Road-2-Hope Half Marathon - November 6, 2016

Waiting for the race to start.

Road Rebel Running Group  posing.

Start line; I always start near the back of the pack.

About 8 minutes into the run and the group is already spread way apart!

We are on the way down the Red Hill Expressway. One can see the edge of Lake Ontario far ahead to the left.

We are almost at the bottom of the Niagara escarpment that runs through the city of Hamilton.

We have a kilometre or so of gravel bike path before lake front trail.

The bridge ahead takes bikes, pedestrians, and runners across at least 8 lanes of traffic.

The last few kilometres are along the Lakefront Trail beside Lake Ontario.

Finally I cross the finish line with my friend Jang Panag only a step behind.

Took a lot of time for the results to be posted but I was 2nd in my age group.

I reviewed two medals; one as a half marathon finisher and one for a 2nd age-group place. I also got a coffee mug.

One Flower and Some Leaves

            This Henbit was growing and blooming as a "weed" in a RBG Rose Garden plot yesterday. It's a nice little November flower.

         




             These Goldenrod leaves caught my eye this morning as I walked the dog.

            These leaves were on a Black Raspberry cane.

RBG Friday

            Too bad thinking about blogging does not make a blog. 

            The day started nicely with our local Great Horned Owl singing to the dog and I at 5:30 long before the 8:01 sunrise this morning. 

             I did my usual morning work at the Royal Botanical Gardens Herbarium then went down into the Hendrie Valley to look for wild flowers still in bloom. Between the Hendrie Valley and the edges of the plots in the Rose Garden I found twenty-four wild flowers in bloom. The brightest colours, however, belonged to the tree leaves and their reflections in the Hendrie Valley ponds.

Looking Up

            Going to post some looking up photos, but first . . .

            Hopefully I got the last tick of the season. I found one on my side last Friday evening that had been there for a while. Sigh! I suspect that I got it at Rock Chapel as I was there earlier in the day in the tall grasses. I have never had one on me so late in the season.

           Spring Peepers and American Robins are still making noises in the morning around our fields and Monday morning I saw a Pileated Woodpecker in the Walnut Tree closest to our house.

            The usual three deer were in our west paddock this morning so a bit closer to the house than usual.

            And finally, the "looking up" photos that I said would be here:

Sundogs from the road east of our  property. 

They stayed in the sky for a good hour.

Looking up at Milkweed Pods and seeds.

Yesterday Morning's Frost Effects