Fuzzy math, fuzzier bunnies

[christopher575]

First thing's first, I have a correction. When I said earlier that I was changing five breakfasts and four lunches a week to plant-based/mostly whole foods recipes, I said that was 33% of the weekly meals. And I was a little disappointed because that number's a little low. But it's also wrong! There aren't 27 meals a week, there are 21. So it's more like 43%. That means I get to call it "almost half" instead of "just a third."



Since I didn't go there yesterday, I headed over to Langus Riverfront Park and Spencer Island today. The entire area's pretty lovely. Even the parking area has a nice view.



This park is probably the only one I've been to that's close to a hunting area. Thankfully I've never been shot or even heard any bangs.



I used to walk a lot near UW's popular areas for rowing. This park's got a facility for it as well.




If you zoom in on that second picture, you can see a couple of people rowing on their own. I've always wondered if it's nerve wracking to row without a coxswain. Do they wear little rear view mirrors? I don't think I've seen anyone with one.



This picnic spot cracks me up. It's about halfway through the loop trail, so either way you walk, it's almost two miles. Does anyone ever bring in a basket? The only time I've seen anyone at that table, it was a couple laying down on it, staring at the sky.

I was cursing the sun most of the time, but at least I managed to get a couple of cool shadow pictures.




I tried something a little different today.


4.68 miles in 1:33, 10,072 steps

Every other time I've gone there, I went clockwise around the Spencer Island portion on the right. A section of it was very overgrown last time I was there. In my memory, it was almost immediately below that third mile marker on the map, and wasn't very long. The idea going the other way was to walk through a bigger section before encountering it, so I'd see more before I turned back, if I did. It turns out, it's bigger than I remembered and it's big enough that it takes up almost a third of the island side of the path.



You'd encounter it just as soon either way. I was stubborn and walked through anyway, got pretty wet, and even fell down when I slipped on some wet grass. That'll teach me to not listen to me.

The area's ideal for bird watching, and there are even some boardwalks which lead to spots to do it. I'm sure there's a name for these, but I can't think of it right now.



I had a couple of cool bird encounters. Even over my music, I heard that sound we all associate with Seahawks football being discussed on the news, the keeYAWWWWW of an osprey. As I looked up, a smaller bird was chasing one away from a tree and even bopped it on the butt in mid-air. Luckily they were being very chatty from the next tree over and I was able to get a quick Vine of their awesome calls.

A bit later, as I crossed a bridge, a big flock of, well, some cute little birds that was flying past broke formation, gathered all around me, flew in little circles, and took off. I felt like Snow White. They were probably trying to threaten me for invading their territory or something, but it was just cute.

Speaking of wildlife, I forgot to mention yesterday that I saw a dead mole for the first time on my walk. And then I saw another. That was weird. I don't know whether they poison the moles out there, and I also feel like even if they do, most poisoned moles probably die underground. Strange. Today was much cuter. I saw lots of bunnies and they got a lot closer to me than most usually do.

There are a few unusual things about this area. Everett's sewage treatment plant is there, and while I've never really smelled it before, it was pretty gross today. Almost like being in Tacoma! ;) The main thing I don't like is that it's only accessible by car. There's just no way to get there other than the highway, and I'm not even sure it could be done by bike. Even after you get off the highway, a very long stretch of the road leading there has no shoulder at all. I personally would never walk all the way there, but I still always feel like every road should have a shoulder and one should be able to. My feet are also sore because that long straight part of my route toward the end is actually a dirt and gravel road, and the size and shape of the rocks they picked is just unpleasant to walk on. That's kind of funny because the rest of the path on that side of the river is a paved walking and bike path. Not sure why they didn't just finish the loop.

Comments

[dawnzerly.livejournal.com]

It's not that hard to row without a coxswain. In fact, I've never rowed with a cox. You slowly learn how to go straight, combined with knowing the water you're rowing on, it's really easy. You shoulder check of course, but it's not as difficult as you might think.