End of Summer Heat Wave

After a relatively cool, wet summer, we've had some heat and humidity the last week or so.  I'm not a fan of this weather, but I tolerate it in part because my garden has really taken off (about time, right?).  We've eaten radishes and beets, I've picked an ice cream bucket of green beans every other day for the past week and a half, we eat peas off the vine daily, and the zucchini and cucumbers are growing and ripening.

We planted these Quick Fire hydrangeas last year, and they've really taken off this summer

The Black-Eyed Susans went in this year

For awhile I thought we were hardly going to get tomatoes--then suddenly I counted 25 tomatoes on plants, found more every day, and are over 60 tomatoes on the plants now.  Hopefully we won't get frost for a long time so they'll have time to ripen.
 

We planted kohlrabi for the first time this year

Sunrise, August 25

It was a steamy 72 degrees when I headed toward Split Rock Lighthouse for this sunrise.  There is a scenic overlook that looks over Lake Superior and at Split Rock Lighthouse, but there's not much else to see right there.  I hiked down the hill to join up with the Gitchi-Gami State Trail, which runs continuously from Gooseberry Falls to Beaver Bay.

 Morning light through the trees

A hazy Lake Superior

As the trail crossed this road, a deer was looking back at me

RPP

A very colorful sunset

Cousteau, the octopus at the Great Lakes Aquarium in Duluth

Gooseberry Falls in the spring

A panoramic view of the lake--look at all the snow left at the end of April!

No idea what happened here--it's two pictures in one!

Sunrise, August 18

I tried another new location this week--Beaver Bay.  Right by the bridge that goes over the Beaver River, a path leads down the hill to the shore where the Beaver River empties into Lake Superior.  It is private property, but a sign is posted that people are free to be there.

The sky was overcast, so much so that I wasn't expecting much of a sunrise.  It pays to stick around and wait it out, though.  The weather was on the warm side at 59 degrees, and the sun rose at 6:05 a.m.

Glad to be back to nature--no cars, no people

The sky and water are nearly the same color

A little touch of pink in the sky

Sunrise, August 11

I went back to the marina this week for the 5:56 a.m. sunrise.  It was in the upper 40's, a bit on the cool side.  The clouds were rather heavy over the lake, making for some nice pink color as the sun rose.

I started out on the observation deck, which overlooks the entire marina area.

Sunrise, August 4

This is the vacation edition of Sunrise Sunday.  We were on Roosevelt Lake where the sunrise was at 5:59 a.m. and it was a chilly 45 degrees.  Dad was nice enough to take Jackson and I out on the boat for the sunrise and some early morning fishing.

My fishing buddy

Gorgeous dawn sky

Waiting for the sun

There it is!

This seagull was quick to swipe up the dead minnows dad threw in the lake

Tall Timber Days 5K

I've written here about my Couch to 5K journey that started in summer 2011.  The first week of August was week 9 for this summer's Couch to 5K training I did, and I finally ran a 5K!  Our family picked a 5K in Grand Rapids to coincide with our vacation.  The race started at 8 a.m., so we were up bright and early to make the hour drive to Grand Rapids for the race. 

My goal was to run the whole race and to finish in about 42 minutes, or around a 14 minute pace.  I ran the whole way except for the last hill at the end, when I walked for about 20 seconds or so.  I finished in 42:11 with a pace of 13:36.  It was great at the finish line when people cheered you on through the finish.  Overall, a good experience, and I would consider doing another 5K some day.

Ready to run!

Mom and daughters

After the race with Jackson

Jackson ran without doing much training

The group of us: me, Abby and Jason (and Lucy, who hung out with Melisa during the race), Jackson, Mom, Preston, Tony and Ashley

I had to laugh at this picture, where none of us (except Ashley) took a good picture