April ............Done

April.  That was a quick month!  A lot of decisions made.  Most importantly, I NEED to be cautious of sun exposure.  Yep, us fair, pink skinned, freckle faced, red headed mistakes of nature need to avoid that burning ball of fire in the sky.  No wonder I like vampire stories.  I have the short comings of a vampire but none of the special powers.  Sigh.  So I am adapting.  

Hiking - I have my hiking umbrella, brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt and pants.  That is easy.

Cycling - not as easy.  I have my arm coolers which I bought in Texas.  Good thing I bought 2.  I can alternate when I have to wash them.  I remembered seeing a gal on Ragbrai who had a brimmed helmet thingy.  (she also had arm and leg coolers on)  (and red hair)

So I went in search of this particular item and found "DaBrim".  It is actually called "DaBrim".

They have two models.  One for casual riders, and one for "fast" riders.  

I bought the one for the fast riders.
So, if you see someone out riding around with this on, it's probably me.

I did get out a couple of times and did our "route" which is from Walnut Creek Lake to Bellevue and back.
About 22 miles.  (I did these before I had "DaBrim" so you would not have recognized me)

I have been hiking with my pack at Platte River State Park.
It's close, it has hills (not enough).
I saw this patch of alien looking moss.
I love the colors and the little pod heads sticking up.

At the Owen Crossing bridge, they are doing a lot of work.

Here is the bridge.

They have added this "beach".
Not sure what it is.
It looks like a great way to access the river with a kayak!

This is the view of the river from the bridge.
That's the railroad track which runs along the river.
Interesting.....

Early Bird (trail name) and I did an overnight hike at Hitchcock.
They have hills (not enough).  She has a 2 pound pack which I am jealous of.
I tried it at REI and found it uncomfortable.  Sigh.
(Another affliction of having fair skin is to be ultra sensitive to things)

These were blooming in a part of the woods.
Cannot remember right now what they are but they were beautiful.
A sure sign of spring.

We met a guy who spends quite a bit of time trapping and tagging raptors.
He loves sitting on top of this bluff.
Based on what he said he spends a lot of time sitting.
He seemed to be very mellow and was very interesting to talk to.

Here is his partner in crime.
This is where they spend their time.

Staring out of these windows.
Waiting for raptors. (the bird not the dinosaur - but that would be more exciting)
I would go bat shit crazy sitting in here all day for that long.

They have these nets set up in a triangle formation.

Their bait is a starling.
He catches them in his yard.
He said they put a "harness" on the bird, the harness is attached to a string, they tug the string which causes the starling to flap but it is secured to the ground so it can't fly away.   It is bait.
Probably not a good ending for the starling.

We started to take the steep trail down.

Early Bird got this far and we decided NOT to continue.
We didn't want to twist an ankle since I will be going to CO and she is going to Scotland.
(To hike the Scottish Highland Trail - I'm jealous)

So we took this trail which is basically a 4 wheeler road.

The grass was beautiful.  Limey green.

And the descent was much more ankle, knee friendly.

Wild bleeding heart.

We saw this snake.
Not a garter snake.
Maybe a bull snake?

Ha ha!  It was just a baby.

In camp we were camp shoe twins.
Vivobarefoot (feet?) is the brand.
Highly recommended as a shoe for crossing water by both Early Girl and quite a few people on the internet.
They are light and stay secured on your feet which I like.

It was a little chilly the next morning but not bad.
A beautiful spring morning.

The view as we made our way back to the car.

I also started decorating my very boring white bear bag.
It is an Ursack.  You put food and smellable stuff in it.
You tie it to a branch at night.
Bears can't get into them and just crush everything in it.

Sharpies come in a lot of colors but really, not that many options.
But I'm happy with the way it is turning out so far.

Progress

One side done.
(Note the "red hat" on the tree murderer.  That was intentional)

Mishka likes her new stool which allows her to look out the window and listen to the birds.

Started working on the back side of my bag.

Other side done.
This was a fun project to do.
My favorite is the "ON" cartoon.
Makes me remember the old days in Gary's department when we all looked forward to the daily Far Side calendar pages.

Checked out the eagle and her babies.
Appears they are doing well.  They are getting bigger.

Mishka is confused by ice cubes in her water bowl.
She soon found she could dunk her snout in and grab them and it was kind of fun to do that.
We had water and ice all over the floor.

Boots are done!
This is the little Dehner shop.

As you can see they primarily do riding boots.
They made the boots used in Ronald Reagan's funeral.

Can you say "sturdy"???
They are heavy but definitely won't let the rocks hurt my feet.

Vibram soles are the best when it comes to durability, traction and grip on wet surfaces.

And they have my name in them.

Spring is finally here.
It is so nice to see green grass and flowers.
My little spring circle around the cherry tree looks good this year.

These were blown away the next day with the wind.

This hosta looks so vibrant when it first pops up.
Ahhhh spring.  I hope you last at least a little while.