, but Cheryl refuses to experiment.  And I don't wan to take the risk that they are of the "Tipper's Bane" variety.   ( They make you sick if you drink any alcohol within 72 hours of eating them... which would be very sad since beer and Mushrooms go so well together...)

Not tipper's Bane, but I still
don't want to take the chance. 

Cheryl totally Soaked in Muscatine.

We also captured a blast from the past:  A Ford Pinto!   My family had one of these back in the 70's   Being a ford, it basically sucked.  My Mom totaled it when she ran a red light...with both me and my brother inside the car at the time. ( running late for school....  and Mom was the Worst driver in the world!  Shocking we managed to survive our Childhood.)

The Ford Pinto.

 Ours was a yellow hatchback, but this one looks like a station wagon, complete with that circular rear, retro, bubble window and rainbow stripes.   Gees,  the 70's were the worst for color schemes! ( No one liked avocado, blaze orange,  and chocolate brown.)   But the Pinto was one of those cheap cars that families could afford... and so we had one.   It was fixed up after Mom's reckless driving    er... "Accident. "  From there, it completely rusted out to the point where My Brother would fall through the floor boards.    Pinto's also were noted to explode on impact!  Which, I can attest that that was Totally made up Media Hype... as I was there when we were side struck by a car and did not explode. 

Retro Cool!  With a Trailer/camper.

All this to note that someone has taken car of such a crappy car and managed to outfit it with a spam can camper.   Such a lovely little Easter Egg to find in Muscatine.

Wildlife sighting:  Rabbits...

Under the Blazing sun. 

And finally,  The Coralville Bathrooms are Open!   The bathrooms in Iowa City Trueblood Trail and the Coralville trail have been closed because of this stupid Pandemic.   Now,  things are beginning o open!  I'm just happy I no longer have to Pee in the Poison Ivy...  in front of a crowd of spectators on the trail!    We have not visited the Trueblood Trail yet, but that IS Iowa City, and the Mayor hates Trump and the Republican Governor. Meaning:   We stay closed until AFTER the Election in November.  I'm hoping that is not the case, as I do not enjoy dodging Families and dogs on the Trail so I can heed the call of nature.

Hope everyone is having a fine day where ever you are.  And thanks for stopping in and putting up with me.   Have a good one!

With A Threat of Tornadoes....

Biking on the trail.

Running on the Trail. 

I have not blogged for a couple days, and I was beginning to miss it.   But how many different ways can you write about running and biking each day.  I figured I had to write something for Memorial day, even if there were no dead people to see or friends to BBQ with. 

Check out that sun!  Happy Happy
Sun! 

Nice day in Muscatine. 

I guess the only interesting thing to note was we went to Muscatine a couple days ago and go one of those Emergency Tornado warnings.  It was fun, because we could see the dark clouds heading east towards Davenport as we were heading home.  We did not even get rained on.  I'm not sure if there was any touchdown or hail to cause damage.   I am sure we would have heard about it if there had been  a disaster...  Unless the Pandemic trumped that headline as well.

Dark clouds to the North.  Heading
towards Davenport.

Dark clouds... again!

Otherwise,    Running, biking, rinse and repeat.   The weather has certainly warmed up with plenty of Humidity.   Cheryl's runs are becoming more and more difficult as the Summer Heats up.    But it is pleasant to bike in the evening!  As long as the bugs ( gnats, black flies, etc...) are dispersed by the wind.... And there are no new Tornadoes to worry about.

Another Storms a-brewin' !

7 mile run in the heat. 

Tornadoes are kind of a thing here in Iowa.   All those years in Michigan and we never really saw one.  ( ok, once... maybe... over Holland Michigan.) It was not until we left Michigan that one blew through Cheryl's old neighborhood.   But in Iowa,   there is definitely a possibility.

Dust Devil. 

I failed to mention it, but last week sometime, we saw our first "Dust Devil" whipping up a bunch of corn stalks high into the air.   Never saw those before in Michigan either.  It was pretty cool.  Too bad I did not have my camera ready.

Cheryl's Motto.

Other than that,   Cheryl continues to struggle with Ice cream...  Making it that is.   The Gelato was kind of disappointing, but she has moved on to Ice cream now and it is far more rewarding.   The only down side is eating it... and if you do the math,  that means we have to run/bike the same distances we have been doing every day, plus an additional 3000 miles!  I don't know if there are enough hours in the day to burn off that many calories!   And I certainly know it takes every drop of my motivation to exercise as much as we currently do.  Perhaps she should not chase this ice cream science too far for the time being.

And finally,  My latest Origami Stop Motion.   I wanted to do something a little more complex, so naturally, insects came to mind.   I should have selected something a little simpler.  Then again,  most Origami Insect models are fairly complex.  Enjoy the video and have a wonderful Memorial Weekend!