Winter Pirates
Winter
Dahlgren Trail Half-Marathon
Fredericksburg Area Running Club members just before the 9am race start. In all there were 149 finishers: 80 men, 69 women. I ran 2:15:56, avg pace 10:23/mile, making me 11th of the 28 men over 50, and beating my 2024 time by 21 minutes.
8½”
Meanwhile, 141 miles to the northeast . . .
A walk in the woods
Photo by Elspeth, about 3pm, in the Nine Corners. The 9″ snow of a week prior was down to about 3″, crisp but yielding. This was the first day of temperature up to about 45°F, 7°C, but nobody got muddy. It’s the dead leaves on the birches seeming here to be almost glowing in the sun. Lots of animal tracks, including squirrel, rabbit, and deer. Tim wondered if we’d spotted black bear pawprints.
Utilizing . . .
…dog-poop bags. Winter running tip by Erin.
Twelfth Night
Dog walk about 10pm under a bright half moon following our 9″ snowfall.
Our Christmas lights finale:
Next day, about 8am, before snow-blowing the final 2″:
Photo by Sandy:
Our treehouse lights seem to have outlasted Twelfth Night.
Drought
Harley’s Pond at low tide, Christmas Eve 2024. No snow for us, though we have seen a sliver of ice on the pond once or twice. We had no rain at all in October, and just 1.6″ from Tropical Storm Debbie in August. Total rainfall to date since July 1st is 14.3″.
Cora’s Solo
At Lessons and Carols, St Paul’s Episcopal, Haymarket, Virginia
Messiah
The 53rd(?) annual performance by Fredericksburg Community Chorus, directed by Chris Ryder (photographed above in dress rehearsal). The concerts were 3pm and 7pm, with 13-piece paid orchestra with harpsichord and organ, and about 80 singers including 12 soloists. The choruses were And the Glory, Purify, Oh Thou that Tellest, Unto Us, Glory to God, Surely, Stripes, Sheep, and Hallelujah.
Blue and Gray Half-Marathon
My 6th Blue and Gray Half Marathon, Fredericksburg Virginia, 13.1 miles, 2:27:59, 11:18, 3rd of 6 men over 70. Right calf started hurting about halfway so I took care and it did not get worse. Mostly cloudy, 42°F, 6°C, Humidity 52%, Wind SSW 2mph, Activity Feel 40°F. This was my 25th half-marathon, but only my third slowest.