Weekly Photo Challenge: The Golden Hour

This week’s photo challenge theme at the Daily Post is “The Golden Hour“.

Yesterday, I ventured out for an early  morning stroll and then again in the evening to a beaver pond not far from my place hoping to capture a nice shot of the beavers busy at work but to no avail.  I was not exactly surprised because when I have my camera there is never any action at the pond.

During my morning outing I took a couple of photos of the river on the way to the pond. For my evening picture – a field of weeds taken on my way home was the best I could do. Then, about a hundred meters from my driveway I heard something. I stopped and waited and before long a familiar sight stepped out of the ditch and made her way across the road, slow enough for me to snap my evening photos.

 

Weekly Photo Challenge: The World Though My Eyes

This week’s photo challenge at the Daily Post is “The World Through My Eyes“.

This morning on the way to town I spotted something off in the distance in the ditch beside the highway. With the arrival of summer and warmer temperatures two moose were out for a morning stroll. I slowed down and waited for them to belt across the highway.  However, they lingered long enough for me to pull over, get the camera out and snap a few photos for this week’s challenge.

January in Canada equals cold!

What am I doing in Canada in January? I hate cold weather! I should have known it would be bitter cold and I would dread stepping outside in sub-zero temperatures. How could I forget that the last time I returned to Canada in the winter I stayed for two weeks and then bought a ticket to South America for three months to escape freezing cold temperatures?  Even more puzzling to me is the fact that I have accepted a short-term job for 10 weeks. (Temporary insanity caused by cold weather.) Otherwise, I would embark on a trip to a warmer destination for a few months instead of complaining about our horrible winter weather.

It goes without saying that no matter how hard I try, it is impossible for me to venture outside for a run in the arctic conditions that we are experiencing in eastern Canada. This month has seen daytime highs of -15 to -20 with wind chills putting the real conditions closer to -25 to -30. This may sound like perfect conditions for outdoor rinks and cross-country ski trails but, cross-country skiing is proving to be a challenge on the frozen snow. In spite of my recent lessons, I still manage to take a stumble from time to time, which is a bit unnerving because I find it so cold when I land flat on an icy trail.

 Thank goodness I purchased a treadmill in the fall after a few rainy days so I would have a back-up plan for bad weather days. I used it several times in November and December but now I am using it on a regular basis. In fact, I have not run outside in 2013!

For the most part, I have been doing a one hour workout on the treadmill every second day. I start with a ten minute warm-up, followed by 4 miles in 38-40 minutes, and then a ten minute cool-down. Any longer than an hour on the machine seems like it will never end, but I force myself to do a five-mile run at least once a week.

A couple of days ago, when it was too cold to do anything outside, I created a running calendar in Excel for 2013. I am using it to track my miles and pace on a weekly, monthly and yearly basis. It is quite easy to use and a great way to monitor my progress or lack of progress. I have included the spreadsheet if anyone wants to download it and use or adapt it.

2013 Running Calendar