Wow, it's been a busy few weeks. There's lots going on here with work, visitors and various summertime activities.
To begin with, there was Canada Day - one of my favourite holidays. Husband and I started the day off right with a lovely 12k run to Shubie Park and back. En route, we passed massive banks of blooming salt water roses. Their scent was glorious! (The photo above is a salt water rose in our garden last weekend.)
Back home, we did a little gardening, then showered and cleaned up before heading downtown for a mellow lunch on a patio, where we spent a very pleasant couple of hours watching the crowds on the street below, then hopped the ferry to Halifax to check out Canada Day activities there. We ran into my lovely niece Sheena at the beer tent and Husband grabbed this pic of me on the way home. By the looks of it, I was feeling a little sleepy after all the beer, fresh air and exercise. LOL!
Although it's less than an hour from our country place, I'd never visited the Adjunct before. It's a gorgeous peaceful spot, with stretches of pristine white sand beach in one direction and rocky coastline in the other. Unfortunately, none of the photos I took really do it justice. The sound of the waves pounding against the shoreline in all directions was spell-binding!
Dick, an avid birdwatcher, was tickled to identify a couple of species he hadn't expected to see and we all enjoyed watching the harbour seals relaxing on rocks just offshore.
There were thousands of pitcher plants growing all along the trails. I didn't know we had these beautiful little carnivores in Nova Scotia but they're plentiful at the Adjunct.
The next day, the boys headed off on a bird-watching adventure while I hung out at Risser's Beach recovering from Saturday's activities. The beach was surprisingly quiet given how warm it was, and there were plenty of fabulous clouds to photograph, so I enjoyed having a few hours to myself.
When the weekend was over, I headed back to the city for work, and the guys drove to the Annapolis Valley to visit with a friend. They returned Wednesday evening in time for dinner at Edna in honour of my sister-in-law and Dick's partner, Maryanne, who passed away earlier this year. The food was fantastic so I'm sure Maryanne would have approved of our choice.
The next evening, I ran 5k Lake Banook before supper, and the three of us walked the same route later that evening, just the sun was beginning to set. I love how relaxed Husband looks in this photo.
Dick headed home on Friday and that evening Husband and I beetled back to the country so I could get up early thee next morning to go berry picking with my sister and niece. It was hot work but well worth it! We had our first batch of strawberry shortcake that evening, and Husband whipped up a batch of freezer jam the next day.
Once the berries were picked, I hopped on my motorcycle and headed back to Risser's to enjoy another beach day. (Are you sensing a theme here yet?) Husband followed in the car a short while later, bringing necessary supplies (drinks, sandwiches, chairs, sunbuster, books, etc), and we spent the rest of the day napping and reading beside the waves. Just before heading home for supper, we squeezed in a little exercise walking the boardwalk that crosses the marsh behind the main beach, where I took this photo.
Sunday morning, I crawled (slowly and painfully) out of bed early hoping to do my long run before it got too hot. As it turned out, the temperature wasn't the big problem. The big problem was that my legs and back were so sore and tight from berry-picking that my run felt miserable. I'd planned on 20k but phoned Husband for a lift home after only 17k. The way I felt, I figured running another 3k wasn't going to accomplish much.
Once home, I popped an ibuprofen, did some gentle stretches and tackled a bit of gardening to get my cranky joints and muscles moving again and, by Monday afternoon, my body was much happier.
The Nova Scotia Half Marathon in Barrington is just over a week away now so I'm seriously focused on tapering. I did a couple of short tempo runs this past week and will run an easy 10k with Husband tomorrow morning, but I'm only planning two more short easy runs after that. At this point, I reckon the thing my body needs most is plenty of rest and hydration. The long range forecast is calling for hot, muggy weather so I'm keeping fingers crossed for cool ocean breezes and early morning fog to keep temperatures bearable on race day.
Look for a full race report next weekend! Until then, happy running and writing, friends.
Rissers. Berries. These are a few of my favourite things.
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