What I Want

I finished a class for my teacher’s certification Friday, I got caught up on another, and my manuscript for my dissertation is out to the coauthors for feedback.

Which means, I had Saturday and Sunday to do what I wanted! Huzzah!

So what does a gal who is trying to live daringly do on days like this?

First, honestly, I got caught up on some sleep. Not going to lie about that… Naps galore were enjoyed.

Aside from that that, Saturday I took my lovely English bulldog to get her nails clipped at Health Mutt. They offer the rate of $10 every Saturday for this normal pet maintenance, so it’s a really good deal and the employees are all very nice. That’s important, because nail trim day is a bit stressful for Willow. For Willow, 1) she doesn’t like people messing with her paws and 2) she’s not really good around other dogs. On nail clip day she has to deal both with someone messing with her paws and other dogs milling about the store while we wait. So I’m very thankful the employees are patient with her.

Later on Saturday I decided to hike in Weedon Island Preserve and give my new camera a good try. Weedon Island has become a favorite in the Tampa Bay area for me. For the past two years I’ve run an 8k through the preserve, where the proceeds go towards protecting the gopher tortoises on site. I also go for the occasional hike or run. It’s a peaceful place, and it takes you through a range of Florida natural habitats: scrub areas in the uplands down to mangrove marshes.

I saw a gopher tortoise walking along the road as I drove into the park!

There are always many different birds.

I even caught a glimpse of a spider, bigger than the moon, eating a wasp.

You can’t forget the plants!

On the way out of the park, I happened upon this little guy walking about. I worry that he might be sick, since his tail looked funky, he didn’t seem too afraid of me, and he was out when the sun was so high (about an hour before sunset though). Still, I was happy to see him, and I wished him well.

After leaving Weedon Island I continued to downtown St. Pete. I had the nice realization while I was driving that this time next year, I’ll be living down there. Yay!

I took myself out for dinner at Red Mesa Cantina, and then for a nice walk along the water. I stopped at the Ale and the Witch for a wonderful raspberry cider and live music. Flat Land was playing, a band out of Gainesville. I only stayed for a few songs, but I really liked them. Fae Nageon De Lestang’s vocals were strong, and she rocked on the violin. The rest of the band was great too, with each member playing their instruments masterfully. They did a cool rendition of Talking Heads “Burning Down the House.”

This morning I went and shot my bow for the first time since Spring Break (back in March). I was definitely rusty, but I started getting my muscle memory back at 10 yards. My highest score was a 74 out of 5 rounds (10 arrows per round). Fifteen yards was rustier, but I managed a high score of 60 out of 5 rounds. I won’t mention how I shot at 20 yards… Overall I shot 200 arrows! It was nice to get out again.

The rest of today … Mostly napping. And writing this blog post.

It’s been a good weekend. I’m a little sore from all of the walking and archery, but it felt really good to be active this weekend.

How is your summer going?