The Afternoon Slosh

It’s Tuesday, April 14th, about 12:15 p.m. This is "take three" of trying to get this recording right. We had some semi-severe storms and heavy rain last night, so I’m expecting a wetter walk than normal today—I’m already sloshing around a lot. I’m out here mostly to see if I can get some good audio and decide if this DJI Mic 3 is worth the cost for the blog.

A sky full of cumulus clouds.

There are more early leaves on the trees than last time, and the sky is full of cumulus clouds. I always like when the sky looks like this; it makes things a little bit more interesting, even though I'm not doing any photography right now. I’m hoping to see more of those purple and yellow flowers I saw on my last walk.

The Pavement Rant

Yesterday afternoon I went for a bike ride, and there were just too many obstacles. I usually like to bike before anyone is up so I don't have to deal with the stupidity, but there’s a lot of people out there who are just dumb. Too many kids on e-bikes who aren't paying attention. I was almost hit by one and had to slam on my brakes.

It's not just kids, either. I saw a guy walking his dog about 100 yards up the path. His head was down the whole time. He didn't look up until I was 15 feet away and then he was startled, like I’d just materialized out of thin air.

Now I have to spend the money and buy a horn so I don't have to scream every time I’m behind someone. Then you have the guys with AirPods in who can't hear a thing. Honestly, I’d rather get a tick on me or mud on my shoes out here just so I don't have to deal with the idiots on the paths.

Tea, Skunks, and Celandine

The weather is actually really nice today. People are already saying it’s so hot and humid, but those are the kind of people who complain and then never spend any time outdoors. I found the flower I was looking for: Lesser Celandine.

The yellow pop of the Lesser Celandine.

The river over here is flowing pretty high and the sound is very calming. I like seeing all the green on the forest floor with those hints of purple and yellow. I’ve been thinking about picking dandelions and drying them for tea. I've stopped buying bag tea because of the waste, so I think it’d be better if I just made it on my own.

The high river flow after the storms.

I smell a skunk nearby, too. Usually, you don't smell them during the daytime, but I saw one in the park about a month ago and it just bolted.

The Metrics and the R5 II Promise

A lady just walked past and told me there’s spotty mud ahead. I already know; I’ve walked here long enough to know it’s the same spots every year. I'm about a mile in now. The past two weeks, I haven't been pushing for that 15-minute mile; I’m hitting about 16.5, but my VO2 Max has gone up quite a bit. That makes me happy.

Biking made me a bit of a weaker cyclist because of the e-bike, but my back and my knees are finally improved. I'm trying to keep myself in Zone 1, no matter how painful it is to go that slow. It’s the best way to increase my speed and endurance. I was below average for years, and now I’m getting close to being that next level above average.

I see so many tiny flowers and I always wish I had my camera, but there's usually a time constraint. My health was down for a while and I actually stopped photography entirely—got a little depressed and started selling gear. I finally let go of my Canon 6D and replaced it with the R5 Mark II.

I haven't used the R5 much yet because I made a promise to myself to get back into shape first. I want to have that same energy I had when I was 30 years old.

Solitude and Ants

They dropped some wood chips in the bad areas of the trail—not a lot, but it helps. It’s not that I have anything against being outdoors with people, I just prefer the solitude. Even if it means waking up before the birds.

The frogs are loud in the ponds, though I’ve still only ever seen one of them. I’m noticing a lot of flying ants going into holes in the ground near the end of the trail. Not a good sign, and I’m definitely not a fan of bugs.

Coming to the end of another wet, sloshy, two-and-a-half-mile walk. Warm, sunny, cumulus clouds. If this audio turned out, I'd say the Mic 3 is doing its job.