Sole-less

We finally made it out mountain biking last Sunday. Although TD and I both bike a lot in town, we couldn't remember the last time we went mountain biking (probably 5 years?). TD used to be really into it; two big crashes have made me much more cautious but I was still looking forward to it.

One clue that its been awhile since we have been out was the state of our gear - my hydration bladder gave up the ghost while I was filling it and all of our water bottles were leaky and had been given away. But we persevered and were excited to get to the trail head when it was still cool and misty. We joked about being unprepared (no pump or patch kit) but figured our friends could help us out if we needed it.







But about a third of the way into the trail, I unclipped during a particularly tricky uphill section. Except I didn't unclip, the entire sole of my shoe peeled off, while remaining firmly clipped into the pedal. oops.



The remaining ride was interesting to say the least, trying to balance my now sole-less shoe on the very small clipless pedal. It was my dominant foot of course which made getting started all the more interesting. Thankfully TD was beyond patient & I eventually got some of my courage back and figured out how to coordinate starting off the other foot.

The place was beautiful though, and we look forward to going back. But in the meantime, I am trolling ebay for some new cycling shoes.

Ocklawaha River

This weekend we took both dogs for a paddle. It was beautiful and the dogs were pretty great. JB did fall in twice - head first both times - but luckily Tom got him back in the boat without much trouble. I thought the dogs

The whole stretch was beautiful - there was nothing on either side the whole way. We saw two private docks, but that was it. We saw TONS of enormous bass and catfish as well as a freshwater stingray. We got a great look at it. We also saw several great blue herons and a kingfisher. There is a primitive camping spot about halfway, so I hope we'll be back soon.

I am going to try to make a longer movie - but here is a quick clip!

Hiking with the whole family

Last Sunday we rounded up both dogs into the green monster and headed to Goethe state forest. We didn't see much in terms of wildlife, but it was nice to get out of town and stretch our legs.

 Beautiful swallowtails on native milkweed.

 A glamor shot of JB - we are getting ready to put him up for adoption, so we've gotta make sure he looks good!

 The dogs had FUN! Pdog even got to run off leash a bit.

 The Green Monster!

 TD and the dogs in front of a 900 year old cypress tree. This was right before both dogs launched off the 4 ft high boardwalk.

Beautiful cypress tree. Lots of biting flies here though so we didn't stay long!

Rainbow River

On TD's last Friday in town we packed up and headed to the nearby Rainbow Springs for an early anniversiary & happy goodbye trip. Rainbow Springs is the 8th largest spring in the world and has crystal clear blue water. The river starts at the head spring and runs about 6 miles before it runs into the Withlacootchee River.

 Our canoe Penelope Penobscot is still in Austin, but we were able to rent a canoe for the day. Prices were reasonable and they let us bring Prairie in the bus and in the canoe.

Prairie was super over stimulated at the beach and at my softball game, so we weren't sure how she would do in the canoe. I was very glad to have TD there to help dog wrangle.

She did great though! She wasn't sure at first, but we eventually unhooked her and let her roam free in the boat. She partially made it over board twice, but in general she was really good. She attempted to get in our laps every now and then, but mostly stayed in the middle and stuck her paws in the water, chasing after dragon flies and waterbugs etc.

After our float, we headed up to the headsprings and State Park to do some hiking. The habitat was very neat and we had a good wildlife day. We saw a few large skinks, and this Southern Fence Lizard.

This is a HUGE gopher tortoise burrow. The entrance is over a foot wide, and the entire mound is over 10 feet across.

The long leaf pine saplings are so cool - they look like grass trees or something out of Dr. Seuss.

We saw this Barred Owl on the drive home. He was on the ground in the bar ditch, so we thought he might be injured, but when we turned around he was fine, and we got a good look at him in the tree. Every time Tom hooted at him, he turned around to look at us. We also saw a red fox in our neighborhood near our house. We are both loving our new location and how easy it is to get out into nature here.

The Maiden Voyage of Penelope Penobscot

One of our best wedding presents was a canoe from TD's Bestman. Together, they have had many fun canoe trips in their day and Bestman picked us out a great one. We named her Penelope Penobscot. We took her our along with TD's sister and family, including the pups.

Scout - the labrador - had never swam before, but all he needed was a little encouragement to follow the canoe.

TD also had the brilliant idea to put Scout in the boat. It didn't last long, but thankfully we didn't all go oveboard when he decided to jump out.

The canoe was a blast, hopefully we can go out once more before we head to Mexico next week.

Plum' happy

TD and I went with my parents to our ranch this weekend. We had a great time - Cooper's BBQ, road cruising, checking out an abandoned house, and the best  part - picking ripe thicket plums. Mom and I will make plum jam this week. Yum!

RF O'Sullivan's--Saturday night burgers

I was very happy when I found out that THE BEST burger place in the Boston area is less than a mile from my house, and conveniently located between work and home. Last Saturday, as a reward for working all day, TD and I decided to go here on the way home. We invited a few friends to come, and just like that a fun evening was planned. Too bad I didn't get any picks of the food, but trust me, its awesome. I recommend the Black and Blue.  Mmm!