"High Points" along the trails I've visited in March 2020.

• Pine Mountain, Tunxis Trail, Barkhamsted, CT
• Indian Council Caves, Tunxis Trail, Barkhamsted, CT
• East Barndoor Hills, McLean Reservation, Granby, CT
• Hill 872', Whitiker Woods, Somers, CT
• Gulf Brook Hill, Shenipsit State Forest, Somers, CT

Music 2020...

Effort #13,  "Knocking on Heaven's Door"...  recorded as part of the Dark Heart Duo's "End of Chemo" e.p. sessions, from August 2nd, 2019.  "S" once again on vocals.

3-mile run along Main Street in a light rain, early evening.

Run into work, 5.5-miles, and work on FEMA Mitigation Grant.

Great day weather-wise, longish day at work.  Ran home, 5.5-miles.

Late run in McLean (4:45 - 6:00 p.m.), fifty or so degrees and sunny.  Managed a comfortable pace of 5 mph over 6-miles.

5.5-miles into work mid-day.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #14 for 2020...  "The Grifters", a Jim Thompson classic that was made into a 1990 movie.  The novel was published in 1963.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

Current Edition Cover

RIP Jim Thomson

DVD Cover Image of 1990 Film

Stars of the Film

Old Edition Cover Art

Another Old Version

Music 2020...

Effort #12,  "Zombie (a capella)"...  recorded as part of the Dark Heart Duo's "End of Chemo" e.p. sessions, from August 2nd, 2019.  This was Evil's friend "S" on vocals.

Sunny and right around 40 degrees, shorts and long sleeve tee weather.  Rambled through McLean Game Refuge for 8.6-miles.

Ran into work today, to pick up my car, 5.5-miles.

Ran home from work today, 5.5-miles.

And...   Corona 19 Virus is presenting changes for us all.  I don't comment on "work" often, but as a wastewater operator, we are most likely (by accounts from CDC & WHO) being exposed a bit more than the average citizen to the virus.  

Last week, as we were informed by our governing body the WEF (Water Environment Federation) of the folliwng:

"...it was confirmed that the virus studies investigating persistence of coronavirus surrogates and SARS in wastewater highlight that in the absence of disinfection, the virus can survive in wastewater from hours to days."

Comparison chart between Coronavirus and SARS:

Etiology:                RNA virus from Coronaviridae family for Cononavirus and SARS

Source:                 Zoonotic                

Transmission:         Direct contact w/ infected person respiratory droplets.

Incubation period:   2 to 14 days for both.

Airborne:             Cononavirus:  Unknown SARS:  Yes

Detected in feces:   Cononavirus:  Yes SARS:  Yes

In wastewater:         Cononavirus:  Likely SARS:  Yes

We are going to do our best to be available over the next months.  We are taking precautions and splitting our staff up to minimize contact with each other.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #13 for 2020...  "The Way Some People Die", book three of Ross MacDonald's Archer series, published in 1951.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

 Original Edition

3-mile run along Main Street just prior to dark.

Music 2020...

Effort #11,  "Johnny Reb"...  recorded just last year in the southeast (Georgia or Alabama), and brought to us from my old Road Warrior's for Christ partner, the Rev King.

3-miles on Main Street just prior to dark.

11.6-mile run in Tunxis State Forest with K2.

View east off Pine Mountain

View upstream at Roaring Brook crossing

View downstream at Roaring Brook crossing

View at bottom of Indian Council Caves

View at half-way up the climb of Indian Council Caves

Almost at the top looking down from Indian Council Caves

View at top of Indian Council Caves

Deerfield with DL in the morning, then a 5.2-mile run around the Mather Loop.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #12 for 2020...  "The Terrorists", the last book in the Martin Beck masterpieces by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, this time from 1976.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime Edition Cover

Original Edition

3-mile run on Main Street just before dark.

Music 2020...

Effort #10,  "Conclusion"...  the eight and final piece from the Dark Heart Duo's Sweating Out Demons Sessions of  July 26th, 2019...

Back to McLean for another attempt at running harder than usual.  Managed 3.5-miles in 36:56.

After ridding part of my basement of old insulation early-on, I felt like attempting to run somewhat hard.  I went to the old "speed-work" route at McLean, 3.3-miles, with a decent climb in the first half-mile.

My splits are as follows:

Segment 1 @ Large Oak                 10:53 / 10:53

Segment 2 @ Side-Trail                   10:40 / 21:33

Segment 3 @ Three-Way                  7:48 / 29:21

Segment 4 @ Finish                          2:42 / 32:03

Very satisfied for the effort (9:43 pace per mile) after a physical morning doing chores, on a hilly trail route.

Daylight Savings Time began late last night / early this morning.  K2 and I ran at Tunxis from Route 219 for a couple hours, give or take, totalling 7.1-miles.

5.5-miles into work to retrieve my car.

Ran home from work after a slightly longer (time-wise) than normal Friday, 5.5-miles.

Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #11 for 2020...  Wild at Heart #4 "Sultan's of Africa", written in 1991 by Barry Gifford.

Cover Image

Still from David Lynch's "Wild at Heart" film

3-miles on Main Street south just before dark.

Music 2020...

Effort #9,  "The Centre Cannot Hold"...  the seventh performance from the Dark Heart Duo's Sweating Out Demons Sessions of  July 26th, 2019...

3-miles on Main Street just before dark.

Out to Whitiker Woods to connect with Soapstone Mountain with Wuzzam. 

There has been some extensive bridge work completed on the connector, and the single-track has been widened to make room for the equipment getting the wood in for the bridges.  A benefit of this is the briers which infringed on this route most of the year shouldn't be an issue any longer (hopefully).

8.3-miles, good work for us.

Stonewall at top of Whitiker - Soapstone Connector @ "Twin Black Oaks"

Wuzzam topping out at the Stonewall on the Connector

Frozen vernal pool on the Shenipsit Trail

Stonewall leading to Hill 621' in Whitiker Woods