WILDLIFE

Among the reasons that walking about town, or taking a real hike in a park is far more interesting than mindlessly walking on a treadmill as I used to do, is that outdoors one can see real wildlife. During my hikes I have seen frogs, snakes, deer, herons, chipmunks, turtles and wild turkeys. Yesterday as I hiked through Goose Island I spotted something that appeared to be moving. At first I thought it might be a leaf, but upon closer inspection, it turned out to be something that I would have never expected to see on a Chicago street. I think it was a scorpion. It was about 3 inches long, and when I got near it to take its photo, it curled up in a defensive position. I sent this picture to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to see if they would be kind enough to confirm my sighting. If I hear back from them, I will let you know... If it wasn't a scorpion, then perhaps it was a three inch lobster, and that seems highly unlikely. But seriously, a scorpion? In Chicago? Walking across the street? 

It took a lot of effort to squeeze in this 6 mile urban hike yesterday.... It rained practically the entire day. In fact, there were thunderstorms in the morning, afternoon and evening. When I set out on this hike, with my daughter, the rain had stopped briefly. This break in the precipitation was short-lived, so we got a bit wet. 

Your Food Diary For:

Saturday, October 14, 2017

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Grits	300	66	5	6	930	3
Trader Joes - Pumpkin O's	220	50	2	4	280	18
	520	116	7	10	1,210	21
L U N C H
Read - 3 Bean Salad	300	65	0	5	1,500	40
Mariano's - Spicy Salmon Maki	350	39	16	14	278	0
	650	104	16	19	1,778	40
D I N N E R
Rana - Roaster Tomato & Mozzarella Tortellini	600	89	16	22	1,244	2
	600	89	16	22	1,244	2
S N A C K S
Select Choice - Chewy Oat & Honey Granola	200	38	4	4	110	14
Snack Cheese	100	0	9	6	163	0
	300	38	13	10	273	14
Totals	2,070	347	52	61	4,505	77
Your Daily Goal	2,934	367	97	147	2,300	110
Remaining	864	20	45	86	-2,205	33
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 1,004 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 218.9 lbs in 5 weeks.

HIKING IN AMISH COUNTRY

Monday morning, I left Chicago and headed to Middlebury, Indiana for a very productive appointment selling batiks. After I finished, I continued on to Shipshewana to put myself in place for a one day wholesale show on Tuesday. As soon as I checked in, I wasted no time changing my clothes and set out for a hike in Amish country, Shipshewana, Indiana. Since I was in the western portion of the eastern time zone, I got nearly an extra hour of sunlight than I would have enjoyed in Chicago. I made good use of the light, and was able to complete a twelve mile hike.

It looks like I have time travelled to the 1908 when the Cubs has last won the World Series prior to their victory last week. No, it is just me, in 2016 in the heart of Amish country in Shipshewana, Indiana.

I 'discovered' this plaque near Shipshewana Lake.

In Amish country, one has to make sure that you stay out of the way of approaching horse and buggies approaching.

I am a 'city boy' so I found it particularly interesting to be so up close and personal with these horses.

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Other than the occasional horse and buggy or bicyclist, there was not too much traffic on the Amish roads.

Your Food Diary For:

Monday, November 7, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Quaker Grits Instant Original	300	66	0	6	930	0
Whey Protein Bar Chocolate Chip	360	42	12	20	160	29
	660	108	12	26	1,090	29
L U N C H
Subway Footlong Turkey Breast on Wheat	560	92	17	36	1,890	11
Costco - Cheese Pizza Slice	350	35	14	22	685	4
Quest - Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough	190	20	9	21	210	1
	1,100	147	40	79	2,785	16
D I N N E R
Subway - Carved Turkey Sandwich	760	86	10	50	1,800	12
Subway - Sun Chips- Harvest Cheddar	210	27	9	4	320	3
	970	113	19	54	2,120	15
S N A C K S
Costco - Chocolate Cake	500	70	33	7	522	44
	500	70	33	7	522	44
Totals	3,230	438	104	166	6,517	104
Your Daily Goal	3,996	499	133	200	2,300	149
Remaining	766	61	29	34	-4,217	45
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 2,066 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...   You'd weigh 203.4 lbs in 5 weeks .


.

       Your Exercise Diary for:

Monday, November 7, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
TWELVE MILE HIKE SHIPSHEWANA	166	2,236
Daily Total / Goal	166 / 30	2,236 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	166 / 210	2,236 / 4,130

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Today, November 8, 2016 is Election Day in the United States. It is a confusing race as one opponent is a liar and the other is an egomaniac. The confusion stems from the fact that the egomaniac also lies and the liar is also an egomaniac. Never before in the history of the United States have two wildly flawed and unlikeable candidates run against each other. My overwhelming preference is for Donald Trump, as I prefer capitalism to socialism. I prefer conservatism to liberalism. I prefer traditional American values to European values, as I prefer the values of the right to the values of the left. The candidate that I support, Donald Trump has a narrow path to victory. As I watch the election results this evening, it may be a long night or a short night. It will be a short night if it is clear that Trump has lost key states early. One thing is certain, about half of all Americans are going to be more than a bit depressed tomorrow. Either way, a song from R.E.M. may be somewhat appropriate, although  I am not too certain about the 'AND I FEEL FINE' part of the song title.