And the Galloway Half Marathon

This is the coach that kept us both going and taught us how to run the healthy way.
This is Jeff Galloway, Olympic runner.

Span

Oldest grandchild to youngest - cute stuff huh?

Happy holiday season.

Happy Birthday #12

Avengers Half Marathon

Finished the last Disneyland Half marathon yesterday - what fun it was. Got up at 2:15 with a start time of 5 am. I am sad Disneyland canceled al future races but the hope it changes. This was a fun event.

Avengers Spider-Man 5K

Minnie and friends

Birthday cactus

I am so happy I got to see this bloom today! I thought I would miss it. There will be more blooms soon, I am excited to see how full it gets this year. I fed it with a special succulent food and a week later the blooms began to appear.

On the way to Santa’s pajama party

Happy Halloween

From Michelle's kitchen and her helpers

Made it to 700!

I set this goal for myself back in January, trying to estimate how many miles I would be able to do in 2017. Made my goal today! Woohooo!

Happy Halloween!

Trunk or Treat at St Patrick's. Everyone decorated their vehicles. It is SO cold but most of the kids don't even care.

10 miler magic

10.5 mile run around Boardwalk, Swan and Dolphin, Yacht Club, to Epcot 3 times and Hollywood Studios twice. Awesome Disney World running trails. Sunrise wasn't all that cool but who cares?! Gorgeous!!

Stuffed acorn squash

Obi picked this meal and we made it together today.

Grand finale at Monsieur Paul's

Prediction for today.

This is what we are looking forward to today and tomorrow. Michelle was smart and got up at the crack of dawn to get her run before the heat set in. I guess summer doesn't want autumn to take over quite yet.

Spider time

Every autumn the large garden spiders start to build their night time webs. They choose a spot, then every evening in that same spot they build a beautiful but sticky web. Then each morning they take their webs in and hide, and repeat the whole process the next evening. This is strictly a nighttime activity. They don't use these during the day.

This spider chose a spot on my back porch. She builds her web from the eave to the post and across to the wind chime. It's about 4 ft long and 3 ft wide.

A few days ago her web caught a hummingbird, and lucky for that bird I went outside that morning looking for something and heard her chirp. I looked up and saw her completely stuck but not a spider in sight. I took a stick and quickly scraped the web down, but the bird was still covered in that nasty web. I took her to the grass and carefully removed all the sticky web from her wings, then she flew gratefully away.

That evening the web was back in exactly the same spot. And every night since. She is growing fatter and fatter. Last night I watched her wrap up a moth nearly as soon as her web captured it.

Those spiders are interesting but I try hard not to walk around in the yard at dusk or later. They build those sticky webs from tree branches to the ground and they are horrid to walk through. I walked through one the other day and immediately came in and jumped in the shower. I like these creatures but not on me. They do a good service so I like to let them alone. As long as they stay out of my house and off my person.

Let's go home

This is what it looks like when Augie brings the goats home. I had not seen them in hours so went looking.

Hearing me call, Augie came loping along, goats in tow. Just before the gate he stopped to see if they were all behind him, and once he made sure, he turned and led them home. He sure is amazing.

Summer's end

Not a lot going on. Well, at least not a lot of exciting news. Plants are growing like crazy. Even my potted plants this year, this coleus is nearly 5 feet tall.

Temps are cooling now. So nice. Yesterday I logged 500 miles of running since Jan 1, and this weather makes those run days so enjoyable. I am looking forward to more cool running days with my mileage increasing the next two months. Half Marathon Nov 10.

Sunset over home

Eclipse day

Did you know Nashville was the largest city In the path of the eclipse? I found it out the morning of the eclipse.

Michelle and William took the kids to the zoo celebration. I stayed home to work, but went outside and hour before the event and made a pinhole viewer. Then I just started watching. It was HOT until the sun took a snooze.

It got pretty dark (enough to make the roosters crow and the bugs sing!) but not quite as dark as Nashville.

Michelle took this first picture with her phone at the peak of the coverage. My shots were not as great as hers. Also I did not have special glasses so I was pointing the Lense without really looking. It was a lot of fun even by myself though. Would have been more fun at the zoo. Maybe next time.

Running trails

I found a great new running trail in Waverly. I needed to do 8 miles today and our road is so overgrown now since the county isn't keeping it cut, and it's dangerous. You can't see around curves at all so I looked for something different.

This trail isn't even on a road, it's a totally separate paved running path and it's lovely. A couple of Huge hills but it's good butt work.

Mopping

Margaret is such a good worker. She saw daddy mopping the floor so she want and got a baby wipe, dipped it in the water and started hand scrubbing the floor.
Daddy was using a mop but she didn't even seem to notice.

Hamilton is a stinker

Ham must have smelled the new donkeys and showed up at Michelle's. He is so smart but a stinker. Michelle had to guard him, then drag him to the work shed to lock him up. On the way he got hot and went swimming. She said he didn't even look remorseful but I'm hoping that dragging him by his hind legs then locking him up traumatized him enough to stay home after this.

New donkeys

Margaret says I can't send her donkeys to Papa, she wants to keep them. So don't tell her I am sending these.
This is Margaret with Sweetie Bell, Bambi and Madelyn. Oh and Imogene the goat who thinks she's a donkey.

Margaret and her Sweetie Bell

Irish picnic

It's that time again. Always a lot of fun.

Swing