I’m getting crushed by work and life in general.  Hanging on and hoping for a little relief in another week or two.  The mileage is not very good, but I’m getting out when I can.  I actually did my first ‘workout’ in a couple of month’s time this week and it went quite a bit better than I was expecting.

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Monday was tough.  Had to walk about 5 times.

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Tuesday was a little better.  8 miles.

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Wednesday I did 4 x 800m.  Faster on each one.  Good to get a harder effort in.

The sunrise was outstanding!

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Thursday was a long work day with no run.  I left work around 10:30 and started seeing some shooting stars on the drive home.  I pulled over and looked up 2012 meteor showers and found that it was the peak night for the Geminids.  I happened to have my camera gear with me and spent about an hour in the cold trying to capture one.  I saw at least two dozen, including 5 or so that were really nice ‘streakers’.

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Friday.  All work, no play.

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On Saturday I went for a repeat of last week and headed up Waterton Canyon at dawn, packing the camera and long lens.  My legs were terrible and I cut the run short.

After hitting my turnaround point and heading down the canyon.  I approached a mountain bike laying on the side of the road.  No big deal, fishermen do this all the time.  Biking up with all of their stuff and leaving the bike unattended while they are in the river.  The problem with the bike I saw is that it was on the side of the road away from the river.  Very odd.

As I approached I looked around and didn’t seen anyone.  Then, just as I was passing the bike, I heard “Somebody!”  …  “Somebody, hit me!”  coming from above and slightly behind my position.

I put the brakes on thinking what the hell??  I spotted a guy in the small gully and said, “Are you talking to me?”.  This startled him a bit, as his concentration was focused on his footing coming down the slope.  He chuckled sheepishly and said no, he was just thinking of playing cards with his brother…  I figured he was just returning from answering a nature call, and wished him good luck with the card game.

The photo ops were limited, but I did finally spot a small group of sheep high up in the cliffs.

I was just putting the camera away when I noticed this woodpecker in the trees a few feet away.  He was busy collecting food and hanging upside down on branches.

Took the kids to the park in the afternoon.  It looks like the geese have officially arrived.

The ducks aren’t going anywhere.

I tried my first ‘spin’ pic, holding the camera mounted on the tripod and shooting with a slow shutter speed and turning in a circle.

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Sunday was cold and overcast.  Didn’t do any running, but headed down to Chatfield to try and spot some of the bald eagles that have been hanging around.

No eagles, but we did spot this American Kestrel. What a beautiful bird. I’d like to work on getting a nice shot of one someday.

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38 total.  Better than it could have been, but I’m looking forward to more.