List of plants seen on the July 18th hike and miscellania

Thought this might be of interest to a few. Sorry that I did not get pictures of everything but that is what field guides are for (and another reason to get out and explore the woods).

Plants seen along the trail:
Key: l=leaves; f=flowers; s= seeds/fruit

Spreading dogbane - f
Shinleaf (pyrola sp) – f
Buttercup – f
Orange hawkweed – f
Yellow hawkweed – f
Birdsfoot trefoil – f
Meadow rue – f
Mertensia (virginia bluebells) – f & s
Pussy toes – f
Elderberry – s
Dewberry – s
Sarsasparilla – s
Thimbleberry – f & s (though not ripe)
Raspberry – s (though not ripe)
Coltsfoot – l
Bindweed sp – f
One-flowered pyrola – f
Bush honeysuckle – s
Wild lily of the valley/Canada mayflower – s
Hairy honeysuckle – f
One-sided pyrola – f
Dogwood – f & s
Three-toothed cinquefoil – f
Fireweed – f
Hazel – s
Daisy – f
Clover sp – f
Red baneberry – s
Rose-twisted stalk – s
Bunchberry – f(rare) & s
Clintonia/bluebead lily – s
Twinflower – f
Large coralroot (orchid) – f & s
Early coralroot – f & s
Common speedwell – f


Birds that gave us a good show:
Baby sapsuckers

Believe it or not a little knitting has been happening around here - slow progress is being made on the celtic braid hat - finished off the second pattern last night while watching the Tour. Now on to some plain knitting while I think about how to finish off the top - patterned or not? How many decrease points? Stuff like that. Have finished a few washcloths in the meantime (housewarming gift for a college student and her new apartment).

Since the Half Voyageur I have been taking it pretty easy on the running front, trying not to make the same mistake as last year. The recovery time has given me an opportunity to get back to donating blood and work in some more mountain bike rides. Some would argue I should stay off the bike as I usually have a good story to tell about a crash ;-> Nothing too terrible, but makes for good stories and some pretty bruises.

Got in a nice run to work this morning (Thursdays are for running to work after all). It was foggy in Duluth with a hint of sun trying to break through. Beautiful morning for a run along Skyline Blvd and down Haines Rd. Foggy days are good for spotting "tweety birds" (Wildknits family term for little birds). Startled a goldfinch into flying, the bright yellow and black markings were a nice contrast to the gray day. I realized during the run that I am extremely fortunate to live and work in a community where I can run to work - and do so with woods surrounding me for most of the commute!

My intent was to run a medium effort at most - after all I had donated blood just 48 hours ago. Midway through the run I glanced down at the heart rate monitor - 180! Well, I had been climbing for a bit and was feeling like the effort was a bit harder than medium. Decided to go with it and see how long I could hang on, knowing that I would be hitting a long downhill within a half mile. By the time I got into the neighborhoods at the bottom of the hill, and close to work, I was having to work hard to maintain the pace. The newly paved streets (overlay of tar) made it easier as I did not have to dodge potholes in addition to trying to run fast. To top it all off, I ran to work with a pack loaded with clothing for the day. I store my scrubs at work, but today I wasn't seeing patients and wanted to wear regular clothes (the better to stay warm in my climate controlled office).

Numbers from the run:
Distance: 3.75 miles
Time: 30.56
Avg HR: 172
Peak HR: 183

Wish I had a good handle on the elevation changes, but that is a hard one to get off of gmaps pedometer (as high tech as I get other than the heart rate monitor). They give you a rough idea of elevation but nothing too specific. Skyline is a couple of hundred feet above the level of my house and work is about 300 feet below that.

Tomorrow the plan is to bike to work, then downtown for some errands and eventually pick up my car. Saturday I will be at the Voyageur Ultra, working the Jay Cooke aid station and getting a run in between shifts (we have the longest day, but it comes with a good size break in the middle).