52 weeks in the foothills: week 22

It was surreal to see the snow with green grass and green trees on Monday.  Probably won't see that again anytime soon.  Then it was haze, dust and wind.  Then Saturday it was clear blue skies and sharp contrast.  Seeing a few more wildflowers.  Not a ton, but a few.  Included a shot of some orange flowers growing in the road cut.  

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 21

Turns out that all the survey tape was for the T3 Triathlon Timpanogos Marathon and Half Marathon.  After I figured that out, I was sorely tempted to sign up for it and run the 1/2 this weekend.  But there were two main problems:  I wasn't in shape for it and the weather looked bad.  Not being in shape was ok, I'm still foolish enough to attempt anyway.  But I didn't want to commit to run that distance given the forecast.  And it was indeed cold, rainy, snowy and a little breezy Saturday morning.  I was out anyway and ran into  a few of the race runners.  Looked like a great time.  

Anyway, this week's picture of Timpanogos is just a shot into the clouds in the right direction.  And that's how it was.  But it was fun to try to shoot a wildflower in the snow.  One of the pictures shows a squall line coming in from the north.  I didn't notice this coming through 'cause I thought the weather was coming from the south that day.  I was wrong.  But I did get home 5 minutes before the rain started.

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 20

Good shots of atmospheric effects early Saturday morning.  Had hoped to drop into Battle Creek Canyon from the south but the trail was just too muddy on the north-facing slope.  There's a ton of survey tape in the foothills right now.  Must be some kind of race coming up especially for people who like lots of reassurance that they are on course.  

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 19

Pretty much everything is green and growing except the scrub oak, but the scrub oak near the trail head is starting to bud.  Tried out the trail the mtn bikers were telling me about a couple weeks ago.  It's a nice little jaunt through a large meadow and a picture is included.  Had another first experience this week:  I got passed on a trail by other runners.  I did make sure that I didn't get passed going up hill, so I do have some dignity left.  Saw 8 trail runners this morning.  Now that I've seen more of them, I think my not getting passed up to this point is more about not running on the popular trails and less about being fast.  They were fast, very fast.  All of them.  

Finally, I'm happy to report that on this, the first anniversary of breaking my big toe coming off Little Baldy Pass, that I was able to run this morning and avoid re-breaking my toe.  This also means that I can be nice to my wife on Mother's Day rather than hobbling around the house in pain. 

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 18

The first spring flowers have bloomed and the scrub oak is starting to bud.  Other than that, it was muddy, windy, wet or snowy or all four.  The spring  transition is in full swing.  Shouldn't be long before it looks like summer.

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 17

Managed to get out a couple times in between rain and snow this week.  Saw a fox for the first time ever in the foothills.  Chatted with some mtn bikers as well which was also a first.  Turns out mtn bikers know the  trails really well.  Found out about a new trail I've never been on.  One interesting sign of spring is that the perinials are growing in the place of their dry brown stalks from last year.   

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 16

It must be spring because I ran into 4 trail runners this week.  Deer herd was low and weather was perfect.  

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 15

Green grass + white snow + blue sky = colorful pictures.  Wednesday morning it was crisp spring air with birds singing their hearts out and snow blowing off Cascade.  Even the return leg on the Provo River Parkway trail was sublime.   Great week to be out in the foothills.  

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 14

Blustery week in the foothills.  I managed to avoid getting rained or snowed on, which, in the end, was a bit of a disappointment.   Saw the bird on the backside of the ridge again.  This is the bird that ran along in front of me for a 1/4 mile or so last week before turning left off the trail.  This time it immediately turned left off the trail rather than running in front of me.  Seems to be getting smarter.  

Saw lots of people, a few other birds and green grass but with snow on it.  

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52 weeks in the foothills: week 13

This week included three sure signs that spring is taking hold in the foothills: ran a real loop with minimal mud and no snow, meadows on the ridgeline are turning green and I saw a mountain biker.  A real loop is a loop consisting of established trails--no trudging through snow.  Now that the snow is gone, off trail runs are avoided because they can damage the plants and the newly exposed rocks are hard on the ankles.  

Enjoyed watching the snow blow off the top of Timpanogos after the Thursday/Friday squalls.  Saw some kind of bird that ran down the trail in front of me for what seemed like a 1/4 mile before it decided to veer off to the left and hide in the bushes.  It was in front of me long enough for me to get out the camera and snap a slightly blurry picture.   Stephen's tree on the water tank road is ready to bud.  

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