DIRT!!!

Weather is good and heard the trails are open. So, today I headed to the Reforestation Camp near Green Bay. Yesterday I picked up a trail map - some 10+ miles of singletrack/doubletrack.
Now, it has been over 3 weeks since I have been able to ride some dirt. Getting very frustrated and bad case of withdrawals.
Had a GREAT ride today. The trail difficulty level is just right for me. As I started out, I found some sections challenging.
Later during the ride, I found myself riding better, even anticipating the trail. My speed came up. Feeling good, considering I had never ridden the trail.
The early section of the trail is more difficult. Thinking of riding the trail again tomorrow - with all that I have learned about the trail today.
I need to comment about the trail system signage - its great. I did not get lost once. There were signs for the singletrack loop with direction arrow. When trails converge, there were mini kiosks on posts with trail maps. Today, I gave the trail an "A". Damned, it was great to be in the woods, on dirt!

A Self-imposed Elizabeth Goudge Reading Challenge

One of my favorite authors is Elizabeth Goudge, and the book of hers that I love most is The Dean's Watch. I've decided to read and collect all of her novels this year. I have six already with eleven more to buy. I'm going to try and read them all this year even though I've read some before.

I found this quote about her somewhere on the internet. It's a good description of Goudge's books. ‘There is a sort of ‘light’ in all of Elizabeth Goudge’s books, it’s like the light of a sunny day just before the sun has properly risen. A light that catches on dew drops on the roses or icicles hanging from the gutters; a light that shines into people’s lives, a light that can shine into the dark places of the reader’s life’.

There's an Elizabeth Goudge Society which provided the following.

Here is the complete list of Elizabeth Goudge books.

City of Bells series



· A City of Bells (1936)

· Towers in the Mist (1938)

· The Dean's Watch (1960)

· Three Cities of Bells (omnibus) (1965)

Eliots of Damerosehay series

· The Bird in the Tree (1940)

· The Herb of Grace (1948) aka Pilgrim's Inn (1948 )

· The Heart of the Family (1953)

· The Eliots of Damerosehay (omnibus) (1957)

Novels

· Island Magic (1934)

· The Middle Window (1935)

· The Castle on the Hill (1941)

· Green Dolphin Country (1944) aka Green Dolphin Street (USA title)

· Gentian Hill (1949)

· The Rosemary Tree (1956)

· The White Witch (1958)

· The Scent of Water (1963)

· The Child From the Sea (1970)

Children's books

· Sister of the Angels: A Christmas Story (1939)

· Smokey House (1940)

· The Well of the Star (1941)

· Henrietta's House (1942) aka The Blue Hills

· The Little White Horse (1946)

· Make-Believe (1949)

· The Valley of Song (1951)

· Linnets and Valerians (1964) aka The Runaways

· I Saw Three Ships (1969)

Collections

· The Fairies' Baby: And Other Stories (1919)

· A Pedlar's Pack: And Other Stories (1937)

· Three Plays: Suomi, The Brontës of Haworth, Fanny Burney (1939)

· The Golden Skylark: And Other Stories (1941)

· The Ikon on the Wall: And Other Stories (1943)

· The Elizabeth Goudge Reader (1946)

· Songs and Verses (1947)

· At the Sign of the Dolphin (1947)

· The Reward of Faith: And Other Stories (1950)

· White Wings: Collected Short Stories (1952)

· The Ten Gifts: An Elizabeth Goudge Anthology (1965)

· A Christmas Book: An Anthology of Christmas Stories (1967)

· The Lost Angel: Stories (1971)

· Hampshire Trilogy (omnibus) (1976)

· Pattern of People: An Elizabeth Goudge Anthology (1978)

Non fiction

· God So Loved the World: The Story of Jesus (1951)

· Saint Francis of Assisi (1959) aka My God and My All: The Life of St. Francis of Assisi

· A Diary of Prayer (1966)

· The Joy of the Snow: An Autobiography (1974)

Anthologies edited by Elizabeth Goudge

· A Book of Comfort: An Anthology (1964)

· A Book of Peace: An Anthology (1967)

· A Book of Faith: An Anthology (1976)

Anthologies containing stories by Elizabeth Goudge

· Dancing with the Dark (1997)

Short stories

· ESP (1974)

I know I have her biography, The Joy of Snow, somewhere in the house. I'll search for it tonight until it's found. It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Return of the prodigal

I have returned from New Zealand after an amazing tour of the North Island. I thought I had seen everything on the South Island, but the North managed to produce vistas and scenery that was so different that it was difficult to believe I had returned to the same country. Those who haven't been to New Zealand really should make a point of visiting, as it is truly an amazing country. I took a lot of pictures, so it will probably take a while to get them all uploaded (I still haven't finished writing the narrative).
In the meantime, I have returned to insufferable heat, but at least my usual riding patch is still looking green after some apparently fierce thunderstorms while I was away. One of the things about being away for a while is that I always come home and want to catch up on my local rides, having done none of them for a few weeks (months in some cases). My body also craves endorphins on a regular basis, having just cycled over 1,800km in three weeks. Keeping those under control wasn't helped by receiving the Audax calendar for the upcoming year recently. I also have plenty of places to explore in the Mt Jerusalem National Park to the south.
Too much riding to do and too little time.

Creative Outsourcing

Hmm, there's something different about the office this morning...

I think they've brought in some outside contractors.

"Umm, your drawings may be a little late...

... we kind of had an incident."

I guess he heard there would be no bonus this Christmas.
-----
This happened at an office in Birmingham today. Raccoons really did pee on the drawings and poop all over the desks. Animal control wouldn't come, since the racoons were indoors. Did you know that private critter control starts at about $450 per hour?!
(I didn't take these photos - Hubby's co-workers sent them to him.)

More great weather and new routes

Nice new route on Ben Nevis, climbed with Helen last week. Once again I was feeling a bit jaded after cleaning new boulder problems the day before, so it was nice to give the legs a workout instead. My ankle seemed to handle the strenuous bridging ok. However, there were some positions it just didn’t like, so I ended up using the old knees a fair bit!

Puter Issues

The power went out last night for a few hours and yesterday, even before that, 'puter was so slow that I couldn't even get into Sam's blog. Since there are apparently no server or internet issues around here, I'm taking this bozo piece of %#(*%@ electronics into the 'puter doc (where they will tell me I have too many photos stored in Picasa no doubt!!!) Let's see if I can publish this. Sorries for missing you for now and for those who commented yesterday, I actually argued in favor of Sammie being a part of the CERT, so agree with y'all!Hugs xoxox

Capital City Challenge

Saturday was race day at Branched Oak SRA. It was a cool, sunny morning (in the 50s when I arrived). Word was that the trail condition was prime.
My photos have been posted and available for order at http://win-photo.photoreflect.com