Just back from a brisk, sunny, chilly walk. The temperature when I got up this morning was 26F --- it's well above freezing now, but was still pretty cold when Dora and I went out to walk for an hour and a quarter (3.46 miles, all told). My route for the last couple of days has been simply to walk the greenway from where it crosses my street down to one end, then turn and go all the way to the other end, and then retrace my steps back to my street. Today we also added a circuit of the soccer field at one end, because I wasn't quite finished with my rosary, and I wanted to finish before hitting the ladies' room, then turning back.
The playing field is bounded by this very weedy creekbed, which feeds into a larger, more distinct creek.
Here, Dora helps me to examine some bluets in the grass, midway through a Hail Mary.
We came around by the bigger creek, though I couldn't get a good shot of it, just the bridge over it.
This is a very creek-threaded landscape, with little waterways everywhere. They're more or less full, depending on the weather and the season, but they're there, all over the place, woven beneath the town and emerging at intervals from under roads or neighborhoods.
Now Dora's having some downtime in her crate, and I'm eating a quesadilla and gearing myself up to work.
Wearing today:
So far,
Sierra, with 5 wearings as of today, is winning handily as my most-worn dress in March. I suppose this is because a) she handles these temperature fluctuations, b) she goes with everything, and c) she's comfortable and cozy and easy to wear. I've combined her today with my thrifted navy Patagonia merino base-layer tee (really an under-utilized item in my closet this year, so I'm glad to be getting some wear in); those old purple synthetic leggings without which apparently I cannot Lent; wool socks, and Tari boots, which made a nice change, walking today, from my hiking boots. It's good to have these alternatives, more and less support, more and less barefoot feel. Today the lighter weight on my feet was pleasant. I do love these boots, anyway, so soft and so cute.
In the --- well, really, the last thing I want is for my own clothes to be in a competition with each other, but since I'm tracking wearings, the field so far is:
1. Sierra: 5 wears
2. Camellia: 3 wears
3. And the rest: Audrey, Fiona, Maggie, and Willow, all with 2 wears
PS: Yes, I realize that this adds up to 16 wearings total, and it's only the Ides of March. Last Saturday, I wore one dress during the day and another to go out to dinner, so that accounts for the discrepancy.
But it's only the Ides of March, so we could have a surprise upset (not that I have any control over these outcomes or anything).
LATER:
Making some straight redbud wine while I have the blossoms.
Currently waiting for the redbud tea/sugar solution to cool, so that I can stir in yeast.
The previous batch --- with violets, dandelion, and redbud --- looks very pink, and smells very alcoholic. Still a few days to go before I bottle it, and I've got to get some more balloons, because I can't find the box I bought last year. Really into the idea of making lots of wines to drink in 2025.
LATE-NIGHT UPDATE:
Total pilgrimage miles today: 5.1
Prayed a rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet, meditated on various psalm verses, went mentally over all my prayer intentions as I walked. If you've got a prayer intention I can take with me for the remainder of the journey, hit me with it. I seem to be sticking to this discipline.
