Beckett Walkers Walk

            I had an interesting walk with Fleur-Ange and the Brantford Beckett Walkers Group today. The group is made up of people between 60 something and 80 something, I think. Today they walked on the TH&B rail trail starting in Scotland. We all started at the same place and walked 45 minutes, or less, then turned and walked back to the start. People walked at their own speed, usually found someone else to walk with, and everyone got back at about the same time. Neat idea, I thought. Fleur-Ange & I walked just over 8k.

            You can see the route on the map below. We started at the parking lot on Oakland Road and walked north. We went over the Elliott Road, over the Maple Grove Road and turned around at the Fairchild Cemetery just south of the Marr Drive to walk back.

            

            Below you can see the trail from near the Fairchild Cemetery just as Fleur-Ange and I started back. Yes, all the trail in that area was paved. 

            Here is Fleur-Ange posing partially inside part of a machine that was used to grade gravel. Behind her and the machine part is a lake in what was once a large gravel pit. On the map above it is called  Willow Lake. It is currently surrounded by many, many camper trailers for summer "camping".

            Below is one of the 15 wild flowers that we found in bloom along side the trail today. This one is Bladder Campion / Silène Enflé / (Silene vulgaris).

            Other plants we found in bloom include the following:

New England Aster
Bouncing Bet, aka Soapwort
Butter and Eggs
White Campion
White Sweet Clover
Daisy Fleabane
Tall Goldenrod
Horseweed
Common Mullein
Queen Anne's Lace
Common Sow Thistle
Spiny-leaved Sow Thistle
Tansy
Common Yarrow

November 4th Marathon

            I do not know why I decided to try to run another marathon. I ran my last one nine years ago when I was 66 and have since found that even 30 k races were challenging. For whatever reason, I decided that this year, when I was 75, that I would run another and I would run at a slow, measured pace with lots of walking involved. Since I was planning to go slow, several other people in the running club said that they would go with me; however, by the time I started training at the end of June almost all of them had reasons why they could not run. I took on the challenge anyway.

            By mid October I was doing my short, i.e. 6k, runs on a treadmill in the gym. That kept me out of the October rains and meant that I could run during the day as I do not drive after dark anymore if I can avoid it. Below is a photo of my last run last Wednesday.

            The Road-to-Hope Marathon run was yesterday, November 4th, 2018. I have run the Run-to-Hope races since they began 11 years ago. So up to yesterday I had done one full marathon and nine half-marathons. Below is a photo of this years start of the half-marathon.

            I have found, in the past, that if I am running in a race anyone that passes me seems to pull part of my energy away leaving me with less than I had before. On the other hand, if I can pass someone else, it gives me a bit of a boost. Therefore I always start in the back part of the pack. Given my age and the marathon distance that I wanted to cover I decided to start at the very back of the group on this run. As it turned out, I was not able to be the very last but I certainly was within the last 20 and finding it difficult to hold back even though I knew it was best. I was running 1 minute then walking 30 seconds, then running 1 minute . . . and hoped to do that for most of the race. Walking after only one minute at the beginning of the race was very difficult for me as I wanted to move. OK, I did cheat a bit and only walked 20 seconds a few times at the beginning. Nevertheless, I was soon well back of the main group as expected. The photo below is about 3 k from the beginning. I could still see the main group even though the leaders were well out of sight.

            By the end of 6 k, I could only see 4 or 5 people ahead of me as the main group had disappeared into the distance. I did not then, or ever, look behind me. By 10 k there was only 3 people in sight. I had not passed anyone but had been passed by 2 people. By 23 k I could only see 1 or sometimes 2 people ahead of me. I had not seen the Red Hill Expressway  looking so deserted. In the photo below I could see one runner and three of the support medics that were cruising back and fourth on bicycles.

            At about the 25 k mark, Ian Slater, one of the running club members who had helped me train during the summer, suddenly appeared. He had parked at the finish line and found his way by side streets to the the 25 k mark. (I later thought it was at the 20 k mark but I guess I was already not thinking too clearly. That does happen when I run long distances.) Anyway, Ian joined me and ran with me for the last 17 km. That gave him a run of around 25 k by the time he ran to meet me and then came back the official route. He took the photo below somewhere around 35 k I think.

