Rain forecast all day, heavy at times.  

I saw a possible window between noon and two, so I tried Bear Hole for an easy jog.  

Managed well, no serious rain and 3.1-miles on my legs. 

Stopped in Shelbourne Falls on the way to visit my Mom, and took the Shelbourne Falls Fire Tower Trail up the ridge.

This was the nicest and most solid Fire Tower I have ever witnessed.

3.4-miles. 

Enjoyed a Drum Circle with my Mom in the activity center.

On the way back to Connecticut, I stopped along The Mohawk Trail on four occasions to take photographs of Roadside Effigy's.

• Jannell Mary Connors 
• Rhonda Thompson
• Unknown
• Sarah Sessions

Jannell Connors

Rhonda Thompson

Unknown

Sarah Sessions

Granville w/ K2 & Evil for 4.3-miles.  

Up Turtle Effigy Trail, Little Balanced Rock North, to Ladder (Flag) Rock and then down Spring Thaw Falls Trail until we leaned too far north and came out in a backyard on Honeypot Road by mistake (not the first time, I took the opportunity to show the guys the small waterfall). 

Biked East Windsor, Windsor Locks, Suffield and Enfield at a 13 mph pace over 12.5-miles. 

Northwest Park after the thunderstorm, jogged 3.3-miles.

And, on this day...

Tunxis Trail Marathon I - May 23rd, 2006
Hartland, Barkhamsted , Connecticut
.

I completed a Tunxis Marathon in 5:41:50.  

I had Johnny Bandit along for company, as well as Tippi.  

It would be my 34th marathon completed, and Tippi's 8th.

John Bandit rambling through the meadow.

We rambled from Route 20 to Route 219 in East Hartland, Conn, and back for the first 19.5 miles.

  

We finished up with the Route 20 to Pell Road near the Mass border for the final 6.5-miles.

Small Waterfall on the northern section of Tunxis Trail.

Visit my Mom in Williamstown, with a 3.2-mile hike on the Mohawk Trail in Charlemont to break up the drive home. 

Sixth-Day as contractor/consultant.

Also, from the archives....

  Mount Greylock Centennial Marathon

May 21st, 2005 - Adams, Massachusetts

Fairly large group (about a dozen or so) completed a "do-it-yourself" Greylock Marathon, aka Old Goat 50th Birthday Bash & Annual Celibacy Run.

Our time was 6:47:02.  This is a very difficult course, with 5 lengthy climbs.  Five out of the twelve starters completed the full 26.2-miles.

This was my 28th marathon completed, and Tippi's second.

What Played in Ed's Head -- 

Music listened to for the time-period April 1st through April 30th, 2024:

Fifth-Day as a contractor / consultant. 

Nice Visit with Mom early mid-day.

To break up the ride home, I took a hike on the Totem Trail (which I haven't been on since the late 1990's) in Mohawk Trail State Forest for 2.7-miles.

Along the way, I captured photos of a few interesting sites along my 2-hour journey back home.

Short-Shift at work as contractor assistance (SCADA).

Afternoon hike at Richardson Brook Wildlife Sanctuary, a Mass Audubon site in Tolland, MA.

Completed 2.7-miles on a figure-eight loop.

Evening had DL and I attending the Springfield Symphony's "Magic and Glory".

• Tania Miller, Conductor
• Rachel Barton Pine, Violin

• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart   The Magic Flute Overture
• Jean Sibelius   Violin Concerto in D minor
• Dmitri Shostakovich   Symphony No. 5

Another planned visit with my mother in Williamstown.  Another rewarding day.

On the way back to Connecticut, I stopped at the site of the old Eastern Summit Gift Shop to snap a photograph of the view.

Stopped in Charlemont to walk a bit along an old forest path above the railroad tracks and the Deerfield River for 2.7-miles.

"Non Black Lizard / Vintage Crime #16 for 2024...

