Saturday, February 18, 2023

Snow, Soup, Flowers & Hiking


Cold yesterday with a little snow cover. We haven't had all that much snow this winter, which is alright with me. It hasn't been all that cold, either. We've had a couple of cold snaps, but overall, it's been fairly mild. However, since it never got above freezing yesterday, I stayed in the house all day except for one trip out to check on the chickens, get the mail and bring in some more firewood.


Since it was cold, good day for making soup. I get a bunch of odd ball veggies from the CSA and soup seems to be the best plan for the root veggies, at least as far as a guy like me with a limited skill set when it comes to cooking. I'm pretty handy with a frying pan for some cowboy/camp cooking, but not much good at anything else that doesn't come out of a can or a box mix.


While my cooking might not be the greatest, I have been able to keep my orchid alive for a decade or so. The little darling's getting ready to flower again. I use to have several orchids and African Violets. I bought some violet seeds and potting soil and was going to try and raise some from seed but I misplaced the seed. I finally located it not too long ago, so I'm going to give it a go pretty soon.

It's supposed to get up into the forties today, so I'm planning on doing some work in the shop. Might get a couple of miles in on the push bike as well. I'm working on the fitness plan for the summer. A few bike rides and a few 5K race walks like my usual summers, and I'd like to tackle the 50 mile challenge before I get any older. If you take the link, you'll get the lowdown on the challenge and what JFK had to say about the importance of vig-ah in your life. Even if you have no interest in walking/hiking 50 miles in 20 hours, it's worth reading what a few of our presidents had to say about the importance of the citizens being in good physical shape. I'll need a buddy to hike along with me to keep the Missus happy. Finding someone else willing to take up the challenge might be tougher than actually doing the hike. Surly's been doing some hiking and my running buddy might be talked into it. Have to put out some feelers.

The grandson's 18th birthday today. Happy Birthday, Malcolm!

3 comments:

Kevin Kaluf said...

I'm intrigued with the 50 mile challenge - we should talk about this. I need to get back walking with you.

Shop Teacher Bob said...

Maybe over breakfast?

Surly said...

I'm down for the 50 in 20. Not counting resting, that's a pace of 2.5mph. I can do a 5k ruck on flat ground at about 3.8mph. Seems doable. We could do it at Stoney Run but it's not flat. Hiking innawoods is much better for one's constitution, however. Tenderfoots could just walk around the field. One lap of the perimeter trail is 3.65mi.with 185'of elevation gain. Not quite 14laps. There are other trails to mix it up with. And toilets, picnic tables. Finding three days in a row might be a little difficult if you're doing a team with workin' folks. My vacation resets March 30.