            I was surprised again at about the 30 k mark when Donna Quick and Leslee Peart-Mcalister, two more people from the run club, joined me to support my run. I think it was Donna that gave me a couple of Tums to help settle my stomach as by then I was having difficulty taking in any of my food supplies without getting stomach problems. They ran 2 or 3 k with me then dropped off to wait for me to finish a loop by the lake and then joined me again for the last several k to get me to the end. In the photo below, you can see the waves coming in as the 22 k winds were blowing the 6 degree air over the race course. At this point, the people waiting to see me come in were getting colder than I.

            Fleur-Ange Lamothe, my long-suffering partner, who drove me to the beginning of the race and then waited around for well over five hours for me to show up again on the course was waiting for me at the end as well as some other members of the run club. I cannot believe how much support I had in doing this run!

            Donna Quick checked her iPhone to see what my time and place was as the typed list of finishers was not being updated by the time I finished. I was very happy to find that I had finished 2nd of the 75 to 79 age group of men. Donna scouted around and found a person to bring my 2nd place metal.

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Mostly for my records . . .Lots of comments from my Facebook page:

Deb Dziuba Congrats!! Way to go 👍
Pamela J Heller-Mulvaney Congratulations
Jenny Vanderlip Kenwell WTG!!! You did it!!! Congrats on your 2nd place age win!!
Steph Stock Amazing Dean!!!
Margo Sluman CONGRATULATIONS Dean Gugler
Rick Bishop Congrats! 🏃🏼‍♂️
Ian Slater Right on. Congrats!
RebelCoach Ron way to go Dean..congratulations
Wanda McLeod Woo Hoo! Way to go Dean! 🎉👍🏻
Laurie Ann March Congratulations, Dean!
David Galbraith Woo hoo!!!
Victoria MacDonald Well done!!
Donna Quick Yay. Congratulations! You are my hero
Marilyn Plant Congratulations Dean
Rick Josie Mannen Way to go Dean Gugler!!!!!!!!!!!!! Super run.
Jenn McPhee Way to go Dean!
James Pounds Awesome performance, Dean!
Jennifer Slawek Congratulations Dean!! You are a super star! ⭐️
Rick McCleary Congratulations Dean! I knew you could do it. Enjoy your recovery.
Ruth Cole Way to go Dean!
Kim Robb Way to go Dean!! That’s awesome!
Linda Jane Cornelisse Fantastic!!
Connie DeVries Congratulations Dean! Always an inspiration
Dianne Casey Way to go!!!!
Ronna Yallup Congrats Dean that’s awesome!
Robin Chanin Congratulationst! That is such great news!
Sue Spence Fantastic Dean Gugler! Congratulations!
Debbie Bean Congratulations Dean!
Heron Driftwood Wonderful, Dean! Well done!
Deanne Franklin Bingleman Congrats
Bruce Wells Congrats Dean, you da man...amazing
Karen Cogger-Arnott Congratulations Dean!!!
Jean Hartenstein Book👍
Nancy Davis Congratulations Dean.
Beverley White Congratulations! Well done!
Linda Brown Well done Dean !!!
Leanne Rutter Fantastic effort! We are so proud of you, and your accomplishments! Time to rest reflect, and STRETCH!
Randy Papple Congrats.. well done
Anne Courtney Schubert Way to go Dean! Awesome you!!
Dave Schoenfeld amazing well done
Helene Lobb Lamothe Good for you Dean.
Zaila Hill Well done Dean. Must have been the Mt Doug training that cinched it!
Danielle Gugler Yay! Congratulations!
Patricia Madden Fantastic Dean!!!!!
Douglas Loy Congratulations Dean.
Steve Ferrar Excellent job Dean. Great to see the dedication pay off.
Glenn Welbourn Congrats Dean!(I have a sneaky feeling that this may not be your last.)
Nancy Gambacort Way to go !
Don Jackson Congratulations Dean! Well done!
John Hamilton Well done!
Leslee Peart-Mcalister Woohoo!
Sharon Cornwell Congratulations Dean! You are an inspiration
Helen Sovereign Congratulations impressive 💫💫💫💫
Barbara Ann Irwin Wow, Dean. How very impressive!

