early morning terror...

Mom was on her way to school, got to the end of the driveway and made a quick return.  With fear and trembling, she approached my open door and said, "There's a cat lying on the road.  What's going on with these cats?"

me:  "I don't know.  It's that time of year when everyone commits suicide."

Mom:  "It's gray."

me:  "WHAT???"

Mom:  "The cats gray, dead on the road."

me:  "BINDI!!!! BINDI!!!!  BINDI!!!!"

I'm running all out toward the road, angry that I hadn't kept an eye on Bindi this morning and mad at him for not staying away from the road.  He and the road are magnets.

I get to the end of the drive and there's a short haired gray cat.  He's been hit in the head, just enough to pretty much knock his eyes backwards.

I turn around and face the bridge.  "It's not fair!!!  It's just not fair!!!"  Bindi was going to be an orphan and not understand why.  I turned back to the poor little baby lying on the road.

me:  "Please don't have white paws.  Please don't have white paws."

I brace myself and look around his body.  I'm cursing my lousy vision and lean closer.  No white.

I turn back towards the bridge and walk to the cottage, fists clenched and shaking.  I call for the boys and eventually they show up before I arrive.  Mom looks out and sees the boys.

mom:  "Ok. There they are.  I'm leaving before I'm late for school."

The boys dodge mom's car as she backs around and I continue lecturing them on staying away from the road.

By the time I got back to bury the unknown cat, some stupid redneck had run over him again.  It was a purposeful hit.  The cat was clearly out of the way of the car.  I hate rednecks.

I scraped what was left off the road and buried the little fellow beside the other little fellow I buried last week.

At this rate - it's going to be a long Spring and I just may have to create a new cemetary.  This one is filling up with coons and unknown cats.

The Trail that Led Nowhere...

Sexy Rex at Strouds Run!



Strouds Run is beautiful!  It's got a massive lake and perfect for birdwatching! 

The park's not so great when it comes to hiking.  I spent 45 minutes (give or take a few seconds) trying to find a trail that actually went somewhere and then trying to find trail heads announced by a sign.

I was really frustrated.  By the time I discovered a trail that had potential (of going further than 100 yards or so - there's 15.5 miles of trail), the sky had darkened with thunder in the background.  I had to leave...but not before doing something I normally would never do - I pulled out me lil' Swiss army knife and snipped off a couple fern fronds!  :) 

I ID'ed them when I got back.  One was a Silvery Glade fern and the other an x-mas fern.  They're drying in a book.  :)

Anyway, here's a pic of the first trail I tried out:



Looks impressive, doesn't it?  Too bad it didn't go anywhere.  Well, it did.  It led back to the road, about 200 yards away.  LOL

In spite of the frustration, it was still a pretty cool trip.  Why?  I got to drive about 40 minutes home in a downpour - it was a blast!  :)

Not sure if I'm going on any adventures tomorrow.  We'll have to wait and see.  :)

Quickie pic!

I was looking for the Buckeye Furnace, and never found it.  BUT!  I did find this little beauty!  Sorry for the not so great shot, but I was wearing my motorbike helmet at the time and couldn't quite see where I was aiming.  lol 

Pre-hike post...the night before!

Hey guys!  I just discovered (because I'm lame and totally behind) that I can text what I'm up to on utterly!  I can also do voice stuff from my phone and send it there!  (look to your left and see Utterly Me)

Bear in mind, most of the time I'm on the road I have no signal.  That's because I'm with AT&T and it has more bars in more places....NOT! 

Ok!  So anyway, keep an eye out starting Monday (if you're online) for my daily mini-blogs.  How's that for lazy! 

Have a fun Memorial Day! And remember!  Don't drink and use your cane!

Yo - the missing link!

The big question!  Where have I been?  Sitting with maps shoved in my face.  Plotting.  Planning.  Taking notes.  Reading trail guides.  All that just to walk some 40+ miles of the Buckeye Trail by August.  lol



Last week I went to Burr Oak and walked part of the BT there.  It was mamash hot. The yellow blaze marks the beginning of the Robert & Mary Lou Paton trail, which also leads to the BT trail a short bit down the trail.  The pics I took of the blue & yellow blazes on the trees turned out blurry.  dang.

Anyway, I got a bit sick and had to fight my way home.  The heat is starting to play with my dystonia & Red Bull is about the only thing helping me with fatigue attacks.  LOL

Tomorrow is the Coleman Memorial Day reunion. boring.  I'm going just because it's at Lake Alma and I want to hike the 1 mile trail.  :)  IY"H, I'll get to go to Old Man's Cave, Tuesday.  There's a good 50 or 60% chance of thunderstorms.  I don't mind the rain when it's warm.  Feels good.

Anyway!  I'm off to the library.  Want to look up a bunch of plants and read more on snakes & spiders.  I know!  I could do it on the net, but I still think it's more fun with actual books.  :)

Have a fun Memorial Day!  And remember!  Don't drink too much!  Friends don't let friends drink & use canes or wheelchairs.  LOL