Land Trust

It was frosty, covered in morning dew, and very, very still.  Was it dead ?  Nope, the dragonfly was just numb from the 40 degree temperatures early this morning.   We've never seen a dragonfly saturated with morning dew....what a interesting treat.

Seven hours of property monitoring for West Wisconsin Land Trust today.  Our first property this morning was awesome.  Lots of ride-able trails in over 100 + acres of woods, pines and prairie land.  Oh bye the way, a white squirrel ran out in front of us on the trail and then ran up a tree.  First time we've ever seen a white squirrel! 

Bike man asked me to come along today to help with the property monitoring.  There's always lots of walking involved, besides the occasional monitoring by bicycle.  Overall, we monitored six properties today, which involved biking 4.5 miles and hiking another 5-6 miles.  All that outdoor air..... therapeutic!

Community Cookout

Left work a little earlier this afternoon in order to head to Menomonie to participate in a community cook-out.  My food co-op set up a booth serving personal pizzas, chips and salsa, and delicious brownies.   

My role as a Board of Director, was to talk and mingle with people.  Many folks had questions about our expansion project or general questions about the co-op.  A little rain tonight during the cook-out, but nothing major.  I had a great time tonight talking with all kinds of people, listening to the local music and enjoying a tasty personal pizza made from fresh ingredients and Holy Land flatbread.

Back to Work

One of the reasons I enjoyed this three day holiday weekends was because I spent my entire day today indoors.....glued to my work.  Came home late tonight.  Bike man spent the day outdoors painting.  Sometimes it amazes me at the differences in our work days.   BM has outdoor work and I have work that requires me indoors.  I look forward to the day when my work will be both indoor and outdoors.  

My friend called me yesterday to tell me she had lots of tomatoes to give me, but honestly, I just don't have time to process tomatoes.  I'm hoping I can process more tomatoes three weeks from now.

Received a call from my folks tonight.  My mom moo will be staying with us next week, as my dad will be traveling north to Lake Superior for a road trip.  Mom isn't up to road trips, so we get the pleasure of having her stay with us.  Oh my, the cats will be in 7th heaven to have Grandma visiting!!!!  I'm sure Aiden will find a new lap to relax in!  

Loving the Cardboard

Why is it, whenever you bring something home in a cardboard box, the cats have to lay all over it?

And then they have to stretch out and fall asleep....really?  Come on Aiden, please move your cat body!

We decided to make a trip to Home Depot today to buy paint for our fascia project and to buy a new kitchen light.  After bringing the 4 ft.box into the house, and getting the cats off the light fixture box, Bike man could begin his installation project.  Not an easy project to get mounted.  And it didn't help that I walked by the light fixture when he had it layed out on the floor and I stubbed my little toe on a small fitting inside the light......geez!  Yup, it snapped off as I gasped in pain from stubbing my little toe.  Luckily, Bike man could glue the plastic piece back in place.  Getting the kitchen light mounted in place was a little hairy, but he finally did it.  I'm happy to report we now have a very illuminated  kitchen.    

Riding Lowes Creek

I was a little nervous, not knowing what to expect today.  The Son said, "hey, let ride Lowes Creek mountain bike trails.....come on mom, you wanna ride don't you?  Bike man and I haven't ridden technical off-road trails too much over the last ten years.  Before riding, we checked the Lowes Creek trails online to see what we would be dealing with today.

     

I have to say I was impressed.  There were trails for all levels of bike handling.  We mainly stuck to the easy single track, however some of the easy trails had nice tree roots and man-made ramps.  We actually had a lot of fun riding the double-wide ski trails and the easy single track.  Our Son rode a a couple intermediate single track trails planted with rocks and steep vertical drops.....not for me, no way!

The Son asked me if I miss our mountain bike racing & riding days, 15-12 years ago.  I guess I miss the confidence and the bike handling skills that I once learned.  Even Bike man noticed his reservation of bike handling skills today, but after an hour and a half of riding, it all comes back to you.....I will always love mountain biking.  Dirt & sweat is good!

Chris, catching some air!