Joyous Run...

Yep, 'Joyous Run' is the only way I can describe my run yesterday. It felt like FOREVER since I'd been out running - amazing what a 3 day retreat will do to you. The retreat was brilliance, but my body needed to get out and move, move, move!

I decided I'd run for about an hour and see how my hip felt. With all the sitting I had done (on a meditation bench) my low back and butt were a bit cranky. I didn't feel them when I was running though, which was awesome.

I decided to run down to the river pathway and just go as far as 30 minutes would take me, then turn around.

The weather lately has not been very spring like - or perhaps it has for this part of the world. The temperatures have dropped and we've had wee flakes of snow falling. Not enough to stick on the ground - thankfully!

As I ran along the portion of path that followed the river I heard the geese that have set up camp on a little island start to make some noise. I kind of wondered if it was my presence that was getting their feathers in a ruffle. I was far enough away that I didn't think this was the case, but hey, it's nesting season and who knows how big their 'personal space' is.

When I could finally see who was making all the noise, I noticed there were four geese. Likely two mama geese and two papa geese. They were making such a racket that I decided I had to stop and see what in nature was going on! (Yes, I did stop my timer...)

I have a feeling although it would appear all the geese were sharing the island, the one pair got a wee bit too close to the others nesting area. Holy hannah can those geese twist and shout up a storm. Not only were they swooping at each other, and diving into the water, they were also whipping their little heads around. It was an amazing site because their necks are so long and they were all in an 'S' shape and then 'snap!' they'd whip their head and squawk.

I'm not sure what all this accomplished because the two 'invading' geese only went a little ways further down the island and all the commotion stopped. The one 'offended' couple was hilarious though cause they kept making these wee noises and sipping on the water. I could almost picture the conversation 'Well the nerve of them! How dare they fly into OUR nesting area. Afterall, we were here first. ' 'Now, now Alice, don't get your feathers in a knot. I showed him what it was all about. They won't be coming around here again!' 'Oh Ralph, you are my hero. You will make a fine father.'

This little song and dance only took about 5 minutes, but it was neat to watch nature. From there I ran over the river and along the other side of the river. This is where I came across two more geese. Did I mention it was nesting season??

To be honest I was a bit intimidated. I wasn't sure just how close to the path they may have nested and I didn't want to upset them. Mostly because I didn't want to be goose food. Those suckers can be nasty with their head whipping, hissing and wingspan of a prehistoric bird that will knock you flat on your cushy but so that they can then peck your eyes out! Okay, perhaps that was a bit melodramatic, but still...they can hiss and bite and this gal was not going to take that chance. So basically I tiptoed as I ran past and they seemed ok with that.

The rest of the run was pretty quiet. I just enjoyed being outside even if it was colder than I would have wished. I can feel I'm getting stronger running up 'the bonus hill' but my heart rate is still higher than I'd like. I was happy that my butt and hip were happy though!

Oh, and in other joyous news...

On Sunday after my retreat I met my friends Trudy and Spring to go for a walk. It was great seeing both of them and we had a great time looking for signs of spring along the riverfront. At one point we stopped at a little eddy in the river. There were a bunch of rocks there so while the girls chatted I proceeded to practice my rock skipping technique. I managed to get three skips but that was it. I was just about to go back up to the path when I had the thought 'Hmm, I wonder if I'll ever find a heart stone?' I had heard of them and seen them, but have never found one.

I then looked down by my feet and this is what I found....

Apparantly someone was wanting me to know they heart me.

Peace out my beautiful friends.