Friday Flowers Correction and the List

            Apparently I made an error in counting for the Friday flowers. There were only 60 instead of 61. In defence, I have several locations and times on the same list and I misread my notes when I tried to sort out just the Friday finds. Following is the  list of 60 flowers that I found:

1	Alyssum, Hoary *
2	Aster, Azure (Sky Blue)
3	Aster, Heath
4	Aster, New England
5	Aster, Panicled
6	Aster, White Wood
7	Beggar Tick
8	Bindweed, Hedge (Hedge False Bindweed)
9	Bugleweed, Rough
10	Bugloss, Viper's *
11	Bur-Marigold, Nodding
12	Butter-And-Eggs *
13	Catnip *
14	Chamomile, Scentless *
15	Chickweed, Common *
16	Chicory, Wild *
17	Cinquefoil, Dwarf
18	Clover, White Sweet *
19	Crown-vetch, Purple *
20	Dandelion, Common *
21	Dandelion, Red-Seeded *
22	Dogwood, Red-Osier (S)
23	Dogwood, Silky (Pale)(S)
24	Evening Primrose, Common
25	Fleabane, Lesser Daisy
26	Galinsoga *
27	Galinsoga, Small-Flowered
28	Goldenrod, Blue-Stemmed
29	Goldenrod, Canada
30	Goldenrod, Late
31	Goldenrod, Tall
32	Horehound, Water
33	Indian Tobacco
34	Knotgrass, Common *
35	Knotweed, Japanese *
36	Lady's Thumb, Spotted *
37	Madder, Wild (Bedstraw) *
38	Nightshade, Bittersweet *
39	Nightshade, Eastern Black
40	Ox-Tongue, Hawkweed *
41	Pea, Everlasting *
42	Pokeweed
43	Queen Anne's Lace *
44	Ragweed, Common
45	Ragweed, Perennial (Western)
46	Shepherd's Purse *
47	Silverweed
48	Smartweed, Pale or Nodding
49	Smartweed, Water
50	Snakeroot, White
51	Snowberry
52	Sow Thistle, Common *
53	Sow Thistle, Field *
54	Spurge, Petty *
55	Tansy *
56	Touch-Me-Not, Spotted
57	Wall-Rocket, Narrow-Leaved *
58	Witch Hazel
59	Wormwood, Sweet *
60	Yarrow, Common *

One more flower from Friday:

Friday Flowers and Wanderings

            At the RBG, we have been waiting for a new freezer for weeks now. We use the freezer to attempt to keep our pressed flower collections bug free. There have been many delays and I just heard that we will be getting a smaller freezer as the one ordered just will not go through the doors. Anyway, without a freezer to work with, I have had more time to look for flowers on Fridays and have been able to get home earlier too.

           Yesterday, I was able to find 61 wild flowers in bloom. I don't bother counting the many, many flowers that are planted in the various gardens. There are still many, many roses in bloom in the rose garden as well as others that have been planted this year.

            Below is one of the flowers that I found and photographed yesterday. I found this plant blooming for the first time this year on June 15th. It is still going strong and will probably continue until covered with snow. I have found it blooming until December in past years.

            It is a small flower in real life. It is smaller than the smallest fingernail on my hand. In addition, there is another flower that looks almost exactly like it, Small-flowered Galinsoga, that one almost needs a hand lens to see.

            The other interesting observation from yesterday was the Pumpkin Trail that was set up by the RBG. The staff carved over 200 pumpkins and placed them along some of the trails in the area of the Rose Garden and the Hendrie Valley just behind the Rose Garden. I was told that over 5000 people came to visit and walk the trails on Thursday and Friday. Below is one photo from the Hendrie Valley trail:

Herb Robert

Herb Robert \ 

Géranium de Robert \ 

(Geranium robertianum) ...

is one of my favourite wild flowers. Here in southern Ontario I have found it in bloom from May to December. Primary blooms are in the spring but it blooms, off and on, for the rest of the time until the snows come.

            Several years ago, when I took a foundations art course at a local art school, I did a special project on the Herb Robert. I made sketches, elaborate drawings, watercolours, a large acrylic painting (just over a metre on each side) and a wire sculpture of the Herb Robert as well as many photos. I am not sure where the photos are right now and my other pieces are in various locations but below are two more recent photos of the flower: