Saturday, February 9, 2013

Crossing things off my bucketlist...

Yesterday, with the winter storm Nemo starting, school was let out early.  I managed to move up my time with my trainer.  He's been working me really hard lately and today was no exception.  On my off days, with my determined desire to get myself back, I've been walking a little over three miles of rolling hilly roads.  By the time I got home from the trainer...my body was already hurting.

So, what did I do?  Well, first I went out and about to take some photos.  Have you ever seen frozen spiders?  I find something so eerily fascinating about them. Maybe because deep down I really don't like spiders.... only at a distance....and for certain NOT in my house!!!






After I satiated my desire to photograph frozen spiders, I decided to walk another 3+ mile loop!

Then it was, walk to Mom's for dinner....back...and dang my body was screaming!!!

Okay....time for a  very hot steamy bubble bath with lavender scented Epsom salts!!  Ahhh....I vould just feel the aches melting away.  Then somewhere between sipping my dark and stormy, candle light, bubbles, snow falling all around, reading a abook.... I decided that I should pretend I'm sitting in a hot tub in Colorado and I should run outside to make a snow angel then jump back in the tub!!!

I posted my thought on FB and stated that if I were to get 10 "Dares" I would do it!  As soon as I posted my thoughts...another thought came to me....Since when do I need someone else to dare me to do something....So I sunk down deep to get as warm as possible then made a dash for the nearest exit, made a snow angel and jumped back in the tub!!!! : Exhilarated!!!

Realizing, my FB friends would demand proof...I grabbed my phone, ran back out and quickly took a photo, albeit dark!

 I had crossed something off my bucket list that I hadn't even realized I wanted to do!

Out of the bath, warm and cozy the snow continued to beckon me "come play".  I love the snow at night.  So, I convinced my neighbor to go with me and walk the fields listening for coyotes and looking for owls.

My legs, already tired from the day's activities would beg me to randomly stop and make snow angels out in the field or lie down on our backs catching snowflakes with our tongues feeling them land on our faces.  At some point he pulled out a bottle of wine for me from the game pocket of his jacket...it was call "Brazin"....said it was just for me.  He was drinking beer.

We had walked roughly two miles, taking the long route along the edges when we came to Abbey's tree.  In her last days we would walk to this tree and sit for a bit to rest before heading home.  As I sat beneath it's branches tears came ...... Yips of the coyotes joined the broken silence.  It almost felt as if they too were sending thoughts her way.

Having spent some time with her, I decided it was the night to fulfill another bucket list desire...this one, I knew about.

We walked another 1/4 mile to the furthest edge of the field where a chain link fence guards the once popular Indy Car race track.  The track has long since been abandoned and is slowly being reclaimed by the Earth.  I love to watch the progression.

I've always wanted to sneak in and run around the mile long oval.  Tonight was to be that night!!!

Unable to figure out how to get over the fence, I pulled it from the bottom enough that we could shimmy under it.  Then it was up and over the concrete retaining wall.  The jump down was farther than expected and I landed weakly, quickly disguising my embarrassment with yet another snow angel.

We ran, we slid, we followed tracks of deer, fox and something unidentifiable.  It's wasn't until this morning that I realized as hard as the snow was falling, those tracks were really recently made!!!  I gather it was the sound of our laughter keeping them on pace just before us.

I never anticipated so many car parts, fallen speakers and again unidentifiable pieces of metal that would lay on the track.

He never anticipated that as cold as it was would cause the beer in his pocket to explode and run down the front of his jeans as if he were a child and couldn't hold it!!!

Then, there is was....a dark silhouette in one of the rouge trees reclaiming it's land....an owl.  Rustled from it's place of rest, it flew silently before us disappearing in the falling snow.

We completed our lap when I realized I would now have to get back over the wall which was higher than expected and by now my legs were so very tired!!  Jumping just wasn't an option.  Accepting a boost we somehow made it back over the wall, under the fence and home....with more stops to make snow angels and eat snowflakes!

That was definitely one off the bucket list.... think I might go run the track again tonight!!!!  But I'm napping first!!!  :)







8 comments:

Owl said...

Oh my goodness!! Frozen spiders!, I have never heard of such a thing! That is amazing!!! Terrific pictures!!

Making steaming snow angels in the dark, sneaking into racetracks, eating snowflakes from the sky... That is quite a cool bucketlist, Dragonfly ;-) You have an infectious sense of fun, excitement and adventure. And your talent for writing makes me feel like I was right there, heart racing, breathing in the cold night air right along with you. Thank you for sharing the moment! Wow

lime said...

can't say i have ever seen a frozen spider before. quite a sight!

i like your adventurous style. glad you made the stormy night such a fun one.

~Dragonfly~* said...

Froze spiders is what happens when there is a moisture laden draft coming in through a broken basement window in winter. As these are in my house to be....they won't be, once the house is mine!!!! Cool none the less! But I am not waiting to see if they revive once it becomes warm outside!!!! :)

Cain said...

This isn't a frozen spider, I do believe this spider died from a mildew infection, thus the white thing that ressembles frost is actually fungus.

~Dragonfly~* said...

How cool Cain! Thanks for the information and the visit. I've never seen anything like it before so I just figured they were frozen, since they are also sort of hard. There are a bunch of them. Now I'm a little bit worried about what else may be living in that basement!!!

Cain said...

If you're found these in a basement, then it's definitely fungus! And you're welcome!

Cain said...

you've* Darnit!

~Dragonfly~* said...

My son who is about to graduate from U Penn as a vet came home to check them out!! He was as fascinated with them as I. He agreed with you that it is definitely a fungus. He asked me to leave them for a bit so he can come back and photograph them! I've also take more photos. There are a few others that are in pretty cool positions!! :)

Thanks again for your input Cain.