"Blood of Elves (The Witcher Book 3 / The Witcher Saga Novels Book 1)" by Andrzej Sapkowski in 1994 (2009 English).

Hard Rain for most of the day, stuck around indoors for much of it.  Knocked out a bundle of phone calls that are necessary due to my retirement on May 3rd.

Took a walk around town late afternoon just to stretch the legs a bit.

Having been born in 1962, and liking and listening to music from the early sixties onward, I thought it might be fun to attempt a listing of my favorite albums each year since birth.

The initial post for this series of ideas began on December 26th, 2023.  You can look it up....

This time, I present my favorite "Rock" albums of 1967...  Part 3

Albums released 1967

21. Leonard Cohen                Songs of Leonard Cohen

22. The Rolling Stones                Their Satanic Majesties Request

23. Traffic                Mr. Fantasy

24. The Who                        The Who Sell Out

25. The Incredible String Band        The 5000 Spirits (or the Layers of the Onion)

26. Tim Buckley                Goodbye and Hello

27. Eric Burdon & The Animals        Winds of Change

28. Fifty Foot Hose                Cauldron – Fifty Foot Hose

29. John Fahey                Days Have Gone By

30. Big Brother and the Holding Company        Big Brother and the Holding Company

Honorable Mentions (31 thru 99) Coming Soon!

Jazz Albums released 1967 (coming soon)

Also:  Fourth Day on Contractor / Consultant Status.  I am hopeful that I am being helpful.

In the afternoon, DL and I had to drive to East Hartford for the Soc Sec Medicare Office, and then West Hartford to see our Financial Group.

On the drive to Williamstown to visit my Mom, I stopped off on Tower Road in Charlemont (just east of the Hail to the Sunrise Monument) to explore a snowmobile path I have been thinking of for the better part of two decades.

It was a bit grown in at spots, but it was followable and ended on South Chickley Road in Hawley.

Walked the road back to the car, for 2.7-miles.

Visit with my Mom went well, she enjoyed a vanilla milkshake and we had some laughs.

I had to ask my Mom which home we lived in on Taft Street, where I spent the first 3 of 4 years of my life.  She recalled "#22".

On the way back to CT, I stopped on Route 2 (the Mohawk Trail) to walk a path above the railroad crossing and into the south end of Hawks Mountain I believe.  Just stretched the legs a little, getting in another 3/10's to give me 3-miles for the day.

And, from the Marathon Archives...

Granville - Kingdom Marathon - May 14th, 2020
Granville State Forest & Tunxis State Forest

With very little thought I decided to tackle the Granville State Forest to Satan's Kingdom Marathon today.  DL was willing to shuttle my car to the finish at Satan's Kingdom, and then drive me to the start at Granville State Forest along the Hubbard River.

I felt really good for the first twenty-miles, and pretty good from that point to the finish.  I power-hiked the ups from the Route 219 crossing at 19-miles, and jogged all the flats and  downhill.

Beautiful day, temperatures ranged from the fifties to start (about 9:10 a.m.) and just about seventy toward the end at 3:00 p.m.

The run measured out on the gps at 25.78-miles, and I completed the effort in 5:54 moving time, and 6:04 total time (a few stops to refuel water drops and photos).  This was my 59th completed marathon all-time.

The total climb according to Google Earth was 4702', with a net descent of 5389'.  The majority of the elevation loss was in the first 2 and last 2 miles.

Elevation Profile

Hubbard River

Black Bear Crossing - Valley Brook

Tunxis State Forest

Roberts Brook

Indian Council Caves Summit

Lake McDonough

Lake McDonough

Sign in Log at the 1st Ratlum Peak

Old Camp Pond, a favorite of Sam & Tippi

"High Points" along trails during April 2024... 

Some Progress Climbing...

• Bryant Mountain (Berkshire Snow Basin Ski Area), Cummington, MA
• Metacomet Ridge, Cowles Park, East Granby, CT
• "El Castillo", Xunantunich, Belize City, Belize

Third day as a contractor /consultant.