A Whale of A Time

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Its the 4th of July weekend and I haven’t done anything that I wanted to do.  I thought I had my former housekeeper coming over on Saturday to finish the paint job her son agreed to before he skipped town but she never showed. She finally Texted me late Saturday that she had to work but would come on Monday. I guess since she is from Brazil our 4th of July isn’t that important to her.

fireworks

I wanted to be here to keep an eye on the painting but I wasn’t going to give up my whole weekend either. Sunday I spent running around with my list of must-haves for the for the Puffin trip. so That just left today.

Capt. John’s posts to Facebook have been filled with successful Whale watching trips…calves, breaching and pods of over 100 whales. Amazing stuff. I decided to try the early trip. Maybe I’d be able to get back before they were all done with the painting.

Whales1

We were still quite away out from Stellwagon bank when I spotted a blow off out port side. I tapped on the glass for the crew and pointed. I got a nod and few minutes later the naturalist came on the speaker to acknowledge that whale but said he “wasn’t easy to watch” so we’d keep going.

The Captain played Sweet Caroline over the PA and encouraged everyone to sing along. That’s a great way to keep our minds off the whale!

Whale Fluke1

It was probably another 10 minutes when I spotted another blow, then another and wait. there’s another one! Pretty soon We had whales all around us and I stopped counting.

Close to the Boat

They were surface feeding and bubble net feeding. I had not seen that in years! I took over 100 pictures that I need to go through to share but here are a couple to give you some idea how close they came to the boat.

Baleen1

I’ll share more in another post. Right now I hear the fireworks starting so I need to keep an eye on Rocky. The noise scares him.

 

Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

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My Plantar Fasciitis has improved dramatically. My foot still feels a little bruised but I can walk without limping so it was time to see if it would hold up for a hike. I only have a couple of weeks before my Big Maine Adventure which will involve .5 – 1 mile hikes. It doesn’t sound like much but if you have ever experienced the pain of Plantar Fasciitis, you know it’s like walking on a golf ball! 10 feet is too far!

To improve my motivation I decided to head for Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, MA. This is an Audubon property and I hadn’t been there before. It had the added benefit of being in Natick so I could include lunch at Kelly’s Roast beef.

Kelly's Roast Beef

Before I left the house I dug around to find my Audubon membership card. I’ve never been asked for it but I’d never been to Broadmoor before either. Turns out it was a good thing I made the effort. They have a Welcome Center that is staffed and they do check memberships.

Broadmoor

When I pulled in I was surprised to see a full parking lot. I figured that I wouldn’t see much with that many people tramping around but it turns out there are more than 9 miles of trails.

No way was I going to try any of the longer trails today. So I settled on the Mill Pond/Marsh Trail.  It’s a mile long but I only covered the Marsh section. I wandered a boardwalk, watched a swan groom itself and admired the sunning turtles.

Broadmoor Swan

I met some nice people along the way but it wasn’t really as crowded as I expected.

Turtles

I will have to go back again as my foot gets stronger. I want to see the little waterfall at the ruins of the mill and there is supposed to be an active beaver pond with a dam and lodge.

Boradmoor-11a

Now to head home and see how the foot feels. Fingers crossed!

My Favorite Poem

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The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST

 2 Paths Diverge
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Plantar Fasciitis

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Anyone out there watch the Big Bang Theory?

If you do you know Leonard has a catch phrase “I just can’t catch a break” because every time he starts to make headway with Penny he is interrupted.

Well lately I think that should be my phrase.

I was really optimistic about this summer. It’s the first time in 2-3 years that I was really feeling good. I have some fun mini trips planned and I was just really upbeat.

So what happened you ask? Last weekend I was out doing a doggy photo shoot. I felt great. No joint pain, no muscle pain. I finished the shoot, came back home and had lunch. Then after lunch I went to take a step and I swear it felt like I’d stepped on a golf ball!

The doctor diagnosed plantar Fasciitis and did not give me a prognosis. It’s a week today and I’ve felt the pain spread and grow and now begin to subside. It’s more like a tender bruise now instead of throbbing constantly.

So here I sit on a beautiful Saturday doing laundry because it was the first day all week I could walk well enough to carry the laundry down the stairs to the laundry room.

Here’ a little of what I learned:

 

Plantar fasciitis is a cause of pain under the heel. It usually goes in time. Treatment may speed up recovery. Treatment includes rest, good footwear, heel pads, painkillers and exercises. A steroid injection or other treatments may be used in more severe cases.

Heel - plantar fascia

Plantar fasciitis means inflammation of your plantar fascia. Your plantar fascia is a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from your heel (calcaneum) to your middle foot bones. It supports the arch of your foot and also acts as a shock-absorber in your foot.