6:00am Isn't Early Enough

I woke up at 5:15 to Nora's crying in my ear, nursed her, then fell asleep until 5:45. By the time I was ready to go, it was almost 6:00. And in the middle of the summer, this doesn't seem early enough for running. The thermometer already said 77 degrees and it felt really humid, although I think the humidity was only about 61%.

(I should add that I was tired from waiting up last night until 11:30 for Braman and Larsson to come home from the Celtic Woman concert. Larsson is a huge Celtic Woman fan and has seen them in concert three times now. After each concert he has been able to meet with some of the performers. Last night he visited with Orla and Mairead. He drew pictures for all of them which he hand-delivered and showed Mairead, the fiddler, how he is learning to hold the bow in violin class.)

I ran three miles and felt creaky and awkward, like I usually do on a Tuesday after taking two days off from running. My time was 34 minutes even.

Sadly, the big government lawn mowers were out recently and mowed down my favorite stretch of wildflowers/weeds. I don't know why they have to mow this spot and I felt sad that the wildflowers that I just learned like birdfoot trefoil and chicory, the ones I already knew like Queen's Anne Lace and milkweed, plus the ones I had hoped to identify soon had been cut down by the mower and were all lying there in a rotting pile.

Of course, the mowers can't go everywhere so there still are wildflowers to see. Maybe I'll go for a walk with the kids and take my camera. There was a beautiful tall plant with delicate white flowers that I'd like to learn the name of...

After I finish my three miles, I have a short walk through the village back to our house. On the way there, I pass an Ithaca Journal newspaper vending box outside the local diner. One of the front-page items this morning declared "Heat, Humidity and Smog Stifle Upstate" with a companion piece on how people exercising in this weather need to stay hydrated. I'll definitely have to set the alarm to get up earlier tomorrow. And I better go start drinking my water.

5 miles tomorrow! I'm taking a route where several dogs are known to roam freely so I'm hoping that those same dogs are not early risers.