Dawg and I set out an hour before sunrise. The sky had already begun to lighten but under the canopy of trees it is relative darkness. In fact it helps not to focus down directly at the trail but eyes straight ahead. The iris can draw in more light this way and you “see” things peripherally. Well, basic trail definition anyway. One must be mindful for ruts, semi-submerged tree roots, the chance hazard like deadwood or very rare but possible copperhead basking in the residual warmth of the path : – o Other pitfalls: Spider ticks like to spin a strand or two of web across the path so as to snag a free ride from the first host (victim) of the morning to come along. You get this trip wire across the face or torso. Flailing about with your arms/hands to rid the sticky stuff from your hair is futile. Joys of trailblazing. Geez, I’m kind of wondering now why I didn’t just wait for the sun.
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too close for comfort
For the house next door, summer went out with a (very big) bang. An electrical storm struck yesterday afternoon and a lightning bolt blew a hole the size of cannon ball shot. Being a short distance away we can tell you that the retort from the strike was deafening and the flash the color of sun with reddish peripheral tinge. I can only imagine that the structure must have rattled too. The occupants were unharmed but in the excitement of the moment the fire department got called. Aside from the gaping dark hole left in the wall, there was a small problem in that the charging FD brigade, traipsing upstairs in their black fire fighting boots, tracked a little wet mud. The carpet was installed new 2 weeks ago…
3 out of 5
In the spirit of open mindedness, I watched C H I C A G O on the dvd player. Catherine Zeta-Jones sure is easy on the eyes. Rene Zellweger is a very versatile actress. While otherwise disliking actor Richard Gere as just another Hollywood pretty boy from the same ‘can’t act – no brains’ mold as Tom Selleck, Mel Gibson, I thought that he gave a fine performance. I especially liked him in the marionettes and ventriloquist dummy act scene as well as the lawyer courtroom drama musical adaptation. Sex sells. Seemingly every scene features Vegas chorus girl style skimpy costume line dancing or trapeze swinging. There’s always a rump or thigh displayed at any given moment. To be fair, the other critics in my audience did not see it in that way. They looked beyond this to see fantastic dance choreography and artistry. Something for everybody.
canalway trailside
This late summer afternoon jog offered rich views from pathway edge.
.01 mi – 2 hotel employees smoking dope in closed car
1.4 mi – unique overhead perspective of passing freight train, big bore diesels belching
2.0 mi – boy and dad fishing beneath overpass
3.2 mi – lazy houseboat rumbling by
3.6 mi – teens in swimsuits gathered on granite embankment looking for courage to make that Acapulco swan
3.7 mi – massive Rockwilder led off to the side agitated jaws — lady on the other end of teather well protected
3.9 mi – early leaves beginning to turn and fall to earth
don’t mess
B.O.U.R.Girl ran into a baring teeth stray on the trail backside. Everyone’s hackles went up and she collected a weapon for a chance mighty swing when the cur mutt wisely backed down. Course it may have helped that she’d just finished reading: The Red Zone
family ties
On an airport appreciation break and trying to escape the usual food haunts my crew and I wandered over to big brother’s cafeteria. This a foreign land and our uniforms make us obvious. Careful with the eye contact so as not to meet an evil eye stare challenge we lean against the wall outside the security door. Some good folks come along allowing us to tailgate inside. The obliging Captain (with the door keycode) recognizing our hat emblems remarks smartly. “oh I see how it is… If (when) you guys cut away from big U… how you guys gonna eat?” I didn’t know. And was that figurative — get thru the door to the buffet? or literal — put it on the table?
a three hour tour
Yah mon, you guessed it. Remind me to check the tide tables next time. Oh, and all of those ‘red right returning’ nun buoys and green daymarkers could be helpful do ya think? Nice shortcut through the spoils area. We were punished. The rudder, prop and keel were firmly mired. We know this because we neatly exhausted ourselves trying to push – tug the dead weight toward mocking channel pilings none too distant. We flopped back aboard after fruitless exertion realizing that we were defeated — and still stuck. A friendly chap in a dinghy cruised past offering assurances. After an hour in the silt, nature let us go. Very humbling and humiliating.
Say! We had a great time though (despite the learning curve). Gorgeous waterfront homes, scenic green wetlands with graceful long legged birds and uninhabited secluded strips of white sandy beach that we paused at and sunk our bare toes into. We motored from Wrightsville via the ICW to Snow’s Cut and then northbound up the expansive Cape Fear River for Wilmington’s downtown. We found a transient dock at the Hilton waterfront and a nice lunch at an Italian Bistro. Grabbed saltwater taffee from a shop at the historic Cotton Exchange. Wind and sea air in our faces.
The sailors’ life for me!
Christmas wish list: a depth finder 😉
tech support
I didn’t catch the title. Help me here folks… Co-stared Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz didn’t survive at the box office but WAS a great movie. Tom Cruise is a descent actor. The script was excellent. The plot, a twisted who-dunnit which blends a bit of Matrix and Beautiful Mind with dark love story. A movie for the head.
Cruella
B.O.U.R.Girl found herself charged with 3 dogs for a morning hour, two of which were hyper and ill trained. Unleashed to the backpatio deck would have spelled property damage. A 3 mile jog through the park circuit whipped them in line. All she was missing to complete the look was a white | black spotted fur.
denial of service
Not front page news for everyone but the network is unde siege. By morning, my inbox will be maxed out with ‘wicked screensaver’ and ‘re:approved’ pif attachments. What a royal pain. The SoBig.F mass mailing worm doesn’t go away until Sept. 10 unless somebody figures out a way to kill it sooner. Business (mine) is feeling this one.