Barefootin'

I ran ten minutes on the beach today using my new Vibram five-finger shoes. Pretty cool, through water, over shells, etc. Felt fast. Later I ran 40 minutes in my regular shoes. Too early to compare the effect on this old body.

Running

On Saturday I ran 55 minutes at moderate speed and felt really good. So Monday I decided to kick it up and pay attention to my speed with an occasional fahrtlich. Turns out I could do it for a full 30 minutes which is encouraging after running more and more slowly for the last year or so.

Ah, Minneapolis

Having out of state visitors gave us an excuse to revisit some wonderful places.

I haven't posted much lately even though I take pictures every week. It seems that by posting to Weekly Shots I fulfill the need to post. Anyway, here are some recent shots. The gator is from Myakka State Park, the birds are from Little Estero Preserve right by our beach.

Wasting Away Agin in Gatorville

We took Stephanie and Isabelle to the Everglades for a day of gator sighting. It was a fun day and boy did we see gators!

Strutting

I had a fun time watching these guys fishing.

St Patty's on Ft Myers Beach

Sun Down

I lost a good and valued friend this week, one of the "good guys". Jim Voight had so many friends and affected so many people that our small relationship was just a blip on his life. But to me, there are few out there with the same intellect and compassion that Jim had. He had a knack of being able to talk to anyone, at their level, and make each person feel wanted and appreciated. That was his special gift and it will be missed. There is so much shouting today that we often overlook the quiet  persistence of caring that Jim brought. We should perhaps all make an effort to mold a little of that into our own lives. I'm going to try......

Rainy Days

Sometimes when you are chasing the sun it hides from you. Such is the case today. Even the egrets don't like it much and huddle on the mangroves. The picture looks a little blurry but that's just the rain messing things up. I spent the day finishing up a good book, Out Stealing Horses, by Per Pettersen. (translated from the Norwegian). He writes in the Hemingway fashion, spartan but strong.

Row, row, row.....

Here's our new toy. We use it to cruise around the back bay and canals, enjoying the birds, and visiting some more secluded beaches.

Bad Hair Day

At least I don't have to worry about this sort of thing happening to me.