Hike Ho Hike Ho It's Off To Fitness I Go

Christmas knitting IOUs are convenient on Christmas day but then there is the pressure to convert    WIP to FO in a respectable time frame.  So I've been sittin' n knittin' a lot lately.  I made a simple watch cap for my son who buzzed off his longish hair just before the temperatures plunged.  Then I knit the second of a pair of slipper socks for Son the Older and I hope to finish the second of Son the Younger's pair tonight.  In between, I've been working on a silly little mini sock as part of Sock Scrimmage 2012, a Ravelry thing.   All that knitting is a good excuse to ride out the cold temperatures but it's not so hot for muscles and joints.  The old sacroilliac joint has been speaking up again and stretching hasn't made enough of a difference.   All of which is a round
about way of saying I took a hike today.  Yes, with the temperature struggling to hit 20* F, I hit the trail.  Wool socks, wool sweater, wool scarf ... I went prepared, but I was still cold. 

The hike was Land Trust properties.  This time of year, not all that scenic, but ... no mosquitoes.  :)  I like the Land Trust hikes because the fella who leads them offers up a good mix of pace and professoring.  On this trek, we checked out the welfare of some disease resistant Elm tree cultivars.   We used to have such stately large Elms around but Dutch Elm disease attacked.  According to the fella, Elms still propogate and grow but once they reach kind of a juvenile size, the disease kills them off.  The hope is that by introducing disease resistant varieties along with the originals, there will be some cross pollination resulting in healthy full size Elms again.  Given the size of that tree, I'm not sure I'll be around to find out if they succeed.  

After that, we trooped over to a field bordered by a very tall stand of trees along the Connecticut River in hopes of photo ops with the bald eagles.  Apparently it's too cold for the eagles, cause they weren't budging.   A bit of a biting breeze picked up then, so we headed back to our cars after that.  Now I'm going to feed the rabbits while I'm still cold, then I'm thinking a hot bubble bath is in order, followed by an evening by the fire place with a nice cuppa raspberry tea, a bit of a MASH marathon, and of course the knitting. 

Comments

[Laurie]

Of course, the knitting. Nice outing on a really really cold day. I'm Game of Thrones marathoning.

[Cathy]

Nothing better than a brisk walk with a hot bath and snuggled in for the evening as reward.