Extreme Knitting Redhead: From my runs

Thursday, August 21, 2014

From my runs

I realised that I haven't posted any photos from my runs for ages which may have lead you to believe that I haven't been running, which of course I have.

In June I had a gentler month and just ran for the sheer enjoyment of it without worrying about my speed but in July I had to start a more rigid training schedule as I still have more marathons to run in the autumn.

I've had a tough time with asthma attacks in the last few weeks which have really interfered with some of my speed sessions - it's hard to run when you can't breathe properly! On the days when things were going well I've taken plenty of photos so here are a few, not in any particular order:

Tree roots that look like the bunny from Donnie Darko!

An aptly named Magpie Moth

The remains of a feast on this tree stump - some squirrel had dined on pine cones!

The light in this pine plantation made everything look pink rather like the old photos in sepia print

A glorious hairy caterpillar of the Ruby Tiger moth. I spotted him humping his way across the lane and waited to make sure he got across OK (I didn't pick him up because a lot of the hairy caterpillars can cause severe irritation).

I don't know what sort of fly this is but I thought he was magnificent - his wings look so delicate yet his body looks like armour!

These young female pheasants were running around squawking and flapping as I ran along the path. As I got nearer 2 male pheasants started to swoop at the path and I realised they were chasing a fox away. Don't the females look odd without their tail feathers which they moult in the summer months.

One of my favourite routes. This year the field has been sown with wheat and it made a wonderful rustling noise as I ran through.

Look how parched the ground was though. We've had a very hot, dry spell here in the UK and the heavy clay dries out really quickly.

The other thing I noticed was a mass of cobwebs all over the field.

A few days later the crop had been harvested and the path looked quite different.

Unfortunately the beans in this field was so tall (up to my waist!) that I couldn't make out where the footpath was so I just had to guess!

These beautiful downy seeds are from a Scotch thistle - if you've seen the film Avatar, they remind me of the seeds of the Tree of Souls.

The next 2 photo have nothing to do with running though. This cactus lives in the porch and has flowered it's socks off this year for the first time.

Next time there will be some knitting and crochet to show.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mum's Story

In 1997 my mother, then aged 81, had a series of minor strokes. Shortly after that we started to notice behavioural changes notably memory loss and confusion over everyday items. We thought it was just old age finally catching up with her. Then she started wandering and had violent mood swings. Although she already lived with us it became obvious that she couldn't be left alone for long and so I left my job to care for her. The next few years saw a gradual decline into the blackness that is 'vascular dementia'. My normally placid mum became violent and aggressive. She had psychotic incidents where she would see imaginary people (children hiding in her wardrobe, Russians sitting on the stairs, women stealing her clothes) and she would shout at them and sometimes throw things too. She was so convincing that we used to go and check that there wasn't anyone there! When my sister died mum did not know who Judy was or that she was her daughter. There came a point when I suddenly realised she no longer knew that I was her daughter and this was a terrible time for me. In the last 2 years that she lived with us, life for us all became almost unbearable as she needed 24 hour care - she couldn't be left alone at all because she would either wander off or hurt herself, she never slept for more than 30 minutes at a time during the night, she became incontinent and incapable of doing anything for herself. Finally my husband and I realised that we could no longer provide her with the care that she needed and she went to live in a special care home where the team did a splendid job caring for her in the last few months of her life. There she lived a zombified existence unaware of who she was, what she was or where she was. It was heartbreaking. She died in March 2005, the day after her 89th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read mum's story and I hope you'll dig deep and sponsor me using the link below to help find a way of beating this destructive disease.