Another early morning walk (before the 32C heat kicks in and the Blue Jays game starts), but not too early (about 7:30 am). Beautiful and a bit smoky from the fire in Jasper. During our 90+ minute walk, the temperature went from 15C to 21C. 10,000+ steps.
Interesting lunchtime walk today. It was only about 21C because of the smoke, but hella humid. Walked over to Emily Murphy Park and then back up the steep MacKinnon Ravine hill. Other than visiting the lower riverside trail in Emily Murphy for the first time this year, the highlight of the walk was a inadvertent photo of a dragonfly. At one of the lookout points in MacKinnon Ravine, I was taking a shot of some common tansey (as one does) and noticed the dragonfly, or perhaps a damsel fly. Upon closer inspection, I could see that he was smiling! Or at least, it looked like he was smiling. Maybe because we both agreed that we did not miss the sun pounding on our backs.
The trail in Emily Murphy was really wavy, like an intestine.
Also saw this bastard in Emily Murphy. His antenna (or eyebrows?) were on point.
12,010 steps.
It’s been exceptionally smoky (BC forest fires) these last few days, but to put a positive spin on it, if there is one, the temperature has dropped drastically. What a summer. First it’s too damn hot, now it’s too damn smoky. I think it was smokier in 2010 but yesterday (July 18) the air index was 10+ (high risk) so Tom and I did not walk. Neither one of us has any lung issues, but just to be safe. Also, the air smells gross. Coming home from a restaurant (yay!) around 7 pm, it was like a cold autumn evening (about 13C). Definitely not shorts weather, I discovered…
We did walk July 16 and 17 in the mornings, around 6:30 am. Hard to know what to be more distressed about: the smoke or the drought, although they are related. Always good to get out and walk though, and as mentioned, the temperature was about 17C, so it was very pleasant.
Once again, I’m behind on my blogposts, but happily, not my walks. Now to write three posts.
Wednesday evening (July 19), I went over to Tom’s for a walk. The sky was filled with smoke and the sun was an orange orb. You could look right at it without setting your retinas on fire. We walked our usual loop around Glenora. Other than the sun and smoke, nothing remarkable.
The next day, Thursday, I spent my lunch hour walking around a smoke-filled river valley. All week we’ve had a smoke advisory because of the forest fires in BC. It’s not as bad as it was in 2010, but it still makes for some ethereal landscapes.
The hour-long walk was great, although I didn’t bust 10,000 steps. I walked down Saskatchewan Drive to Emily Murphy and then hung a right through the trail along the river. Usually that path is wet and humid but it’s been very dry of late after a wet spring. Even scanning the horizon, the hills and boulevards on the way to Hawrelak are yellow, in contrast with the spruce trees and the green bushes (of various leafage).
Because I am writing this a few days after the fact, I can’t remember what the temperature was, but the heat was tempered by the sheath of smoke. Probably about 22C.
