On my 19,947th day on earth, I learned something that came as a complete surprise: I am not invincible to injury. Racing down Mount Constitution in early October, the medial meniscus at the back of my knee detached from the bone with an unmistakable (but not painful) “pop.” A month later, I broke my arm. With …
Tag Archives: ACFL
Got What It Takes To Loop the Lakes?
Running along the dry, rocky trail strewn with pine needles in the Anacortes Forest Lands, I never expected to see a murder in progress. The perpetrator, Thamnophis sirtalis, lay dead across the trail, its prey having progressed nearly halfway along its digestive tract before it came to an…ahem…dead stop. I grabbed the nearest stick and carefully …
What’s SUP?
The second day of summer 2017 was the best one ever for a couple of stand up paddle boarders lucky enough to book a tour with Jennifer and Shawn McFarland of Sound Yoga and SUP. Moments after the leader suggested the group stand down and move towards the shore for a break, a pod of five …
Traversing the Tursi Trail
A pair of butterflies (possibly Papilio rutulus) fluttered along beside me as I neared the Tursi Trail head along Donnell Road on Fidalgo Island a few weeks ago. As I began my hike along the dusty trail, a garter snake slithered off to safety. Thimble berries and trailing blackberries lined the primitive path during the first …
On Golden Frog
Like the sirens to Odysseus, the frog chorus beckons me. From dusk to dawn I hear the call, pause, perk up my ears, wander towards the pond. Within a tiny plot of land, less than a tenth of an acre, an amphibian-friendly habitat exists where adults reproduce, eggs hatch, turn into tadpoles, finally form frogs. …
“All That the Rain Promises and More”
A barred owl’s call lured me into the woods yesterday evening near Heart Lake in the Anacortes Forest Lands. “Who cooks for you. Who cooks for you all,” provides the correct pattern of this species of owl’s call, but it doesn’t do justice to the super soft, spectacular sound. I grabbed my camera and headed out …
Little Cranberry Lake in the Anacortes Community Forest Lands
The Anacortes Community Forest Lands, which, according to their web site, include 2,800 acres of land and 50 miles of multiple use trails, are one of my favorite places to trail run and hike. Our trail running group typically alternates between Little Cranberry Lake and Heart Lake, which means I’ve had a number of opportunities …
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