First Blush: Pretty pink sky, dumb run

The female DJ was reminded this morning the reason why she prefers running in open space, be in the Dish or even Lake Lagunita. City streets and all their wires muck up the view. Today she did what was practical. Needing blood work done that required fasting, she took off predawn for the Menlo Medical Clinic lab that opened at 7:00. She got there at 7:05 and two people were already ahead of her. Guess others had the same idea…

First Blush: A hearty welcome to this year’s herd

The female Dawn Jogger was surprised to spot a dozen or so of this year’s herd making their way across the frozen grass just below the Dish. Her recollection was that the annuyal cattle herd didn’t appear on the Dish land until later in winter, when the new grass had grown up. Thanks to a very heavy frost this morning, the group was getting more moisture than nutrients from the current brown grass. So very cheery to have the herd around again…

First Blush: Back to “short” Portola

Friend Marty had seen the female DJ’s post about her Thanksgiving day walk on the Portola Valley Ranch trails and thought it a perfect jaunt for Sherwood, the Labrador Retriever pup. It was his first time out in the wild and he could barely contain himself – such good smells! There is so much ground cover on the Portola trails, they’re good even after a day of rain. A very welcome outing to end the weekend…

First Blush: Late morning walk, one month milestone

The female DJ has been eying the calendar the past few days. Exactly one month ago the male DJ died. In many ways it seems longer ago than that – one month doesn’t seem like much passage of time. There’s been a lot to fill her days, including seasonal holidays, Grace’s birthday and long visits by good friends. Today, somewhat strangely, she finds herself alone. Strange in that it’s the one month milestone. She opted to sleep in and do a late morning walk in the rain with a neighbor. As they were almost at the end of their loop, the sign said it all. Uneven pavement surface…

First Blush: Late fall at Arastradero

The female Dawn Jogger headed out to do a Friday Arastradero Open Space run where she found herself surprisingly alone – given the holiday and after turkey day “walk it off” motivation. Plus, doing her regular loop was hampered by a number of trail closures, she presumes due to earlier in the week rain, although other trails were mudless by now. It’s was a good outing nevertheless, filled with late fall scenes. As with other recent outings, there was that all important pause…

First Blush: Walking the paths of an “old friend”

After a Thanksgiving Day breakfast with son John, the female DJ decided to visit a much neglected old friend, the trails of Portola Valley Ranch. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d made it out to do what she and the male DJ used to call “short Portola,” an about four mile hike along a series of trails most of which have either sun or oak in their name. They’d walked the route hundreds of time with Cassie as it was didn’t take up a lot of time but provided a good climb up.

Even after 9:00 this morning there was frost on the ground and it was nippy enough for gloves. But the trails had dried out from the rains earlier in the week and the air was clear and fresh. A pause at the top revealed the entire Bay Area…

First Blush: Frosty Dish run

It was really chilly this morning – cold enough for frost to have formed on the “pop up” (e.g. first of year) grass along the paths leading up the top of the Big Dish. As always, seemed a bit warmer on top, but definitely a morning for heavier jacket and gloves. The sun was just coming up, poking through the female Dawn Jogger’s favorite oak tree when she reached the top. Was it the day before a holiday or the chilly temps that translated into fewer folks out walking or jogging…

First Blush: First run in the rain of the season

The female Dawn Jogger enjoys running in the rain, as long as it’s not a full on storm with high winds and pelting rain. That wasn’t the case early this morning. The temperature was mild and the rain was light enough to be refreshing. She was a bit later than usual but made it across the golf course, which was still playerless (maybe tee times were being held back until it dried out a bit). She make it around the somewhat slippery banks of Lake Lagunita, pausing at one place where she and the male DJ used to stop so that Cassie could dip in the storm drain puddle. Skies were clearing over Menlo as she made her way back across campus…

First Blush: Greeting the day with a big bird

Usually when the female Dawn Jogger talks about a “big bird” she’s referring to the Blue Herons that are plentiful in these parts. But this morning, it was a different species, some kind of hawk, she thinks, that was perched on a cell tower near the Junipero Serra entrance to the Big Dish. It was a good place for him (or her) to survey a potential rodent catch for breakfast. He sure wasn’t flustered by the female DJ. Even as she got closer and closer with camera in hand…

Late afternoon walk report

So, the female DJ’s been told that not posting causes anxiety in her three regular readers. Truth is that it’s relatively easy to get a dawn – or closely thereafter – photograph that’s worth sharing. But it’s much harder to produce something of interest at other times of the day. Or there can be a camera malfunction that results in the absolutely adorable shot of Grace in her raincoat and galoshes being a blurred hodgepodge. Then there are busy days like today when efforts are focused on InMenlo. It wasn’t until late this afternoon that the female DJ got out for her walk. Then it became all about how to photograph the new Christmas lights in a neighborhood tree before it got dark…